I wonder how many people found that fake advertisement;
it must have attracted a crowd! This incident made me very skeptical about the
privacy and security of internet transactions even though that website and the
advertisement is still there.
These are some tips that I would like
to share about verification of the security of a website.
· If you are visiting the website
with a secure connection, you will be able to identify the website through the
site's certificate. A secure or encrypted website address will begin with HTTPS
rather than HTTP, and you will see a lock icon in the Address bar.
· Website is certified by An
Internet trust organization which is a company that verifies that website has a
privacy statement (a posted notification of how your personal information is
used) and that the website gives you a choice of how they use your information.
For example TRUSTe website, the BBB Online website, or the WebTrust website.
A
website might not be trustworthy if:
- The site is referred to you through an e‑mail message from someone you don't know.
- The site offers objectionable content or illegal materials.
- The site makes offers that seem too good to be true, indicating a possible scam or the sale of illegal or pirated products.
- You are lured to the site by a bait and switch scheme, in which the product or service is not what you were expecting.
- You are asked for a credit card as a verification of identity or for personal information that does not seem necessary.
- You are asked to provide a credit card number without proof that the transaction is secure.
Finally, it is hard to keep personal
information safe when we using internet on computer or smartphone but less
information you provide on a website the more privacy for your information. I
wish to you all safe surfing. ;)
Every day our email inbox jammed by ads from commercial companies that mostly scams. Those ads seem very attractive to the consumers and it is targeted to you by your search habits and websites visited but the critical question is; should we follow these links?
ReplyDeleteI would have to say..no, we should not follow those links!! If they are from a legitimate site where you bought something in the past, you can probably unsubscribe from their email list (unless you like getting their ads). If they are from an unexpected source, they are at best spam and at worst links to sites that try to fish for your credit card number or install viruses. Mark them as spam and delete, and your email provider will hopefully block them in the future.
ReplyDeleteSome of these online criminals are really sophisticated. It's pretty terrible how they scam people to steal money and identities. I think you gave some great advice in this post on how to avoid it.
Another thought about keeping your computer secure online: sometimes, even legitimates sites get compromised by hackers who manage to inject some bad code. This happened to youtube a few months back, for a couple hours watching certain videos would install a virus. (Youtube fixed the exploit pretty quick.) There are also examples of news sites, religious sites, etc. being compromised. Unfortunately there's no way to be completely safe online. But it helps to keep your antivirus up to date, as well as your operating system, your web browser, and your javascript!
Hashim’s story is really scary! I bought lots of things on Craigslist last summer when I came to Cincinnati. Thankfully, I did not encounter those hackers. This story also reminds me the novel “The Girl with Dragon Tattoo,” which has been adapted to big screen. The main character in the novel used similar way to hack some important information from her opponent. Now I am realizing this situation does not only exist in novel or movie, but also in real life.
ReplyDeleteHashim , how did you come up with this idea to check on the original site of e-bay for the same ad that you got in Craigslist especially, when he gave you a link for one of the most popular sites , most people trust on anything that comes from well known commercial sites. I think you were lucky. Everyone has to be careful when he deals with individual sellers especially for those ads that are posted in Craigslist.
ReplyDelete