Internet fraud: why it has increased and how to protect yourself in times of quarantine
Internet fraud has always existed. But it seems that they have never been more expressive than they are in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a strong global crisis and, with it, a vertiginous increase in electronic crimes in the first quarter of this year.
Um study carried out by Arkose Labs, a company specializing in information security, points to a 44% increase in the number of cyberattacks compared to the same period of the previous year.
This is the highest rate recorded by Arkose in a quarter. Around 26% of the occurrences were attempts at fraud and abuse. The economic landscape that frames these data is one of uncertainty, emotional fragility, and high unemployment.
Why has internet fraud increased so much?
One of the explanations for the sudden increase in these crimes is that because they needed to stay at home, people had to develop new habits, such as using the internet more to manage their lives. As a result, more information was added to digital channels, becoming a veritable feast for online criminals.
Fraudsters also relied on technology to carry out cyberattacks. Today, with the centralization of data in online accounts, with low security, it has become possible for criminals to steal on a large scale, since they don't need much effort to commit their crimes.
The trend is for this practice to become increasingly common and the increase in the number of internet fraud will be repeated in the next quarter.
For the report, the company Arkose Labs took into account only the best-articulated attacks, with cutting-edge technology, leading to the theft of credentials. Real-time account registration, login, and payment data were analyzed. This enabled a better understanding of the change that the fraud landscape was undergoing.
Sectors most targeted by criminals
Some sectors, such as entertainment, coped well with the crisis. However, they were heavily persecuted by online criminals. The gaming industry, for example, saw a 23% increase in the rates of virtual attacks.
But even sectors that were unable to adapt to the vertiginous changes caused by COVID-19 were also targets of internet fraud. Cybercriminals doubled the persecution of retail and travel companies in 2020, increasing the number of attacks from 13% to 26%.
Technology platforms were not left out of the list, as fraud against them increased by 16%. This can be explained by the routine change of the employees of these companies, who began to work online almost all the time. Almost 25% of these attacks were aimed at registering users and 17% at logging in.
Now do you want to know news that certainly saddens Brazilians even more in the midst of all this data?
Brazil, alongside Russia, Indonesia, and the United States, is among the countries with the most cyberattacks.
The report is not encouraging as to the extent of the crimes, which are expected to increase in the coming months. The criminals' focus should be on the communication and video platforms that are succeeding in this quarantine.
It is highly recommended that technology companies, or those that use the internet as their main means of action, be aware of security mechanisms. This protection must be expanded to the mobile environment.
Are internet scams new?
Internet fraud is nothing new. Quite the contrary, since the beginning of the global computer network, there were already people who committed virtual crimes. But why is it that only now are web users concerned about online safety?
We can answer this by saying that now, with the quarantine, people spend more time connected than before. This means that the population is more exposed to criminals. We can also say that because there are fewer people on the streets and moving around in the real world, with fewer businesses open and fewer cars on the roads, there are fewer opportunities to commit real crimes. Then, there was a migration of thefts and robberies from outside to inside the internet.
But regardless of how much internet fraud has increased, the protection against them has been the same for many years. If people took better care of their safety, many of these crimes would not happen.
How to protect yourself from internet fraud?
The formula for protecting yourself from cybercrimes has existed for many years and as the criminals' boldness increases, so do security keys. One of these protections is an old one known to thousands of users: the antivirus.
Strangely enough, not everyone uses an antivirus to protect their devices; and sometimes, even if they do, they don't choose a quality one. If antivirus were widely used, many of the problems that the population faces with online security would not even exist. Because one of the tricks for online robberies is to install a spy program on computers and, through it, capture people's sensitive data.
Another very important tool to protect yourself from internet fraud is a good firewall. It prevents malicious content from accessing without preventing data from continuing to flow. This prevents hackers from attacking internet users' machines.
In recent years, a new technique to prevent the invasion of emails and other information applications has come to the fore. It's about two-factor authentication. It adds an extra layer of security to devices that connect via the internet.
What to do if you experience a cyberattack?
It is important for those who suffer a cyber attack to seek a lawyer specialized in the subject. Because he will provide assistance as to which police station to go to file a police report. It will also provide guidance on how to preserve evidence and adopt preventive measures to prevent the crime from recurring.
It is essential to know the security criteria of the electronic platforms on which the user will provide their data. You should not enter personal information, such as document numbers and bank accounts on any platform. It is necessary to know if the system that such a company uses is reliable and offers protection against internet fraud.
A Clicksign, since its inception 10 years ago, has maintained strict security control over your information. Because you know that working with documents requires a more intense vigilance than those practiced by most people.
As a result, internet fraud did not hit the electronic signature platform in the market any longer. But still, let's not neglect it. Our security policy contains encryption, hashing, and two-factor authentication technology.
Therefore, we are protected. And you, are you?
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