Cyber-Smart Citizens

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Our Mission.

At Cyber-Smart Citizens, we strive to teach everyone how to be safe on the internet, and to easily combat the many scams that make them vulnerable.

About Us →

Teach.

We teach and uncover the most specific details to ensure complete knowlegde on the topic of internet fraud.

Protect.

We strive to protect our communites and the people within them from the devastating effects of internet fraud.

Inspire.

We hope to spread our knowlegde on the issue of internet fraud to truly shift our internet into a safe enviroment.

The Problem.

Internet fraud is constantly becoming more advanced, impacting millions with losses in the billions. New scams and schemes seem to appear from every corner of the internet.

Fact.

More than $12.5 billion was lost in 2023 to online fraud in cases reported by the American public — a 22% increase on the year before. There were more than 880,000 complaints of fraud!

- The Record Media (March 6th, 2024)

Fact.

In 2021, Gen Xers, Millennials, and Gen Z young adults (ages 18-59) were 34% more likely than older adults (ages 60 and over) to report losing money to fraud. The median individual reported fraud loss by people 18-59 was $500 in 2021.

- The Federal Trade Commission (December 8th, 2023)

Learn More!

We have compiled a list of some of the most popular scams across the internet. Learn how you can protect yourself and your close ones!

How to Keep Your Information Safe

In our modern digital age, staying safe online is more important than ever. Cyber threats such as phishing emails, online shopping scams, social media hacking, and other malicious activities can compromise your personal information and financial security. Protecting your online information is crucial to avoid identity theft, financial loss, and privacy invasion. Below are some crucial steps to help you safeguard your information from these dangers.

How to Avoid Phishing Emails

One of the most prominent scams in our modern age is phishing emails. Typically, phishing emails are sent by scammers attempting to get you to click on a malicious link or start a conversation with them. These emails often come from individuals impersonating employees of larger companies, ultimately leading to attempts to trick you into sending them money. If you receive a potential phishing email, be sure to look out for the following warning signs.

How to Avoid Online Shopping Scams

Online shopping scams are among the most popular online scams. Similar to phishing emails and tech support scams, these schemes often involve individuals impersonating employees from larger companies. They usually start with phishing emails designed to lure you into fraudulent transactions. To learn more about how to identify and avoid phishing emails, check out our article on phishing emails.

How to Avoid Tech Support Scams

Tech support scams can manifest in various forms, such as text messages, emails, phone calls, or other types of electronic communication. Typically, these scams begin with an unsolicited message alerting you to a supposed issue with your technology and offering assistance to resolve it. Scammers may sound professional and knowledgeable, making it easy to fall for their ploy. To safeguard yourself against these fraudulent schemes, it's essential to recognize and consider key warning signs.

How to Avoid Social Media Scams

Hacking into personal social media accounts is easier than ever nowadays. This has led to millions of people losing hundreds of millions of dollars due to scams on platforms like Instagram. If you ever receive a suspicious message, follow these steps. Remember, anyone's account can get hacked, so it could even be your closest friend or family member's account. Stay vigilant and protect your information to avoid falling victim to these scams.

What to do if Your Social Media Account gets Hacked

In today's digital age, hacking into personal social media accounts has become alarmingly easy, resulting in substantial financial losses through scams on platforms like Instagram. If you receive a suspicious message, take immediate action following these steps. It's essential to remember that anyone, including your closest friends or family members, can fall victim to account hacking. Stay vigilant and safeguard your information to prevent becoming a target of these fraudulent activities.

How to Avoid Investment Scams

Investment scams, though not common, can be devastating. They often start with an unsolicited call or email, pitching an enticing opportunity to invest in a new startup or rising stock. The scammer promises significant returns, implying missing out would be a mistake. After persuading the victim to invest, they request money for non-existent shares. To avoid falling victim, stay vigilant for warning signs and verify before investing.

How to Keep Your Information Safe

One of the most important things to do online is to stay safe. In order to keep safe online, make sure to do these things:

1. Make Sure to Have Safe Passwords:

The most important thing to do to keep your information safe online is to make sure that you have safe passwords. When creating a password, make sure to include a number, a capital letter, and a special character. Additionally, we also advise that you make your passwords more than ten characters.

