While the Internet has opened a plethora of opportunities, like Pandora’s box, it has also brought a multitude of problems, the biggest one being rising cyber crimes. Social media, online shopping sites, and unknown calls can sometimes be blackholes that scamsters use to suck you in. According to data released by the National Crime Records Bureau last year, 50,035 cases were registered in 2020 under cybercrime, a rise of 11.8% over 2019 (44,735 cases). Compare this to just 3,377 cases in 2012, the past decade has seen an almost 15-fold increase.

The rise is due to many reasons—wider use of technology, increasing access to mobile Internet, lack of technical awareness, innovative methods used by tricksters and difficulties in investigating and arresting swindlers for cybercrimes. The only way to protect ourselves is by being cautious of every move we make in the digital world. So, here’s a quiz you should take to find out how vulnerable you are to being conned, and the best option to choose to avoid being swindled.

1. WHEN YOU GET A LINK TO OPEN IN A MESSAGE OR MAIL, YOU…

A. Click on it immediately.
B. Check the URL of the link.
C. Prefer to type the link on a browser yourself

C IS YOUR BEST OPTION.

It’s always best to type the URL yourself to make sure you’re accessing the correct website. In most cases, if it’s a link to a bank or shopping portal that you use often, the entire URL will appear in your web browser itself. This will also help you check the correct spelling of the link. Scammers often use a different variation of a link that is extremely close to the real one to fool people. For instance, the fake ‘yahooo.co.in’ isn’t the same as the authentic ‘yahoo.co.in’ because of the extra ‘o’ in the spelling, something that most people might skip noticing. Another smart way is to check the age of a website by using ‘Whois Domain Lookup’ (https://www.whois.com). Simply type the name of the website and you will get information on who owns the domain name, where they are based, and how long the website has been active. If it has been created recently, it’s a big red flag.

2. IF YOU GET A CALL FROM YOUR BANK’S REPRESENTATIVE ASKING ABOUT SOME DETAILS, YOU...

A. Provide whatever information is needed.
B. Ask for identification proof and share only some info.
C. Say that you will call the bank’s helpline yourself.

C IS YOUR BEST BET, THOUGH STEP B SHOULD ALSO BE FOLLOWED.

If you haven’t lodged a complaint with your bank or requested aid, be wary of any incoming calls, especially those offering new schemes, discounts or unwanted help. Do not lower your guard even if the unknown caller provides personal information like the last four digits of your bank account number or your date of birth or your mother’s name. Remember, this information is often easily accessible via your bills or social media.

3. YOU HAVE SAVED IMPORTANT PASSWORDS AND PINS…

A. In a file locker app on your mobile phone.
B. In a digital locker.
C. On a piece of paper that’s in your locker.

All three options are secure, though A and B are better because they allow you to access information from anywhere.

Digital lockers help to save your important documents in an encrypted format. The government itself offers services of a DigiLocker that can be accessed through your Aadhaar card. The other easier option is to download a file locker app, such as Folder Lock, FileSafe, Filecrypt or Norton App Lock. These digital vaults can only be accessed via a special password or PIN code.

If you conduct a lot of business on your phone, you could opt for a password manager too. Most people create an easy-to-remember password and reuse it for everything, which is a dangerous mistake. A safer option is to create unique passwords for each site, like ‘20wty!bm13@h’. Since remembering multiple passwords like this is almost impossible, you should opt for a password manager that will generate smart passwords for you, sync them across multiple sites, and protect them with high-end encryption software.

4. IF A FRIEND SENDS YOU A MAIL OR MESSAGE ASKING YOU FOR MONEY, YOU…

A. Call them back personally to figure out how much they truly want.
B. Transfer the funds asap.
C. Reply to the mail asking for more information.

ALWAYS A.

There are plenty of stories of how someone got swindled because they received a mail or a WhatsApp or Facebook message from a friend asking them for financial help. If you’re close enough for someone to ask you for money, then you’re certainly close enough to pick up the phone and chat, isn’t it?

5. HAVE YOU OPTED FOR DUAL-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION?

A. Yes.
B. No.
C. What’s that?

Opt for A asap if you haven’t done so as yet.

