If it is too good to be true, then most probably it is not true!

We are children of the internet, although not all of us, including this writer, will claim to be the age of children anymore. Notwithstanding our age, we use the internet with various degrees of involvement, from the basic email to the depths of financial transactions, and the width of social media. The internet has transformed our lives, mostly for the better, when it comes to having information at our fingertips and conducting our life.

This ease of making certain things better has also spread to making crimes easier, especially cybercrimes. Just like in the physical world you are at risk of being robbed, of having your reputation tarnished, or falling foul to a con artist, so are these risks present in the digital world. More often than not, in the digital world the criminals have the advantage as online you can be anonymous. These risks shouldn’t deter anyone from making the best use of the internet to make one’s life easier, and it pays to be careful online as much as you are careful in the real world, just in a different way. It is very important that when you are about to use an online service, you take some time to know with whom you are dealing. If you are about to purchase something, then an online search will give you an idea of the reputation of the company that you will trust with your credit-card details. Very often people will vent online if they are not satisfied with an online retailer for example. If there are many complaints, then you may presume that you risk not being served well too.

The internet is not there just to buy things, you will probably be using it to send and receive emails (including personal or business information written in such emails). Do not trust all the emails that you receive as they may contain computer malware, such as viruses or Trojans (so called as they are a type of viruses in disguise of another file). When receiving unexpected attachments, double check with the senders so that you do not inadvertently open an infected attachment.

In the last years there has been an increase in phone calls, from fake companies, trying to trick you into accessing your computer and any information that you may have on it such as email passwords, online banking passwords AND your money, and anything that you feel is important enough to keep on your computer. Remember that no one calls to offer you free support; support is a paid service and no one gives it away for free. As a rule of thumb, if something is too good to be true, then it probably is not true. Pay attention to public notifications, such as from the police who often notify the public when there are internet-related security threats such as fake phone calls. The banks also notify the public where there are emails pretending to be from your online bank in order to trick you into submitting your passwords to fake web sites.

The internet provides a plethora of information that will keep you reading for a few hours on how you can protect yourself in the digital world. And remember, if you are unsure about something online then it is safer to ask for advice from someone that you trust.

This article is part of the National Cyber Security Awareness Campaign that was recently launched by the Ministry for Competitiveness, Digital, Maritime and Services Economy, in collaboration with the Steering Committee responsible for the National Cyber Security Strategy implementation. MITA is collaborating in this campaign which aims to cover the online security interests of the public sector, citizens, as well as the private sector, while giving particular attention to SMEs.