What cyber fraudsters can steal and how to protect themselves from them

What can they steal

Electronic mailbox

This is an invaluable repository of information to which almost all accounts are linked. If you use the same mail for both personal and business purposes, you risk doubling. When hacked, fraudsters will be able to gain access not only to personal, but also to commercial information. If any data is lost, the entire company could be at risk. Therefore, having two mailboxes is not only reasonable, but necessary.

Through email, you can not only find out the name of your account, but also recover passwords for your accounts. Having access to your mailbox, cybercriminals will certainly try to get data for PayPal, and for Internet banking, and for all other important applications.

Logins and passwords for accounts

The data for entering all services, directly or indirectly related to money, must be selected especially carefully. Of course, it is very convenient to use a postal address as a login, but think about security first. Especially if your email is easy to find on social media.

Game accounts

Cybercrime: attackers can steal accounts in games

Computer games are not only fun, but also financially costly. Upgrading tanks, buying a new player for the team, skins for weapons cost a lot. Gamers and just amateurs buy gaming experience, ammunition and the games themselves. Once stolen, account hackers can resell all of this and withdraw real money.

Passport photos

Perhaps the most dangerous weapon in the hands of Internet scammers is scans or photographs of your passport. They may fall into the possession of the wrong people through your own fault. For example, if you sent photos to your relatives or friends to buy tickets or register a parcel. These pictures can be stolen from your social networks, mail or messengers when hacked. Why is it dangerous?

A microloan will be issued for you. Of course, according to the law, in order to obtain a loan for a serious amount, you need a person's personal presence and the provision of a package of documents. But with the advancement of technology, things are getting easier. To take a microloan, it is enough to enter the passport data in the online application - and you can get the money on a bank card. And it will not be easy to prove that it is the scammers' debt and not yours. Also, criminals can write down someone else's passport data in the column "Guarantors for the loan." As a result, it is the victims who will be held accountable to the bank.
They will buy a SIM card in your name. The situation is similar to the previous one. Yes, mobile operators do not issue cards by online application, customers must apply in person and present their passport. But malefactors may have accomplices - employees of mobile operators.
A company will be registered on you. Do you dream of having a business and not working? The wish may come true, but most likely you will not be happy about it. It is unlikely that a company in which you are listed as a formal director without your own knowledge will conduct business legally, cleanly, without debts and violations of the law.
Create fake accounts. Registering accounts on your behalf on various sites with a dubious reputation will become easier than ever. And it is almost impossible to predict what kind of scheme the online robbers are using.

Boarding pass details

Almost every Instagram has a photo of a paper receipt against the background of a gate or panoramic window with airplanes. Subscribers are quietly jealous, and only scammers are happy like no one else. The information on your boarding pass opens up a ton of possibilities for them.

First, you can find out the airline's bonus card number. In some cases, his and his surname is enough to access your personal account or check-in for a flight.

Secondly, PNR. Passenger name record is a booking code, a special identifier in the database that can tell you about all the details of your itinerary. There are no uniform PNR standards. But this code may contain information about the method of payment (up to the bank card number), the passenger's phone number, his date of birth and passport data. Remember, even if you have photographed your boarding pass so that the PNR cannot be read, it can usually be extracted from the barcode on the ticket.

What scammers can do:

cancel the return ticket;
change the date and time of the return flight or connecting flight;
find out the mobile phone number and contact the mobile operator for a new SIM card, since the old one is allegedly lost;
determine the dates when you will definitely not be at home, and try to rob your home.

Driver's license information

Driving school graduates almost universally post selfies with driving license. But the presentation of successful success can almost end in court. Having information from your ID, fraudsters can easily make a fake and sell it - for example, to someone who was once deprived of their rights. The fake will include a photo of this person and your personal data. And if he breaks the law again, the questions may be for both of you.

How to protect personal data

When changing your password, come up with a new combination

Many services ask users to periodically change their passwords. And it would seem that this is an effective security measure. But in reality, the opposite is true.

Remember: when you needed to update your password, did you come up with a new combination of letters and numbers, or modified an old one? Most likely the second. As a rule, users follow the path of simplifying the combination, and this only weakens the protection. In addition, a slightly modified cipher is easy to forget, so people write it down. These notes are left on the desktop, on a sticker, carried in a wallet - many can get access to them, including scammers.

Cybercrime: fraudsters can gain access to insufficiently complex passwords

One complex password is more secure than frequently changing copycats. For example - Microsoft Corporation in the updated version of its Windows 10 operating system (1903) refused the Security baseline (DRAFT) for Windows 10 v1903 and Windows Server v1903 from the policy of regular password change, calling this measure obsolete.

It's much more efficient to have a password manager. He will come up with a difficult combination for you and keep it protected. The application will independently substitute the required password for mail, social networks, and accounts. Here are some popular services: 1Password, LastPass, Enpass. They are paid, but this is not a high price to pay for reliable storage for your passwords.

Use two-factor authentication

A very popular method of data protection today. In simple terms, it is a double barrier, two steps required to access. For example, to enter Internet banking, you enter your username and password. If they are correct, an SMS with a code is sent to the phone. This cipher is the second step. Instead of SMS, special applications or hardware tokens can be used. Do not neglect the possibility of two-factor authentication when the software of your smartphone or computer offers you this option.

Don't connect to unverified Wi-Fi

It's dangerous to connect to someone else's unpaired Wi-Fi. Cybercriminals can create a fake network to steal the data of unsuspecting users. Most often this happens in crowded places: cafes, shopping centers and city parks. Attackers can access your usernames, passwords, credit card information, Internet subscriptions, and your favorite social networks through a wireless network. To avoid this, always use only secure internet connections.

How to punish cybercriminals

It is important to understand that fraud with virtual money and personal data ends with a very real punishment. Connect an SMS notification about debiting money from a card and control finances. In case of leakage of funds, immediately contact the bank to clarify the details and report to the police in case of theft. Also ask for help from law enforcement if you suspect that someone is using your personal information in bad faith.

Responsibility for crimes against property is regulated by Chapter 21 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. And all questions regarding personal information are regulated by the Federal Law on Personal Data.