Like every other day… Upon returning from school, Gabriel logs on to
MSN. It’s his favorite social-networking site. To log on he must enter
his password to access his account. He is then prompted to click on a
hyperlink to give his opinion on another person. Soon after, he’s asked
to validate his info by entering his password again. At this precise
moment, and without knowing it, Gabriel was just scammed. The next day
he no longer has access to his MSN and Facebook account!
How it’s done… Scammers create look-alike MSN, Facebook and other
well-known web pages. When they prompt you to give your opinion or to
enter your password, they are actually behind these pages. As soon as
you enter your password for the second time, you enter their virtual
world. Once they get your password, they change it and take over the
control of your account. While you no longer have access to your
account, they shop around for personal information from those people who
normally trust you.
Even adults get scammed… Many people use the same password to access all
their accounts: MSN, Facebook, even their bank account. These people
turn out to be easy preys for the scammers who take over the control of
the victim’s accounts. In some cases, people have been scammed out of
thousands of dollars.
To avoid these traps on your networking sites…
· You must be prompted only once to access your account
· Be suspicious if you are asked to validate other information
· Use different passwords if you surf different Web sites
· Don’t give your password to anyone
· Change your passwords regularly
Sgt. Bruno Beaulieu
Agent en relation avec la communauté
MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges
