5 Common Cybercrimes that You Should Know About

Everything that has a good side has a bad side to it as well. The same is the case with the internet. There is no doubt that the internet has made life easier for us in a lot of ways, from using social media, staying in touch with friends and family to using the internet for automating the smart devices in your home. 

However, the internet also has a bad side that you should know about because if you don’t use the internet carefully, you can find yourself in deep waters. There are a lot of steps that you can take to keep yourself secure as you use the internet. Firstly, you should use an internet connection that comes with integrated security features, such as Xfinity Internet.

The next thing that you can do is to change your practices in such a way that you are safe when surfing the internet. That can happen only if you learn what possible cybercrimes are out there. This will help you to be wary of them and take the necessary steps to keep yourself safe!

We prepared an entire listicle of possible cybercrimes, so make sure that you read all the way to the end for a better insight.  

Distributed Denial of Service Attack (DDoS Attack)

The first kind of cybercrime that you should know about is a Distributed Denial of Service attack or a DDoS attack for short. 

What happens because of this attack is that an online resource such as a webpage is made unavailable because of it being flooded with HTTP requests. This traffic comes from multiple sources, making that online resource unusable for people who actually want to use it. 

Not only that, but an unnecessary DDoS also reduces your system’s performance and degrades its security as well. Cybercriminals keep initiating such an attack and start demanding money in exchange for backing off. They may also use it as a distraction to launch another kind of attack or cybercrime. 

DDoS attacks are typically launched over a large network of infected devices called a Botnet. 

Phishing and Scam

This kind of cybercrime is a bit different than the others since it has more of a social element to it. Phishing or Scam depends highly on how much trust a potential victim puts in the wrong place; i.e. the cybercriminal. 

A phishing attack is when a cybercriminal tricks the victim by sending them fake messages and emails so that they can take sensitive information from them. 

You have probably received those scam emails that informed you of winning a certain reward. The catch here is that you need to enter personal details to receive that reward. Doing so would mean giving all of your data to the cybercriminal. Therefore, you need to be careful before opening any links in those scam emails. 

Ransomware

Ransomware usually stems from a phishing attack, when the hacker gets a hold of your computer and all its data. Then they encrypt it so that you cannot access your own data or computer. To get access back to your data or computer, they demand a sum of money from you, otherwise, they threaten to erase everything. 

However, do keep in mind that there is no guarantee that you will get your data back. You should always have a backup or data recovery plan. If not, just create a backup of your data and keep a copy it somewhere else so that if the original data gets deleted, you still have a copy of your own. 

Identity Theft

Identity theft is something that is sadly very common. It is the act of stealing someone’s personal information and then using it elsewhere for selfish purposes. This includes impersonating someone online, stealing money and funds, accessing someone’s confidential data, and even committing fraud while using someone else’s name. It can also be used as a step for other kinds of cybercrime. 

Hackers use identity theft so that they can infiltrate into corporate places as well. They steal the information of one individual working there and then slowly make their way into the entire system to cause further harm. 

Cyberbullying and Cyberstalking

These kinds of cybercrimes are so common that you don’t realize the severity of their effects on data, person, or an institution as a whole. 

There are plenty of cyberbullying and cybercriminal activities on online platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Cyberbullying means hurting someone’s emotions and sentiments through the use of the internet while cyberstalking is the persistently harassing someone online. Both these activities include sending numerous unwanted calls and text messages. 

To block out such forms of cybercrimes, the best that you can do is to block these people at an individual level, or report them to digital organizations who are working around the clock to prevent such online criminal activities.

Conclusive Note

Cybercrime is on the rise and the best that you can do is look out for yourself. Not only that, but you should also try, at an individual level, to make the internet a safer place not just for yourself, but for the people around you as well!