Text messages have become common forms of communication, and they have emerged as the top preferred mode to send out information. But, did you ever know that these could end up ruining your life if not handled properly?
SMS Messages
Technology has made it possible to send out customized SMS messages whereby by the sender can expose the name to be highly believable ones like being sent from Apple, Google, etc. This natural pretention can be attributed to the reason for several million people getting fooled into believing that these are from genuine senders.
Individuals who get duped easily click on the links provided in the messages. These may be links to phishing sites which will look exactly like the original one, and the user will end up logging in to the website giving away all the crucial information contained in the login mail, social network or even bank account login information.
It is immensely necessary to be able to be cautious enough to spot these messages as the loss of information may be crucial to the person's identity and money handling. They look rather innocent and convincing but are highly dangerous.
The basic rule is to refrain from giving away crucial information in response to text messages. Learn to see all test messages with a point of doubt and caution.
Giving away Apple Login
The recent trouble has been over users giving away Apple login and password to messages that come through SMS. The access to the Apple account will present information like bank account details, place of stay and an array or several other kinds of stuff. There have already been several reported cases of the message to have affected people.
How is this similar to Phishing Websites
We are all familiar with the perils of phishing websites, and there is a universal awareness about it. The criminals lure the users to enter into these sites which look the same as the original internet site. As and when the person comes the details it is forwarded to the database of the cyber criminals which they later use against you and in their favor. SMS is a part of your personal phone, and this makes it easy to spot SMS scams when compared the web phishing scams.
- There has been a recent increase in such SMS messages. The possible reasons can be
- Increased customizability of the SMS messages
- More than 80% of mobile users have smartphones.
Advice Provided for Safety
All banks and financial institutions keep sending out warning messages asking the user be aware of such scams. They remind the customers, preventing them from giving away bank details or other personal details in reply to messages or phone calls. They even send emails asking people to check for signs of genuineness in original websites. Any link that guides to a login page or a doubtful one should be rechecked. Banks never send emails asking to log in from the link.
Flaws in two part authentications
Criminals always find their way around all advancements. You can be safe only if you are cautious. When two level authentication was added to several systems, it was seen as a wonderful way to keep away hackers from logging in.
When a login attempt is made, the system sends a one-time password to the linked mobile number. The account can be accessed only by entering this password. The hacker can attain the password by several means, but when he tries to log in, he will be required to provide the OTP, which he can get only if he has physical access to the registered phone number. The hackers are widely using tricks that help to get through this.
Google Authentication Message Request
There was a recent message that was reported to be a common one being sent to several phones. The message is presented to be sent from Google and warns the user about account hacking. The message looks rather convincing with the IP address and email id. The message asks the user to send the six-digit code sent from Google to their registered phone number to lock the account temporarily. To make it convincing, the message even asks the user to ignore the message if the user itself did the login.
Such a message will inevitably invoke doubt in the mind of the person, and the first response will be to send the passcode as a reply to the message. The hacker will then quickly use this passcode to take access to the account. People who are not very tech-savvy are the ones who easily fall into such traps. Even very cautious people fall into such things if they are in a hurry, and the sudden warning of a different login will trap them.
Warning
Google authentication message comes with the code which is specifically mentioned to be entered during login. Any online account will not request you to send in the one-time password or the login details via mail or message. Several warning messages are circulating in news, social networks and media regarding this. The warning signal has to be realized when you receive an OTP without attempting for a password. The first step that you can take when you receive an anonymous password is to swiftly login to your account and change the password
Stay Protected
When you have critical information like bank details, business information, valuable photos, etc. saved in your email account, make sure that your protect it with a good password. The security question also has a major role to play. Most of the hackers are people who know you personally. The dangers of scam messages and phishing sites can be easily avoided by being cautious at all time. You may not be a celebrity or any famous person, yet there are chances of your account being hacked. There are several uses of hacked accounts for the hackers, and you may never know when a hacked account will drop you into very scary and grave dangers.
No comments:
Post a Comment