2. Don't Overuse the Same Password:

It is important to make sure that you do not overuse the same password for many sites. Overusing the same password can lead to someone being able to have your email and password for any site that you may have. Make sure to regularly change your password, and have different variants for different sites.

3. Don't Email Personal Information:

In any case, make sure to not send important information through email. If you have to send personal information, and can’t do it in person, doing it through text messaging is best. If someone else’s email gets hacked, then they have access to all of your information. It is important to not send information such as credit card numbers and banking information through email.

4. Don't Send Pictures of Important Documents:

Similar to the last point, sending pictures of important documents such as passports and social security cards can be very dangerous. If the email that you sent the information to gets hacked, then all of your information can be leaked. If you need to send important documents, try to do it in person, or through mail.

How to Identify Investment Scams

While investment scams are not as prevalent, they can still be one of the most harmful. Investment scams normally begin with either a phone call, or an email. That message will first start with information about a new startup, or a new stock that is on the rise. During this message, the scammer will usually speak about how great of an opportunity this would be to invest in, and how later down the road, you will regret not investing in this company. After getting you to invest, the scammer will then normally have you transfer money for a “share” in the company, which does not really exist. When looking at potential investment scams, it is important to look for the following:

1. Ask Questions:

The most important thing to do when looking at investment scams is to ask questions. These can range from, “How many people have invested in the company, and can I speak to them?” Or, “Can I see some of the company's finances?” In these instances, if a scammer sends you back any documents, it is very important to see if these documents are real

2. Check How They Would Like You to Invest:

While some investment opportunities many seem legit, it is still important to see where they want to you to send money to. If a “company” wants you to send money to a PayPal or CashApp, then they are defiantly not an actual company, and it is an investment scam.

How to Identify Phishing Emails

One of the most prominent scams in our modern age is phishing emails. Normally, phishing emails are emails from scammers that are trying to get you to either click on a link or start a conversation with them. Typically, phishing emails come from people trying to impersonate employees at larger companies, ultimately leading to you trying to send money to them. If you get a potential phishing email, look for these things:

1. Look Who Sent the Email:

Many phishing emails come from senders that do have reputable emails. While someone may claim that they are from a larger tech company, do not always take their word; look at their email source. If they have an email that may look like someone's personal email, then it is probably a phishing scam.

2. Contact the Larger Company:

Normally, phishing emails come from people who are trying to impersonate employees from larger companies. If this is the case, then contact the larger company. Once in contact with the larger company, then speak about the potential issue that was raised in the email and explain it to them. If the company as a whole does not recognize the message that was sent out, then it is most likely a phishing email. In every case, the most important thing that you can do is contact the larger company.

3. Do NOT Click on Any Links:

If any potential phishing emails contain links, do NOT click on the links. This can lead to a virus being installed on your computer.

4. Forward the Email to Us!

Still not sure? Then, simply forward the email to us at cybersmartcitizens@gmail.com, and we will get back to you if we believe that it is a phishing email, and what to do if we believe that it is not.

How to Avoid Online Shopping Scams

Online shopping scams are one of the most popular online scams. Similar to phishing emails, tech support scams normally come from people trying to impersonate employees from larger companies. These normally start with phishing emails.

1. Contact the Larger Company:

Instead of speaking on the phone with the number provided in the email, reach out to the larger tech company. This will prevent any confusion. When speaking with the larger company, discuss the email you have received, and ask if they have any information on the charge that you may have received. If they do not, then you may have received the primary steps to an online shopping scam. If the larger company does not know anything about what the email states, do not respond to the email, and report it as a scam.

2. Look Who Sent the Email:

A lot of online shopping scams start with phishing emails. Many phishing emails come from senders that do have reputable emails. While someone may claim that they are from a larger tech company, do not always take their word; look at their email source. If they have an email that may look like someone's personal email, then it is probably a phishing scam.

3. Contact Us!

Still not sure? Reach out to us through email, Instagram, or even set up a Zoom call! We can help point you in the right direction.

