How Scam-proof Your Brain

Scams seem these days to get e-mail, direct mail, text messages and all other possible means. Regardless of the media, the aim is the same. Scammers want you into giving personal and financial information trick or trick you in order to utilize them in the ark malware that can take over your computer for their own purposes.

Scammers are not going away. The best thing you can do is to educate yourself on how to recognize the tools and techniques of fraudsters for the next time a fraud, used to meet, recognize the brain that do not end up a victim

Scams come in all shapes and sizes. No way to possibly catalog are all kinds of scams, but there are things they all have in common. If you learn to recognize these common elements, you will be able to pull back the curtain to see how they really are.

Here is a training plan to scam-proof your brain to help you:

An emergency. Recognize that fraudsters take advantage of the fear and a false sense of

Most phishing e-mails state something to the effect that there is a kind of fraudulent activity on your account and they need to "check" for your information "immediately". Many people fall for these scams because they fear the perceived consequences of inaction. The sense of urgency created by scammers want to make sacrifices to act quickly.

Scammers want quick action, because the longer a potential victim must be analyzed, the more likely you will realize that this is a scam the situation.

Even 2 Development of mental skills

In the sixth grade when I (I can not believe I still remember back that far) was our teachers have taught a course on the techniques of propaganda. I know it sounds like propaganda techniques on a very cold war and do not know why., A part of our program to sixth grade Not yet, the issue seems strange, I am glad that this course teaches, because it allows me to critical thinking that I have to know every day when someone is trying to scam me om somehow develop 'influence.

1937 propaganda techniques described by Edward Filene and his colleagues, who helped found the Institute for Propaganda Analysis. His goal was to light that advertisers, politicians and other media used to the propaganda "tricks of the trade" to influence people and convince by their feelings and try to shed to replace the process of rational thinking. Fraudsters also use many of the same techniques.

Study in the previous article mentioned propaganda techniques, then sitting and watching TV for a while. I can almost guarantee that you used to be able to almost any commercial or political advertising that looks and find the art of propaganda. The same goes for phishing attacks, and other disadvantages.

Three. Filter distraction and evil to know what the real motives are con

If a scammer has sent you an e-mail that says: "Please give me your bank details so that you can rob you blind" are triggered obvious bells and whistles and not be consistent.

The scammers are trying to convince you, something without shooting to do any mental alarm. Rogues do it to appear credible. One possibility is the use of facades appear credible as e-mails with bank logos and Professional Edition. Once the credibility, the scammers must be wrong like magicians use to confuse and distract.

While you are on the fear with something that concentrate wrongly associated with your account, you can use the fact that your bank has in the past that never contact you by e-mail forget that. Can also ignore the fact that the basic message in the e-mail is that someone is trying to get into your personal information not otherwise be overlooked.

The key to avoid, is betrayed to filter out distractions and go to basic message. Ignore the logo and the formal implementation of research to ignore everything and go to the part of the e-mail that says that they want you to give them something. Then use your critical thinking skills, things like asking "Why is my need my own account number" or "Why do my password when due by any administrator-rights"

April. Never blindly each message, check Always trust

Before you act on something, always check its validity. If an email says it from your bank, you will receive your most recent statement and call the phone number to see if it really is a problem with your account.

If one of your friends in Facebook, said that they are stuck somewhere and need money to transfer them, you ask a family member if checks to see history.

5 investigation into the threats and the techniques used by cybercriminals.

You would be surprised how well organized cybercriminals be. There is a huge mysterious world of criminals who have formed their own criminal economy to pay other criminals to infect computer malware programs through affiliate marketing. Infected machines to virtual slavery in the context of botnets, which are sold to other criminals, sold to carry out large-scale attacks.

You should educate yourself about these threats by learning the tools and techniques used by the bad guys. Here are a few to get you started:

The dark world of affiliate marketing Malware
To explain botnets
How to avoid clickjacking attacks
If you are afraid of scareware?

Visit to see our section on the fight against cyber crime at the top of this page many other articles on this topic.

The key to the fraud-proofing your brain is to not let your emotions cloud your logical thinking. Avoid crashed on take a decision. Use critical thinking skills and always analyze the message and verify the source before you act.