There are online criminals who try to steal people’s payment and personal data by phishing. The criminals use this data to commit identity thefts and other cybercrime. An online criminal may contact you by email, by phone, by instant or text message, via pop-up notification, or in the social media.
Criminals create hoax websites, and you may get into such a site by clicking a link in an email message. Hoax websites may look like websites of banks or government agencies. The risk of becoming a victim of cybercrime is reduced if you protect your accounts with effective passwords and use secure identification methods.
Enter the full website address in the address bar (for example, www.suomi.fi). You can also bookmark the most important addresses or add them to favourites on your browser.
Remember that banks or public authorities do not ask you to log into their services via email or text message links.
Do not go to services directly via Google or Bing searches. Online criminals may manipulate search results and boost the rankings of fake sites in search results.
Make sure that there is a padlock symbol in the address bar. It means that the connection is encrypted. Do not log into the site if there is no padlock symbol. Note that criminals can also encrypt a fake site connection. This means that the padlock symbol does not guarantee that the site is secure.
Use passwords that have at least 15 characters. Do not use the same password in more than one service.
Use multi-factor authentication in which you log into a service using a password and some other method (such as a text message).
You can also use a password manager program. It generates a complex password for each of your accounts and you only need to remember the program password. Keep good care of the management program password.
You get an offer that seems too good to be true. For example, you notice an announcement on a website telling that you have won something valuable or an ad promoting a new productive investment.
You are urged to make a quick decision. Online criminals may tell you that the incredible sounding offer will expire in a few minutes.
You are blackmailed. The online criminals may claim that they have sensitive information. In the romance scam, your new acquaintance may say that something bad will happen to them if you do not transfer money.
If you suspect a scam, stop and think. Make sure that you know who you are dealing with. Do not disclose your personal data or transfer money unless you are absolutely sure that the party making the request is reliable.
If the damage has already been done and data on you has leaked to the internet, you can find instructions in the guide on data leaks. If you think that you have lost money, immediately contact your bank or the organisation that has issued the credit card in question.