Email: cybersmartcitizens@gmail.com

Instagram: @cybersmartcitizens

Zoom: Set up a Zoom call

Tech Support Scams

Tech support scams can come in many forms. They can be a text message, email, phone call, or any other form of electronic communication. They normally start with someone reaching out to speak about a potential issue with your technology, and how they can offer to fix it. When looking at a tech support scam, it is important to consider the following:

1. Never Click on Any Links in the Emails:

If you receive any email that contains a link that could fix an issue with your phone or computer, do NOT click on the link. These links can often lead to computer viruses being installed on your computer, which can lead to a multitude of problems.

2. Ask Questions:

If you receive a phone call, it is very important to ask questions on the phone. These can range from, “Can you tell me what model device I have?” or “Can you confirm when I purchased this device?” With these clarifying questions, you will be able to figure out if a message is a tech support scam.

With these steps, you will be able to figure out if a message is a tech support scam. If you have any other questions, or if you would like someone to be in contact with you to determine if something is a tech support scam, contact us at cybersmartcitizens@gmail.com.

How to Avoid Social Media Scams

Hacking into personal social media accounts is easier than ever nowadays. This has led to millions of people losing hundreds of millions of dollars due to horrible scams on Instagram. If you ever receive a message like this, then follow these steps. It is first important to remember that anyone’s account can get hacked, so this could even be your closest friend or family member's account.

1. Analyze the message:

Ask questions like: “Why would they send this message, or is this really how they normally text me?”

2. Ask personal questions:

The best way to tell if it is really them is to ask them personal questions. This could be questions like: “Where was the last place we went to vacation together?” Or, “What is my favorite color?” It is important to note that any questions you may ask should be things that they already could see on the account. If someone has already hacked into a friend’s Instagram account, then they have access to information such as their birthday and some names of people they follow. Despite the fact that this may be your closest friend, still make sure to ask these questions just to verify.

3. Reach out to the person directly on iMessages, or through email:

The chance is that if someone wanted to ask for money from you, they would not ask through Instagram, but instead through a phone call or a text. If they verify to you that they are in fact looking for money, continue the discussion through text messaging, not Instagram. If not, then inform them that their Instagram account has been hacked.

4. Look for the accounts that ask you to send money to:

Usually, people use their personal names in Venmo or PayPal accounts. Make sure to check that their name is on the account that they are requesting you to send money to. Normally, scammers use made-up names on PayPal accounts, or just input random letters. If you do not recognize the name on the PayPal account, then it is most likely a scam. Make sure to verify with your friend in person beforehand.

5. Talking in person or on the phone is best:

The best thing to do is to speak to someone in person. If someone contacts you asking for money, make sure to call them, or speak in person.

What to do if Your Social Media Account gets Hacked

Unfortunately, hacking into other people's social media accounts is very easy in our modern world. You probably know someone who has had their account hacked in the past. If you ever notice that one of your accounts has been hacked, follow these steps.

1. Check to See Who Has Been Messaged on Your Account:

Scammers normally like to hack into accounts to message others to try to get them to send money to an account. To see more about that common type of scam, click here. If you notice that many of your friends have been messaged on social media, make sure to contact them through messages, WhatsApp, or a phone call to inform them that you are in fact NOT asking for money.

2. Try to Reset Your Password:

Once you have identified that someone has hacked into your account, make sure to try to reset your password. Most forms of social media have a way to reset your password directly in the app, however, if it does not, then go to their website and see how to reset it on the web. Resetting the password to your account normally signs all other users out of the account, so your hacker will most likely be signed out of your account.

3. Contact the Social Media Company Directly:

Social Media companies deal with hacked accounts countless amounts of times every day. If your account is hacked, reach out to the company directly, and they can help you with what your next steps should be. This is the MOST helpful and important step.

4. Create a New Account with Better Security:

If your account has been hacked, then most likely you will have to create a new account. When doing this, make sure to set up updated security measures. These include a more complex password, or two-factor authentication to make sure that your account is not hacked again in the future.

Reach Out!

If you're worried or have some unsolved questions, please contact us!

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