Open Source Intelligence 101

Social media users continue to grow every day, with a shocking annual increase of 17%! Massive amounts of data such as photos and posts are shared every day, some of it interesting and some of it pointless, let’s take a look at the 5 golden rules every social media user should always keep in mind… Ignore the trolls. Internet trolls are there to irritate you for fun and you can find them just about anywhere from chats to online forums. What should you do when you spot a troll? Just ignore them! Lots of people like to take the bait and start an intense debate, but someone will always be wrong so don’t waste your time and energy. Don’t post anything illegal. Did you know that you can be fined in New Zealand for trolling and cyberbullying? In other countries posts and reposts on social media networks can have all sorts of serious consequences, so always think before you post something on social media. It may seem like a joke to you at the time, but you should always kee...

Let’s face it, scammers are everywhere. On our social media platforms, websites, and emails and even on dating apps and sites, including the ones you may know and trust. Because of online dating scammers, you need to pay attention and look out for these four online dating scam signs… Spelling and grammar errors. If the person you are chatting to is English speaking, but their conversations are full of terrible spelling and continuous grammar errors then be wary. Obviously not everyone speaks English as their native language, but scammers often like to cross borders online in search of foreign victims, so spelling and grammar errors are a red flag. Copy and paste. Some messages and emails may read way too well if so be wary! Scammers love to steal information and content from other dating profiles and just paste them into their own so they don’t have to bother to write their own. If the text looks too perfect, run it through an internet search and see what pops up. ...

With the increase in social interactions being done online, there has been an increase in relationships that are being built over social media networks as well as apps such as Tinder, etc. Did you know that a recent study showed that 1 in 5 relationships began online? If things continue like this then by the year 2040, almost 70% of people in the world will meet their significant other online via a social media network or an app! Because everything is online these days, scammers have taken advantage of this opportunity to con those who are looking for love online. Catfishing is an online scam where someone creates a fake online identity for the purpose of starting a fake relationship and usually scamming people out of their money over a period of time. Are you dating online or thinking about dating online? The person is too good to be true – They are extremely rich, attractive and glamourous. The relationship is moving unnaturally fast – They profess their und...

Online scams take on new forms every day. The latest in a string of scams include reputational hijacking. We spoke to Cape Town Attorney, Farouk Mowzer, about some of these online scams sites. According to Farouk Mowzer, online fraud is indeed a big thing. It's relatively easy to set up a fake website that purports to be well-meaning and providing independent reviews, but what if that review is intentionally false? According to industry specialists, a number of websites have popped up in the past year that offer independent reviews and listings of scammers. These sites, however, are totally devoid of actual facts, trawl the internet for unrelated information and pop up the data as "reports". Conveniently, these sites have no real contact details that will lead you to be able to take the content offline. Type in the website name and remove though and you quickly find a paid for service at $1000 that guarantees removal, effectively, online blackmail. The sit...

It is vital that you do not fall into an online scammers trap, especially recently as online scams have been on the rise in South Africa. Here are the most common signs of these four popular online scams that you need to be aware of in order to not become the next victim. Online Goods. Scammers love to target those who are selling valuables online. They may tell you that they want to meet and pick up the goods and pay via EFT. Either they will reverse the transfer once they have received the goods or they will send you fake proof of payment. Always meet in a safe, public environment and rather accept payments in cash only. Account Information. If you receive an email or SMS from your bank claiming that your account number or information has been changed, be very wary! A lot of people fall for this and end up paying a scammer for absolutely nothing, believing that it is a legitimate message from their bank. If you receive messages like this, rather contact your...