Being a VICTIM of Cyber Crime

Being a VICTIM of cyber Crime can be very traumatic and the victim will often find him or herself feeling very anxious and stressed.

Here are some tips on avoiding online scams.

1.

Do not except any friend requests from people you cannot identify as someone you really know. Scam Artist will become your friend on social platforms and then have access to all your information and your friend list.

2.

Never make your personal contact number public on any social media platform. If the scammers have your contact number, they can move the scam from the social platform to WhatsApp. Scammers can then create Whatsapp profiles, using the victim’s photos. They then create WhatsApp Chats. These chats are usually uncomfortable conversations, that shine the victim in a bad light.
The scammer then takes screenshots and uses it to blackmail and extort the victim for financial gain.

3.

Make sure all your social platforms are secure. E.g. Facebook has a security setting that is easy to follow. You can then decide what you would like the public to see and what you don’t want them to see.

NB: Only make necessary information public. Okay, so what happens if you have already been caught by such a scammer?

The scammer has now contacted you and is blackmailing you to pay them money through a quick money transfer. Eg. E - Wallet, money markets, etc.

They threaten to post nude photos and lewd WhatsApp chats to your friends and family.

The scam artist uses photos they have stolen from porn sites or other unsuspecting victims’ profiles to send to you. This is done as a scare tactic, so that the victim feels that there is no way out!!

The scammer has now proved to the victim that he has all the fake evidence ready to post should the victim not pay them; they are determined to extort you and will be intimidating and rude.

DON’T PANIC!!!!! And for goodness sake don’t PAY!!!

Please know that you are not the only one being scammed by these scammers. By Paying these criminals, we are creating a market for online scams. If the scammer sees that the victim/s are not to fased, they generally turn to another victim. A Scam Artist will try different victims to see who bites. Like a Sales agent who keeps phoning pushing for sales.

This is what you do:

1.

Make sure your social platforms are secure. Change all your posts and friend list to private and change all your passwords.

2.

Make screenshots of profiles and printouts of all the communication between you and the scam artist.

3.

REPORT the profile/s to the social media platform and then block the profile.

4.

Some scammers will use more than one (1) mobile number to make contact and to keep harassing victims. Write down all the mobile numbers.

5.

Then CALL PI Services Private Detective Agency 081 3244 335, our Experienced Private Investigators are standing by to ASSIST.