Establishing a relationship through applications or services is apparently just another use that can be given to the Internet, however, it can entail a series of risks if we do not take the appropriate precautions. Below we will briefly describe some of them:
Online harassment
Associated with this process of searching for a partner or the ideal friend, there is a risk that we must guard against: cyberbullying. This is harassment that is carried out by one or more people on another person, using digital media, consciously and repeatedly over time. To avoid it, we must be careful with what we share online, since this information could be used against us. In particular, we should not reveal compromising personal information or confidential information with people we do not know personally or with whom we have just established a relationship through some telematic means (email, chat, forum, social network, app, etc.).
One variant would be sexual harassment. We know that on many germany phone number data occasions real-world criminals use the Internet and social networks to look for victims. Stalkers can impersonate other users by means of photos stolen from other profiles with which they try to gain the victim's trust. The modus operandi of this type of attacker is based on the use of lies and the generation of false expectations or hopes, in order to try to establish a face-to-face meeting with the victim.
Therefore, set your social media accounts and dating apps as restrictive as possible to limit the dissemination of information they may contain. Do not accept friend requests from just anyone and if you decide to meet the other user in person, we recommend that you always go with someone and meet in a public place.
Economic fraud
This is one of the most widespread practices on the Internet, where cybercriminals establish false identities and use social engineering techniques to try to obtain a benefit, usually financial.
In these cases, once the cybercriminal has established a relationship of trust with the victim and the victim has sent him sensitive information, the scammer begins asking for small amounts of money under any pretext, which over time, as the relationship becomes stronger, will be noticeably increased. If you want to know more about this type of fraud, read the true story published on our website in which the protagonist believed she had found love and money through Skype. Everything seemed like a romance novel, until it collided with reality and became a story in which they were not exactly happy.
Therefore, one way to prevent this risk is to not provide personal, confidential or banking information to anyone through any social network or application. We should also not accept invitation messages from strangers on social networks, nor download any kind of content or access links that are not completely trustworthy, since you never know if they have some kind of malware associated with them .
Sextortion
Sexting - sending self-produced photographs or videos with sexual connotations via mobile phone or other device with a camera - can be used against us since, as we have indicated above, there are people with bad intentions who create profiles with false identities who do not hesitate to use this material to extort you, that is, to make financial gain or simply damage your reputation.
The dissemination of erotic content, or asking for financial compensation for not disseminating it, has become a goldmine for criminals who search through dating sites and social networks for victims to “sextort”. As with other risks, they will use false profiles and identities to establish relationships of trust with the victim. Over time, once these are established, they will request the sending of personal material with erotic content so that once in their hands, they can begin to disseminate it to humiliate and discredit the victim in case they do not agree to the blackmail. We remind you that paying does not guarantee that the extortion will end; it will probably continue.
Never send this type of material, because you never know what they can do with it. Once a photo or video leaves your computer and enters the Internet, you lose control over it.
