Every May 17, World Internet Day is celebrated in Spain and some Latin American countries. It is commemorated to publicize the possibilities offered by new technologies and promote their accessibility to the network. However, the world online It also has its negative side: the amount of scams and fraud that occur through the network.
Therefore, this May 17, Manuel Zabalaco-founder of Chollometroone of the purchasing portals online most important in Spain, attends AS to give some advice on how to avoid falling into Internet scams, which ones they use the most and what the arrival of Artificial Intelligence has meant for this sector.
-How much have Internet scams increased?
-The increase in Internet scams, in recent years, is proportional to the increase in purchases online. Cost per month to buy online There is, more fraud too. We have the data that, more or less, 50% of Spaniards have been victims of a scam or attempt through computers, mobile phones… It is not just that it happens to you, but the arrival of some email phishinga message phishing…almost no one is exempt.
–What characteristics do these suspicious links and emails usually have?
-They are usually shortened links so that the original domain, which is usually fake, cannot be seen. The first thing to do is look at the domain and confirm that it is from an official source and not a subdomain with some word that leads to confusion. Above all, when they ask you for data or downloads, we must go to the official source if we have doubts. For example, if we are talking about a shipment from Correos, make sure that the message is not from Correos.pepito.otracosa.com…
-What are the steps to avoid falling into the scam, such as in the case of public Wi-Fi networks?
-Public Wi-Fi networks are very dangerous because, it is no longer that you are on a Wi-Fi network where many more people connect, but because sometimes there are networks that seem public but are not. People who want to scam create an open Wi-Fi point in, for example, a shopping center or an airport and all the traffic of people who connect to that network is passing through the scammers. Another issue to take into account is social networks due to the introduction of web pages flash that are created in nothing and are stores online fraudulent with very low prices. Seeing it on the social network, many people believe it and you have to be very careful.
In addition, you must check that the web pages do not have very clear spelling mistakes, that the design does not seem fast and shabby, you must review the company name in the Terms and Conditions section or in the Legal Notice to know who is behind it. page and there is an address or a person, the payment methods must also be taken into account and use PayPal whenever possible.
Public Wi-Fi networks are very dangerous, you have to have a lot because there are even some that seem public but are not.
-And once you fall for the scam?
-If you have paid by card, block it, report and claim to our bank. The other option could be phishing, that is, entering passwords or data in some strange place. For that, you have to change them and avoid having the same one in many places and secure the account by changing the email or resetting.
-Which group is most vulnerable to falling for these scams?
-Both the young and the older are very exposed. Older people are more reluctant to enter their data and purchase online, but they generally have less knowledge. For their part, young people spend much more time on the Internet and carry out more operations, but they have more advanced computer knowledge.
-Artificial Intelligence becomes an advantage or a problem to avoid purchasing scams online?
-In the end you have a little of both, although I don’t see, for now, the advantage. I suppose that in the future there will be tools that will tell you, through AI, when it is a scam. What I have seen is the use of famous faces to advertise stores online fraudulent and thus gain credibility and reliability. In the end, there will be positive aspects but the truth is that technology advances faster when it comes to fraud, so, right now, AI is a problem. Of course, there are advances to help the elderly, for example, to use cell phones and so on, but I don’t see that AI has advanced so much to prevent fraud.
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