With more and more people using the Internet
both in their business and private life, no wonder it's become scammers' favorite playground. But since most of us have already learned
to secure our emails, social media accounts, and dating profiles, criminals have to adjust
and invent new schemes. So, here's some bad news for you: it's getting
way harder to protect yourself against scammers, because now they've started to target - brace
yourself - your Google Calendar! In short, this scam uses hyperlink-embedded
events to get access to your sensitive information. The scam goes like this: first, cybercriminals
begin to spam your Google Calendar with tons of alluring calendar events. And if you have the default settings, which
adds any event you're invited to to your calendar, beware - you're the very person these scammers
need. Once the event is added, Google will start
to send you notifications, and believe me, they’ll look very trustworthy! Ok, let's say you've opened the invitation. Inside, you see something along the lines
of, "Congrats, you're getting a cash reward!" But don't get your hopes up. As soon as you hit the hyperlink attached
to the text, it’ll take you to a special form where you'll need to enter your personal
information, from your family name to your credit card number! Well, I guess it's obvious how con artists
can use this info, right? Why do people fall for this scam? Well, nowadays we've learned the hard way
to be cautious about each suspicious letter that drops into our email inbox. But very few people expect a phishing link
to be sent to their Google Calendar. So a person who's only been receiving invitations
from co-workers and friends for years will fall into the trap. Luckily, you can protect yourself from this
scam without much trouble. And no, you won't need to delete your life-organizing
app! Open your Google Calendar, go to Settings,
choose Event Settings, and look for "Automatically Add Invitations." There, select "No, only show invitations to
which I've responded." This way, once you ignore a suspicious invitation,
it won't appear in your calendar ever again. Plus, make sure that the option "Show declined
events" is unselected. Did you just change your settings and breathe
a sigh of relief? Sorry to disappoint you, but that's not the
only Internet scam you should be aware of these days. For example, who doesn't like free Wi-Fi? But you should be extremely careful while
using an unfamiliar hotspot. Imagine you're at the airport or in a coffee
shop and in urgent need of the Internet. You check available Wi-Fi hotspots and - how
convenient - here it is, no password required! But what you don't know is that this network
has been set up by a con artist and is connected to their laptop. As soon as you join the hotspot, they’ll
immediately have access to your computer or cell phone. And you can be sure that they won't hesitate
to mine your gadget for your personal and financial data! To avoid falling for this scheme, you need
to tinker with your gadget's settings some more. First, make sure that your device doesn't
join any open Wi-Fi network automatically. Switch on "Ask to join new networks" option
and turn off your Wi-Fi when you’re not using it. On top of that, before visiting public places,
such as an airport, find out the official Wi-Fi network's name in advance. Are you a Netflix lover? Then you could become a victim of the following
scam. Recently, Netflix customers have started to
receive fraudulent emails that claim to be sent by Netflix itself. Inside, there are messages that encourage
you to click on a malicious link and provide your personal data, as well as your payment
information! For example, the email may go like this, "Dear
customer, in the process of regular maintenance, we noticed an error in your account. If you don't update your data within the following
24 hours, we'll restrict your access to the account." At first sight, this scam may seem amateur. But as soon as you’re the one to get the
email, it suddenly becomes very convincing - after all, who wants to get cut off from
all their favorite shows? Luckily, Netflix has published several tips
on how to avoid being tricked. First, do NOT enter your financial and personal
details after you've followed a link in a text message or an email. Even better, type www.netflix.com directly
into the browser's address bar. Also, if you think that the email you got
isn't from Netflix, don't send any reply. The "hitman scam" is another scheme that’s
recently become popular. One day, you get a threatening email with
money demands. This scam may have different variations, from
a threat to kidnap a family member to a promise to damage your property. To make this threat sound more realistic and
dangerous, cybercriminals fill the email with your personal life details. Where do they collect this info? Well, naturally, from your social media accounts
and personal blogs. Don’t fall for these threats and don't click
on any links they may have attached. Admittedly, this scam is the most psychologically
scary, but if you're in doubt, it’s better to notify the police and don't transfer any
money to the criminals. The next scam is particularly nasty since
it uses your kindness and compassion. A scammer starts a crowd-funding website based
on something that's recently gotten a lot of news coverage, be it a natural disaster
or a viral person-in-need story. After that, the con artist encourages the
site's visitors to contribute their money to the case and share the link on social media. On top of that, they send out emails asking
for donations. If you open the link and transfer money to
the mentioned account using a bank card, the criminal will get access to your bank information
and can drain your account! To avoid being tricked, don’t follow any
links you get via email and don't click on any suspicious web addresses you may come
across on social media. If you want to help someone in need, find
the charity that's working with this case and go straight to their official site. Make sure that the site is secure, and the
URL starts with "https://." Only after that, provide your bank card information. Oh look, and now you've got an urgent email
coming from your social network! It says that someone's trying to get access
to your account, and you need to sign in immediately to verify the information. Alarming, isn't it? But it gets even more disturbing once you
find out that this is another phishing scheme, and the email has been sent by a con artist. If you click on the link provided in the email,
you'll get to a fake website which will ask you to sign in. If you do, scammers will be able to access
your real account and steal your identity to send spam to your contacts or even blackmail
you by using your personal data! Luckily, you can easily avoid becoming the
victim of this scam. If you get a disconcerting message encouraging
you to check your social media, visit your account via the network's app. If you don't have this app on your gadget,
type the web address of the page directly into the address bar. Besides, it's a good idea to set up two-step
verification on your social media account. This way, if someone tries to access it, you'll
receive a text notifying you about a threat. Tech support scam is not only common, but
it also sounds exceptionally convincing, especially to those who don't have technical knowledge. So, the scam goes like this: your smartphone
rings, but you don't recognize the number on display. Still, you decide to answer. The person on the other side introduces themselves
as a software company representative and explains the reason for their call. According to them, your computer has been
hacked by cyber criminals, and no one but this representative can help you to deal with
this urgent issue. Their story is very convincing: they tell
you the serial number of your computer and assist in getting access to its unique ID. After that, they persuade you that your computer's
having serious problems after it was hacked. If you fall for this scam, the scammer may
talk you into giving them remote access to your computer. Then they either steal your personal info
or tell you about additional software you need to install to protect your PC. If you agree, they tell you to pay for this
software. As a result, there's nothing you can do but
provide the cybercriminals with your credit card details. But you can avoid this unpleasant situation
if you choose not to trust unknown people who call you, introducing themselves as tech
experts and requesting your personal and financial info. Do NOT give strangers remote access to your
computer - they may easily install malicious software. Download software only from official sites
and always use an antivirus program to protect your data. So there. How about you? Have you ever become a victim of an Internet
scam? Let me know down in the comments! If you learned something new today, then give
this video a like and share it with a friend. But – hey! – don't go falling for any
more scams ever again! Meanwhile, we have over 2,000 cool videos
for you to check out. All you have to do is pick the left or right
video, click on it, and enjoy! Stay on the Bright Side of life!
