When natural disasters occur many people and groups across the world feel sympathetic to those that have to endure through the hard times. Whether it is through donations, prayer, or assisting in reconstruction, people usually come together and offer their support in one form or another. However, this of course is not always the case and where good hearted people may see an opportunity to help out there are others out there that are looking to take advantage of the situation.
Although the Internet has greatly advanced over the past years it still remains vulnerable to cyber criminals. Even with the number of safety and security precautions established on the Internet the number of threats has nearly doubled within the last two years. Social media may be partly responsible for the growing number of threats because as the number of web users increases so does the number of these attacks.
Taking into consideration how much the Internet has evolved and the number of security features that have been implemented one thing remains the same and that is the human factor. Not all people are good and this is evident with cyber hackers, criminals, and the other individuals that only see the negative opportunity when tragedy occurs.
There are a number of ways cyber criminals take advantage of the Internet and web users. Among the most frequently used methods is phishing. These websites and emails are designed not so much to take advantage of the people impacted by a tragedy but the sympathy and compassion others express following the disaster. These sites and emails are created to make them appear as a legitimate company, meanwhile they have no connection to that company whatsoever nor do they have any intention of offering the support they are promising. Their only purpose is to gain access to your information and money. Following the devastation in Japan or any of the other natural disasters like the Indian Ocean Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina , most the time people want to help which makes them a perfect target for online scammers.
Often times it is amazing how quickly support efforts are rallied. It is shocking but not surprising that just as fast as support efforts are gathered the same is being done for fraudulent swindles. As if the catastrophe wasn’t bad enough now the people who are trying to do something to help and make a difference now have the misfortune of being mislead and cheated as well. Not only are these individuals cheated out of money but the group of people facing the tragedy is not receiving the help and support they were meant to have.
Already a number of fraudulent relief efforts have been reported and there are probably many more that are yet to be discovered. Its important to remember that there always has been and most likely always will be someone trying to profit from the kindness of someone else and not to fall victim to their attempts. Remember that these criminals seek out these opportunities and take every advantage to exploit them. Some key tips include not providing your information through email and making sure that you are doing your research before donating. If you wish to help make sure you locate a secure, legitimate and reputable organization for which to offer your support with.
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Dustin
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