Dubai: Downloading a web link or chatting on a forum may seem innocent enough, but these are just a few of the ways that hackers can extort residents for money.
Dubai Police released a video on Monday that shows the different ways on how hackers can retrieve personal data and photos from your smart phone.
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Authorities have also shut down about 10,000 websites and accounts used for electronic extortion and other online crimes, according to previous Gulf News reports.
Circulating on social networking sites under the hashtag ProtectYourReputation, the video posted by Dubai Police shows a woman downloading a link on her mobile “for a chance to win a luxury phone”.
Despite her friends’ warnings, the young woman downloads the link and afterwards, discovers that her phone has been hacked.
The woman soon becomes a victim of extortion, as the hacker acquires access to all her private photos and videos.
How to protect yourself from electronic extortion
- Do not accept friend requests from strangers
- Do not click on suspicious links
- Do not pay money to strangers befriending you
- Do not show an interest in promotional schemes or offers
- Block the suspects and avoid communicating with them even if they provoke you and use threats
- Inform police and keep the threatening emails as evidence
- Do not share your personal details, address or phone numbers on social media networks
Courtesy: Dubai Police
