4 tips to avoid online scams: protect your cell phone!

Avoid online scams is increasingly necessary, especially if you have sensitive data on your cell phone.

Bank app passwords, private messages and photos are some of the main targets of scammers, who want to steal them to blackmail or even carry out new scams posing as the victim.

Therefore, today we will look at 4 essential tips to protect your cell phone and thus keep malicious people away from your data. Continue here and check it out!

Avoid online scams: get ahead of scammers

New scams emerge every day whose main purpose is to access victims’ cell phones and steal money or data.

Malicious links, illegal connections and even pirated applications are just some of the most common risks.

Regardless of the scam applied, the damage can be serious and even irreversible, as authorities are not always able to locate the offenders in time to prevent the exposure and use of accessed data.

For this reason, the best way to act is always through prevention, so that invasions do not even happen, and thus both your money and your data are preserved.

4 tips to avoid online scams

When we talk about online scams, we refer to strategies used by criminals to access electronic devices such as computers and cell phones, in order to obtain a financial or even informational advantage.

Simply knowing your parents’ name and address is enough for these scammers to start sending false correspondence to receive money through blackmail or threats.

Therefore, protecting your cell phone is essential to guarantee your protection and that of everyone who is important to you.

Below are 4 tips to help with this mission.

1. Don’t download apps outside the app store 

Unsafe and unofficial applications cannot be advertised by the main app stores, such as Play Store and Apple Store.

For this reason, if you want to keep your cell phone safe, we recommend that you avoid downloading applications from alternative websites or platforms.

In general, people who choose these sources are looking for free apps or apps with additional functions, but be aware that these alternatives are not worth the risks.

These apps may be full of viruses or have malicious trackers to collect data from your device, so if you want to avoid online scams, don’t use them.

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2. Be wary of proposals received via SMS or email

Most virtual scams start via SMS and emails received, which scammers pretend to be from official companies.

Debt renegotiation proposals or even notices about unblocking benefits are some of the most common strategies used by offenders.

Therefore, be suspicious of any proposal received through these channels, and always check the company’s official websites and telephone numbers to see if that message is true.

These messages are often full of spelling errors and feature strange links, so these signs help to identify scams, be careful!

3. Always check the sender of messages and calls 

Most people who suffer from virtual scams end up falling through the cracks due to lack of attention. They do not check the information and then accept proposals and click on suspicious links.

A company’s official emails are unlikely to have a random name, such as [email protected]. Therefore, be wary of strange addresses or calls made from random numbers.

Sometimes, simply checking the sender’s authenticity helps to avoid online scams in the first steps.

4. Be careful with your passwords and access 

Registering the same password in all applications, or even using the password 12345 on your cell phone may not be the best strategies to avoid online scams.

Therefore, try to register secure passwords, and if possible, perform two-step verification, where the app requests confirmations by means of contact before granting access.

Using two-step confirmation, the scammer will not be able to access the applications, as they cannot receive the confirmation codes.

In any case, favor secure passwords, and never inform your accesses via phone call or email, no matter how convincing the request may seem.

Are there apps that help you avoid online scams?

If you want to use apps to avoid online scams, we recommend that you do a search in your device’s official app store.

There are blocking applications that prevent access to applications, even if the scammer has the device in hand.

In any case, the simplest way to protect your device from scams is by activating login confirmations, which may seem annoying at first, but prevent thieves from accessing sensitive data.

Therefore, be careful and be wary of any proposal that seems too advantageous, as the chance of it being a scam is not low.

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