Thursday 9 December 2021
Tips to Safeguard your Online Privacy
Unless you are careful, you may end up compromising your privacy, inadvertently of course, and may lose money, information that is very Private to you, be victim of extortion et all. The first step of this macabre menace is the "Sharing of your Number". While it is inevitable to share for essential purposes like Personal Doctors, Banks, Utilities etc. it is not necessary to share your number casually to any Tom, Dick and Harry. The Fraudsters first step is to get hold of your number and some relevant details about you, like your Bank Name, credit Card company you deal with etc. They then start calling you pretending to be either of these agencies and ask you to part with vital info like your PAN, AAdhaar, or OTP sent to your mobile to swindle your funds. Their apparent familiarity with your Bank Name, Credit Card details or Workplace often lures to fall in their trap, and you begin to trust them and part with Information sought by them. Well then how do you safeguard against this menace? Simple. Follow these steps:
1. Ensure that your Mobile Phone Contacts are only in respect of persons whom you know and are well acquainted with and trustworthy; In case of doubt, remove their name from the Contacts immediately and note it down elsewhere.
2. When you receive a call in your Mobile which does not show a name from your contacts, do not answer it. Just send a Msg asking "Who is This" and wait for the reply. This deters the Fraudsters mostly. The persistent ones may try and say something to convince you but you have now got the Upper hand as you know they are outsiders in the first place. This is very important because it is enough if the call is connected even for a couple of seconds, for the fraudster to Skim all the information he needs from your phone. When the caller hangs without sending a reply, immediately mark the call either as Blacklisted or spam folder to ensure he cannot bother again.
3. It is unfortunate that at times, very rarely of course, some insiders in Banks / Govt depts themselves try to misuse the data available with them by calling the customers with an intent to de-fraud them. These guys are more dangerous because they have full knowledge about your data, fund balance etc.,. Hence, they will confront you with details like your Phone Number, Address, Nominee name etc. to convince you. You should never share info like your Customer ID, Password, OTP etc. over phone to anyone whatsoever. No one has the authority to seek this sensitive info over phone. Remember.
4. Never store information like you Credit Card / Debit Card Pins, Passwords etc. in your mobile. It is extremely dangerous. Try to memorize them instead. I know you are saying, "I am over 65, I cannot remember Numbers". Well then you may have them written down in detail in a Notebook which is always in your personal Locker at home. Just note it down in apiece of paper before you go to your Bank / ATM without descriptions like ATM PIN / A/c Password Etc. I am 73 and I use a small technique. If my ATM PIN is 4569 for ex, I will remember it as DEFI (Sound like DEFY). You got it !! 5. Please ensure that you have a Good, Dependable brand of "VPN" for your laptop, and Mobile Phone. This is VERY ESSENTIAL for those who do online Net Banking, Online Purchases etc. often. Their affairs will remain anonymous to prying guys, thanks to the VPN.
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