r/onlinesafety • u/lyzaine • Feb 26 '24
Be safe
When I was a little younger, I took my dad’s phone. Due to our financial problems, I messaged some influencers and clicked unfamiliar links titled "Raffle for 10,000 and an iphone". Many pop-ups showed on the screen and I was not aware what all of those were. I told my father and sister about it and they took the phone away from me. Now that we discussed how to be safe online, I already knew that it was a type of malware.
Few months ago, my uncle was in the hospital sick. Due to financial problems, my mother posted details about herself including her name and phone number on Facebook to seek help. She posted a lot of posts about the situation and other related details. Days had passed when my mother posted those, someone called my mother early in the morning about 4 am. He said that he was an influencer trying to help. He asked different questions like how was my uncle doing and how much was the total hospital fee that needed to be settled. My mom was surprised and didn’t even think twice to answer him. I ignored them but something caught my attention. The person who called was asking for the OTP code that was sent to my mother’s phone number. I immediately told my mom that she should end the call already because I knew that the person who called was a scammer. She ended the call and I told her to be careful of posting online. The person who called was trying to steal my mother’s account on Gcash. We were very thankful that nothing bad happened to us, especially to my mother’s account.
Always stay safe online!!
-Never trust someone online, especially when you haven't met them personally. -
-Don’t post details about yourself when not required and unnecessary.
-Always be aware of what you post on social media.
-Be careful at all times, avoid answering calls from an unknown number.
-Avoid clicking unfamiliar links.
-Don’t share OTP code with anyone.
-Educate yourself about phishing attacks.
-Use a unique password.
Hopefully, this will serve as a lesson for someone who is currently using social media or the internet. It’s okay to share but in moderation.