5 ways to stay safe against new cyber threats targeting your phone

In recent years, the focus of crime has shifted. Improved computer security has made it more difficult to spread computer viruses, while a lack of cash has made traditional robberies rare. Instead, criminals’ new weapons It’s social engineering.

Further reading: Elimination and Phishing: How to Protect Yourself from New Security Threats

Someone calls you claiming to be a relative, the police, a bank official, or someone else you trust. They try to get you to make a payment, give them your account details, or install a program on your computer. There’s always a rush – stress makes most of us do the unimaginable.

Today, real people make the calls, but they are being replaced by artificial intelligence voices working 24 hours a day. Even scarier is the possibility of using artificial intelligence to replicate existing sounds. In other words, it sure sounds like your sister calling from Rome.

According to police, the number of scams using social engineering is increasing at a rate of 40% every year, accounting for 60% of fraud crimes targeting the elderly. Fortunately, there are some simple ways to protect yourself. Here are five important tips:

1. Hang up! Since scammers are experts at social engineering, any type of conversation is risky.
2. call back! If you’re not sure who’s calling, you can always call back. When you call back yourself, you control who you talk to.
3. Check the number! Whether it is a phone number or website address, it is important not to use links received via email or text messages as they may be fake. Instead, search for contact details through the official website.
4. Use code words! One way to combat social engineering is to agree on passwords with family and friends. By agreeing on unique words to use in emergencies, you can be sure it’s not a fake AI voice call.
5. Stop it! Never reply to a scam email or text message as this will confirm that the address and number has been used. However, you can use the “Report Spam” icon in your email service.

If we all follow this advice and pass it on to our friends and family, online fraud will soon be as rare as bank robberies are today.