Hurricane Irene Possibly Will Bring Along a Hurricane of Scams

Hurricane Irene has already made her presence felt and left the country with millions of damages, floods and losses – both human lives and properties. Because of this powerful force of nature, this natural disaster has triggered millions and millions of individuals to search the internet and tune in to many channels in the social media. Now, their curiosity and the need to be informed happen to fuel the desire of many opportunists. Opportunities for internet scammers and cybercriminals to fill their pocket with money by using their dirty deeds; in fact, it is intolerable.

We have seen this trend many times already like the disaster that hit Japan before, the earthquake and tsunami which lead to millions worth of damages as well as thousands of lives lost. It is a sad reality that is hard to change where fraud and scam appear the internet after each disaster. Using these events for their advantage, they prey on any unsuspecting person and exploit the tragic incident that happened to innocent victims.

Now everyone will not only take necessary precautions in an event that a disaster will happen but must also keep in mind the frauds and cyber attacks that would compromise the security and information of the individual as well as the necessary things to do to prevent this from happening – like pen test training.

Scams in Social Networking

Events happen all the time across the globe and those who are newsworthy easily spreads like wildfire in the internet via social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Events like for example the death of the Al Qaeda terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden or disasters like hurricane Irene, events like these are often times used by dark hearted individuals to scam social networking users. But how does this happen?

Users are always curios about this news, so scammers use photos, videos, and also other information regarding the results and damages of hurricane Irene. Now users who are tempted to click the link will directly lead to a website that asks users to download a certain file in order to view the photos, videos or information. This downloads sometimes have malware which will be installed to the users computer which is unknown to them. Blindly infected desktops can lead to damage to the software and compromise their private information and secrets.

False Charity

One of the most common frauds in the internet would be false charity. After the hurricane Katrina devastated the U.S. thousands of websites suddenly appeared collecting donations just to help the victims of Katrina, but they were not meant for the victims. Instead they were for the frauds who want to exploit the victims and fill their pockets with money from individuals who believe that their money was going to the victims.

Scams that appeared after hurricane Katrina is most likely to happen again now, after hurricane Irene just ravaged the East of United States. Many websites will appear the internet, complete with pictures and videos of the damages done by Irene and instructions on how to donate the money. They will spam different emails, blog sites and even social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

How to Avoid These?

Many will be inclined in searching the internet for the photos or videos about hurricane Irene; however, threats from cyber attacks and scams are always present. But there are ways to deter these things from happening. Cybercriminals may have already rooted their evil schemes but nothing defeats caution and a keen eye to clearly discern the scam from the real thing.

Virus or malware infection can also be prevented by having an updated antivirus system. This system protects the system and warns the user if the website, link or downloadable is infected, thus protecting the desktop and the users informations. Another thing used to prevent these things from happening is running Pen testing or under going pen testing training.

What is Pen Test Training?

Pen testing is another term for penetration testing which is done on any computer to check if there are weaknesses or possible lapses in the information security. A virus or malware will be introduced into the software and will run through the information system of the computer and will find ways to breach the system. In the event that the virus or malware is successful in penetrating the system during a pen testing training then users will have to upgrade their security system in order to protect their best interests.

Cybercriminals will employ any means necessary to take advantage of this situation. So it is best avoid falling into the traps they have made. By being smart, using the common sense, proper tools and having pen test training will surely protect users from the harm that these cybercriminals will do.

The International Council of E-Commerce Consultants (EC-Council) is a member-based organization that certifies individuals in cybersecurity, e-commerce and pen testing training. It is the owner and developer of 20 security certifications. EC-Council has trained over 90,000 security professionals and certified more than 40,000 members and in pen testing. These certifications are recognized worldwide and have received endorsements from various government agencies. They also offer trainings in penetration testing.

More information about EC-Council is available at www.eccouncil.org.

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