Dark Side of Internet

We all have seen the sanguine sides of the Internet. If I'll talk about the advantages of the Internet many benefits appear in our minds like promoting one's business on the Internet for a businessman, completing distance education for students, playing games etc. However, almost 30 percent of the total population of the world is aware about the dark side of the internet. So let's talk about the dark sides of the internet in order to make ourselves familiar with the dark phrases and the precautionary measures to overcome the "Dark Theft of Internet". 

                                                Internet Theft - Meaning :

Before we talk about the types of Internet Thefts, let's understand the meaning of it. "Internet theft basically refers to the pilfering on the web using the internet". These can also be termed as "Violation of Cyber Laws" or "System thefts". 

Since the Internet theft is the broad term to understand, let's talk about the following types of theft categorised under the wide name of Internet theft:

• Bulk Email Scams 
• Phishing Scams
• Identity Theft over the Web
• Internet Fraud

                                               Let's Discuss in Detail :

Bulk Email Phishing Scam :

Spam Email is basically the junk emails sent in bulk without the explicit consent of the recipient. Being the dark side of email is sent to a number of people and the moment people click on these emails will give them (hackers) access to your personal data and the essential information of a company or a person. The same incident happened last week with my cousin brother's company wherein one of the employees received the bulk email which is familiar to his company's logo and one of his colleague clicked on the link thinking it is from his office which leads to the theft and the data of his company is hacked. In the same manner if we are not aware about these email thefts will lead to the loss of our personal data. 

Purpose of Email Scam : We many times receive emails stating "Congratulations you have earned 100.2$ and to claim it clink on the link given below, also "interested in working from home click on the below link" and it will redirect you to the payment gateway wherein you need to share you bank details with them and have to pay certain amount to start the work from home. Many of us think that there can be opportunities for working from home wherein we can earn handsome money and will help in  running our household. The innocent people are not aware about the scam and they click on the link as they get trapped. Its purpose is to trap innocent people and get access to their sensitive information like credit card details, password, account data etc. It's an easy way for the scammers to earn profit. This can cause sudden panic among the people as this is a fraudulent act. The scary truth of this scamming is that your data can be sold to the dark web and it can be used for years by the cyber criminals.

How to Overcome Email Scam : The moment you realize that you've been trapped i.e. mistakenly clicked on wrong links you can do the following things :

• Change Password immediately
• Contact Credit Card Companies and put a freeze on your account
• Contact Credit Agencies and inform them that your sensitive information is being compromised
• Review your Bank Accounts on regular basis in order to track suspicious activities

Identity Theft :

Identity theft basically refers to stealing one's personal information. One of the most common sources of stealing personal information is social media. Billions of people throughout the world are into social media nowadays and they update their personal information on the account of their social sites. This is the easiest way for the scammers to steal the information and use these information for their personal use like opening a bank account, but properties or rent properties etc. Using an ATM is also one of the source to steal your sensitive information. As we all know that we use Debit Cards to take the money out from the ATM and all the debit cards has the magnetic strips and the ATM machine reads and lifts information from the magnetic stick when the card is inserted in the machine and then gives out the money. Once the scammer steals the information and in no time the money will be debited from your account without your explicit consent. Apart from identity theft over the web there are other ways also to do identity theft like voice out your credit card number, telling the OTP (One time passcode) over the phone. 

Signs Warning you from Identity Theft:

• Discrepancies in your bank statement showing the withdrawals of the money you didn't make
• Alien charges on your Credit Card statement.
• Sudden calls from the debt collectors which you are unaware of
• Unable to get the bank statements on the registered emails and when asked from the bank it's different. 
• When more than one tax return is raised against your name 
• Receiving Bills like medicals, hotel etc for the services you've never taken.

How to Protect yourself against identity theft:

• Don't clink on the emails and the links coming from unwanted sources. They may contain viruses.
• Debit, Credit cards should be kept safe and can be carried when it is extremely important.
• One  should create a strong password including with numbers symbols and letters which is hard for the scammer to identify.
• Don't share any OTPs and your personal information over the phone
• One should use secured sites like the URL starting with "https"
• Setting alerts with your bank on every transaction you make.
• Check your financial statements on regular basis 

My purpose of writing this article is to make people aware about the fraudulent activities going on around us so that no one can become a victim like me and can protect themselves from this online scamming. I believe every person is capable of protecting oneself from any fraudulent deeds going on in this world. Stay Safe, Protected and always Remain happy.