Beware of fake things online!!!
The internet today is a very important and most popular technology today. With the explosion of social media, people depend a lot on it for networking and communication. Many people depend on the internet for survival, for fun and for communication. Majority of internet users are children,adolescents and youths According to Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of need, people at this age try satisfy their. Needs which includeS Thins like sex,food, friendship and more.
This is the reason why social networking sites like Pinterest, twitter, Facebook keep gaining popularity. Other sites to mention are dating sites, chat rooms, pornographic sites, fashion websites, modeling sites and others.
With this increasing trend and influx of internet users and the top sites, people from different societies and back ground develop ideas on how to make use of these users in their favor, Owners of the sites mentioned above not exclusive.
We tend to focus more on the excitements brought by this innovative technology forgetting the few setbacks as well. In the struggle to satisfy individual and societal needs, internet users should be aware of the following;
Fake Profiles on Social networking sites
If your purpose on social media is to find a partner, then bear in mind that there are thousands of fake profiles on the internet. Sometimes you might find pictures of beautiful ladies on social media, when you start a chat with them; they will refer you to a special web cam chat or video chat room where you have to pay to continue your chat. Hey!! Do you think this girl is really out to get a man? This might be a man who is just trying to use fake profiles to collect credit card numbers or get traffic to some kind of premium adult chat rooms.
Another way to detect a fake profile is from the number of friends/followers on the list. It looks abnormal to find someone on Facebook with two or three friends on the friend list and you think it is worth communicating or doing business with that person. My friend, run for your life. It is just a fake profile.
Exploitation in Chat rooms
Chat rooms allow children as low as 13 years to register. Perpetrators, use this fact to exploit children, assault them or steal parents’ credit card information from them. Parents must try to control the way their children are using the internet. You can follow up the type of sites your children visit by using antiviruses that has parental control options. A good antivirus is the Bit defender. There are other sot wares that can actually help you as a parent to control internet usage in your house and stay safe from internet thieves and bullies.
Password Theft
This is a common issue on the internet. Hackers try to steal information including passwords. As you use social media or chat apps, you might be redirected to a site by your friend where you have to enter may be your email, password, credit card information and other sensitive information about yourself. Make sure you trust this site before completing any sign up.
To avoid being a victim of password theft, make sure you have a private email you use for communication, one for banking and a different one for social media and other things. Secondly, do not use the same password on two different sites. Sometimes, we do that so that it can be easy to remember. I can use the same password on Google and Tencent because am sure of the security. But if you are not sure don’t do it.
Fake websites
Watch out when you are directed to a site where you can see just a single page with no navigation pages. Usually these sites require you to feel some information. With the use of HTML, people can create a single page which they use to get information from their victims. While using the net, take this into consideration. It is important to have an idea about HTML to help yourself from such situations.
As parents, it is your duty to protect and preserve your privacy from strangers, who could use your children to get what they want. Protecting them can sometimes mean restricting their Internet time, no matter how unpopular or how unconventional that seems nowadays.
Fake Sellers-Buyers-Products
One of the most popular way we use the internet today is for e-commerce. You should be aware that
i. not all product you buy will be delivered to you
ii. Not all sellers will pay you
iii. And not all products actually exist.
It is your role to do your research in determining how safe your transactions on e-commerce site are. If you are new to buying online I suggest you buy on the big names. Like Amazon, Jumia, kaymu, Konga depending on your country/location.
Fake job Positions
Millions of internet users search for jobs online. Sometimes you might find a job with conditions that looks too good to be true. Hey job seeker, be cautious!! Do some research about this position. For example check the country, minimum wage, the company if it actually exists, if it has a website, the profile of the person/company offering the job on LinkedIn, and more. Don’t pay money for interviews without knowing where the interview will be done.
Top sites like ngondopages.com and 5careers.com among others offer job listing services, this still is not a guarantee of the type of people that post the jobs. Just be careful in your job search
Some other threats you will face include strange/fake email, downloading viruses in the name of soft wares among others. The ills of the internet will remain. The advantages are more and the disadvantages will always be there. There is always the bad side of everything. But this should not prevent you from using it. The internet is a ‘’world’’ of adventure and discoveries. Be a part of it. Exercise caution and patience in some cases when doing something online
.