In simple words, it’s the OTP that you get. In India, this exists compulsorily only for financial transactions. However, you should also use it for securing other important platforms where you may be sharing information such as emails and WhatsApp. It’s a double security feature against hackers. Also, don’t ever respond to calls asking you for remote access to your computer or phone, even if they mention a reputed brand name. Scammers usually offer to repair a problem remotely or install a free upgrade, which could be a virus that will give them your passwords and personal details. If you’re suspicious of any link or file, you can use VirusTotal (www.virustotal. com) to check for malware or other breaches.

6. WHEN SOMEONE CALLS YOU IN A PANIC AND SAYS IT’S AN EMERGENCY, YOU…

A. Rush and do whatever is asked.
B. Calm down, take a deep breath, think and then start working.
C. Refuse to comply completely.

PLEASE OPT FOR B.

Scamsters often try to rush their victims and pressure them so that they can’t think rationally. It’s a psychological trick where they create a sense of urgency that leads you to comply immediately or blurt out sensitive info. Don’t be forced into taking a quick decision. Think carefully and critically. Take a few minutes to compose yourself and talk to someone. This may help you realize that the situation isn’t really what it seemed to be.

7. YOU REGULARLY CHECK YOUR PRIVACY OPTIONS

A. Yes, and update them too.
B. No, I have no idea what’s that.
C. It’s too complicated.

A, A and A.

We know long reams of privacy policies seem intimidating, but you don’t have to read them. Whether it’s YouTube, Facebook or Gmail, every social media platform has a privacy check in its account settings. Go through those to inspect what kind of information you are sharing with the world. Make sure your email, date of birth and contact list is visible only to you. Even such a simple step can be another secure wall protecting you.

8. WHEN YOU’RE ON VACATION, YOU SHARE…

A. photos and trip details openly on social media.
B. Share photos and some information with a handful of people individually.
C. Don’t tell anyone where you’re going at all.

This may sound tricky but B is the better option.

It’s a good idea to let close people know your plans so that they can keep an eye on your home to check for any suspicious activity. Avoid going for ‘A’ because you don’t want strangers stealing your photos or going through your social media feed and gleaning information about where you’re staying, or your kids’ birth date, or your spouse’s name, all of which can be used to hack for more information about you, leaving you vulnerable to identity theft.
A fraudster could use your photo to create a new Aadhaar card or driving license. Another increasing problem is deep fakes, which can be used to morph videos and images, and then used as a tool for blackmail.

9. YOU GET AN SMS THAT THE ELECTRICITY BILL HAS NOT BEEN PAID, AND TO CALL IF YOU WANT A CONNECTION…

A. You call back immediately.
B. You use an app like truecaller to check the number.
C. You ignore the message.

"B" IS GOOD, THOUGH "C" IS SAFE TOO.

Fraudsters nowadays use what’s called ‘social engineering’ to con people. In simple terms, it means that they use tricks to manipulate people into breaking normal security procedures to gain access to their information for financial gain. In this case, they’ve created a sense of worry, yet made you feel as if you’re in charge because you will approach them. The person on the other end of the line will probably be extremely sympathetic and in the course of solving your problem, will just casually chat with you, sneakily taking away all the information they want.

10. YOU’VE MET SOMEONE ONLINE AND NOW THEY’RE COMING TO MEET YOU, SO YOU…

A. Are excited and have given them your address.
B. Have checked about them from several sources, sites or people.
C. Have agreed to meet them along with a friend at a neutral location.

B FIRST, AND THEN C TO FOLLOW FOR SURE.

Did this question seem incongruous or silly? But if you consider that confidence fraud and romance scams account for the third-highest losses reported by cyber victims internationally, according to a report by the FBI’s Internet Crime Report 2021, you’ll probably pay a bit more attention. While the past few years have led us to make more online than offline friends, play detective and dig up as much about them as we can. Avoid disclosing any information about yourself until you’re sure of the facts, and ensure that your closest family or friends are aware of who that person is. If they call up before meeting you about getting stuck at the airport/railway station and that they need money to extricate themselves, avoid them completely.