Social Media Crimes in India and How to Prevent it?

Social media have been in the limelight for more than a decade, given its popularity cybercriminals are using the platform for deceiving people. Undoubtedly, it has become a part of our lives but we have to be careful while using different social media platforms. To get more knowledge, attentively read this article on “Social Media Crimes in India” and how such scams can be prevented.

Let’s start with discussing common ways through which fraudsters execute their ill motive.

Common Types of Social Media Crimes

Cybercriminals do social media scams in a variety of ways. Let’s understand the following types: 

• Online Threats, Stalking, Cyberbullying: Using the internet and other technological resources, the attacker continuously troubles the victim. Additionally, fraudsters use online communication platforms like e-mail, social networking sites, messengers, etc. to exploit, threaten, shame, and humiliate their victims. Cyber extortion is the cybercrime in which con artists send and receives obscenely objectionable sexually explicit text, photos, or videos via technology, particularly mobile phones.
• Hacking and Fraud: It  is also the type of Social media crimes in India. In spite of the fact that accessing a friend’s social media account to make a humiliating status update could be accepted among friends, it is technically a severe felony. According to this, the owner of the impersonation account has the intention to deceive the users.
• Online Quizzes: Online tests that promise to identify your personality type, reveal which celebrity you resemble, or provide you with an unbelievable prize have hidden dangers. They often contain terms and conditions that permit the sale of the information you enter to third parties. It implies that the app developer may learn much about you through your profile, friends, and IP address. Now avoid doing any social media quizzes. 
• Romance: Fraudsters are operating behind anonymous user identities, people may accept friend requests and communications from strangers. These types of social engineering techniques prey on victims’ emotions to get them to unknowingly divulge private or company information or give money to cybercriminals who create a fake emergency situation.
• Phishing: These malicious links may be included in direct messages, emails, articles, or organic posts. If you click on them, they may infect your device with malware or take you to websites that log you into your account.
• Charity: This is the another type of social media crimes in India. In this, people may occasionally be approached and promised investments with high returns. After agreeing to the investment scheme, it’s not uncommon to encounter silence and lose track of the dishonest broker.
• Investment: Influencers rely significantly on brand relationships, and sincere alliances may be profitable for both parties. However, there will be some phishing links or bogus brand bargains amid the real offerings, leaving them susceptible to criminality.
• Online Job Fraud: The incidence includes attracting a job seeker with promises of work, high pay, or additional income before defrauding them and stealing their money.
• Spam and Obscene Content: The offenders are using the easiest way available to spread spam popularity through Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp. The same platforms are also being used to publish/ transmit obscene material. 
• Buying Illegal Things: Through Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp, the offenders are spreading spam popularity in the simplest possible way. The same platforms are also being used to post and transport pornographic content. 
• Fake Profiles: creating a fake profile for someone and publishing offensive content there, including modifying photographs. To lessen our chances of becoming victims ourselves, we might take the following precautionary measures:
• Never divulge your social media login credentials.
• Never accept a friend request from a person you don’t know. 
• Do not click on any links that seem dubious.

Red Flags that Will Help You to Find Out the Scam

Some warnings that you need to know:

1. Posts and advertisements with incredibly low pricing on well-known name-brand products or with free samples of fantastic health and beauty products. An offer that looks good to be true is always a fraud.  
2. In social media crimes in India, a message that redirects you to another website where you may view a scandalous video, or fake quiz asking for your personal details, claim you to win a gift card or a prize then stay alert.
3. Posts and direct messages that solicit donations, notably in the form of gift cards, cryptocurrencies, or wire transfers. These are the main ways through which con artists may trick you.
4. Fraudsters insist you invest or pay some amount to them.
5. Create a sense of urgency.

How to Defend Yourself from Social Media Crimes in India?

Following are the safety tips for you that will definitely help you to avoid it.

1. Verify and keep your social media account’s privacy settings up to date. Use the tools to limit who can see your posts, turn off targeted advertising, and stop applications from accessing your personal data.
2. Do not use the common or the same password for every social media account. Instead, use two-factor authentication to make sure that only you can access an account.
3. Be aware of strangers who make an effort to establish intimate ties or love connections on social media. Break off the communication if they start requesting money.
4. If you receive any message from a stranger who asks you for money to invest. Don’t trust them and never pay any amount. 
5. Be careful while giving your personal or financial information to any unknown person because hackers may utilize personal data for identity theft and to steal your money.
6. Avoid posting private information on social media, such as your home address or phone number.
7. To prevent social media crimes in India. Never download applications from social media links unless you actually need them. Do verify whether they’re from a reliable source or not.
8. Don’t respond to surveys or quizzes on social media that ask you personal questions, even if they seem real.
9. Never apply immediately for the jobs that offers you on social media because it can steal your money and information.
10. Turn on the two-factor authentication method on your every social media account. 
11. Without doing a proper verification don’t pay any amount to the charity.
12. Block all the accounts which look suspicious. 
13. If you become a victim of these scams always remember to collect all the evidence that you have like screenshots of chats, fraudsters user name, etc and file a complaint against that scam on the “cybercrime.gov.in”.

Conclusion 

Hope the above information on social media crimes in India is quite useful to you. Now you just have to follow all the best practices that are mentioned above in this blog because if you don’t then you could be the next victim. For further, professional guidance stay connect with cyber expert Anuraag Singh.