Those are not your ebucks, you are not in that video and you definitely do not need to know what Disney princess you are… here are some tips to protect your social media accounts from hackers.
Johannesburg, South Africa (25 May 2022) – Hacking seems to be on the rise again, and a few concerned readers have asked what they can do to protect their accounts, so we have put a few tips together to protect your social media accounts.
Stop playing online quizzes.
You don’t need to know what Disney princess you are, what food matches your personality, or what career you should actually have. This is how hackers gain information about your passwords.
Don’t click on links from people you don’t know.
Especially on email, those are not your ebucks, you are not losing your Instagram account, and you definitely didn’t get that inheritance.
A hacker will send an email that carries a link that, once clicked, guides to a spoofed website that encourages the person to give their password or other information. In other scenarios, the hacker tries to trick the user into downloading a malicious program that skims for the user’s password on your actual machine!
Also, don’t click on links from people you do know (or give codes or money to them)!
Once a hacker gains access to a profile, they tend to use that profile to hack the friends.
Messaging “friends” of the hacked profile asking for help “to get back into their profile” by sending a code or to “please deposit money as they are in a situation” seems to be a common theme.
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The advice here is to pick up the phone and phone the friend in question (don’t believe the message).
It’s not you in the video either – don’t click that link.
This was a bad one cause loads of my friends thought it was them in the video. What are you doing behind closed doors gurl? It’s not you! Do not click it.
BLOCK and report bots, hacked accounts and spammers.
This is the easiest way to clean up your timeline and help your friends not get hacked. If you get tagged in a “iPhone giveaway” or “Shein” post on Instagram, block and report the accounts. If you get a comment on your tweet asking you to follow @NotaHacker000033121 (or whatever account) to learn about Bitcoin, block and report the account that tagged you and the one that they are asking you to follow.
Just block and report them all.
Check the email/link/site.
Hackers will often send emails from an address that might look safe, but if you check very carefully, you will see that something is off; like instead of www.standardbank.co.za, the website/email might say www.standrdbank.co.za. – double-check always.
Put a 2-factor authentication on your accounts.
This means that your mobile number, email or app will need to confirm when someone is accessing your account.
Use crazy-long passwords.
Like mad ones using random numbers, letters and symbols. The longer and more confusing, the better! Don’t reuse passwords either. Create many. Write them in a book. Don’t show them to anyone.
Do not use public WiFi.
Never log on to an account if you’re on public Wi-Fi; if you do have to use such a network, use a VPN
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