Avoid Falling Prey to Online Scams

How to Avoid Falling Prey to Online Scams


Most internet frauds result from poor customer awareness. Here's how you can guard against them


The biggest concern for online customers is the possible theft of their online credentials, especially those relating to net banking. This often happens without the customers' knowledge, enabling fraudsters to steal money from their accounts in a recurring manner.


IDENTITY THEFT

The basic security threat a net banking customer is exposed to while transacting online is the compromise of his/her login credentials and other confidential and personal information, says Shalini Mehta, executive vicepresident, Kotak Mahindra Bank. One of the most common threats that customers face online is 'phishing'. Phishing scammers send fraudulent email disguised as an official request from a bank for account information. Recipients of the scam mail are lured to believe that the email is from the bank and are prompted to click on a particular link. The click causes the fake website to open in a browser and the recipient is usually asked to input the user ID and password of his/her net banking profile. The fraudsters capture these details and use them to their advantage.

Customers get deceived and part with confidential information like an IPIN or net banking password, making it easy for the scamsters to commit a fraud.
'Vishing' and 'identity theft' are some other ways through which customers are tricked to reveal their confidential information online. While 'phishing' is carried out via fraudulent emails, 'vishing' is orchestrated via bogus voice messages and phone calls. In 'identity theft' fraudsters try to obtain the key pieces of personal information such as date of birth, mother's maiden name, passport number, etc, to gain access to the customer's accounts, says Mehta.
In view of the increasing cases of online banking frauds, most banks have implemented 256-bit secure socket layer (SSL) encryption. It is recognised as the best industry standard for encryption of information transmission for net banking sessions.
SHUN PIRATED SOFTWARE

Pirated softwares on an end-user's desktop should not pose any harm to safety features of online banking unless they are injected with malicious codes (malwares) or viruses specifically meant to dynamically alter contents of the visited pages or user input fields, a net banking page, for example, asking additional information such as credit/debit card numbers, ATM PIN, CVV details on a login page, which is never asked by any bank. Pirated softwares sometimes contain malwares or some sort of an automated virus initiated at the time of optical copying.

The biggest risk in using pirated software is that there is no security upgrades available for them. This leads to the software being vulnerable, which can be exploited by the latest trojans. These trojans can then steal customer information from the PC and transmit it to a fraudster, says Vishal Salvi, chief information security officer, HDFC Bank. The solution to these concerns lies both with banks and customers. Bankers as well as IT experts believe it is not the security systems, but poor customer awareness that leads to most internet banking frauds.

Cyber cafes should be strictly avoided for online transactions. There are higher chances of viruses capturing your data from terminals in internet cafes, thereby increasing the scope of misuse. The line and systems of an internet cafe are usually not secure. There is no guarantee about the authenticity of the software on the cafe's system. Further, smart hackers will use desktop cookies saved in the system to access your bank account details. Some counterfeit software might inject key loggers, bots, spywares, which collect all the login credentials with keystroke entries or search locally for any password related files and send them to the fraudsters.

Computers with pirated software can sometimes behave erratically. The worst scenario is when you have downloaded a counterfeit software that may be infected with viruses that will damage your hard drive or cripple your network. Also copying or using pirated/counterfeit copies of software at work or at home puts the entire company or individual at risk of copyright infringement, which may lead to civil penalties and criminal prosecution, Mehta of Kotak Mahindra Bank says.

In view of this, banking sites are regularly scanned for any such injection of malwares or bots by pirated softwares to prevent malware from being downloaded from the banking site itself.
VIRAL ATTACK

The most common trojan impacting bank customers in India in Zeus. This trojan gets downloaded on a user PC when the user clicks on a link, opens an attachment from an unknown user or accesses a website which has the trojan. Once installed in the user's PC, the trojan waits for the user to open the bank's net banking site. As soon as the user opens the site, the trojan starts collecting all the user information, including the user ID, password, account details, etc, and transmits it to a drop site manned by the fraudster. The fraudster is then able to use the compromised credentials to carry out fraud on the customer's account,� says Salvi of HDFC Bank.
USE VIRTUAL KEYPAD

While accessing net banking from public computers or internet cafes there is the risk of the customer's password being captured by malicious 'spyware' and 'trojan programmes' designed to capture keystrokes.

To mitigate such risks, banks have implemented the dynamic 'virtual key pad'. Virtual keypad is an online application, which substitutes the physical keyboard with a mouse. When you click on the virtual keyboard option at the time of net banking, the monitor flashes a keyboard on your screen. You have to use the mouse to click on the relevant keys to sign into your net banking ID.

Changing passwords often helps in protecting your account, especially after you may have inadvertently disclosed it to someone. Moreover, avoid passwords that could be obvious, like your spouse's or your pet's names. Alpha-numeric passwords, along with some special character like * or #, are the safest bet.
Lastly, whenever you have to submit sensitive information online you have to check if the site uses encryption to protect your personal data. The URL in the address bar should start with 'https://' and not just 'http://'. So the next time, do not get wary of online transactions. Just follow these security measures for a safe online banking experience.
Safe Way to Internet Transaction

Win32/Bancos and Zeus are among the most common banking malwares, known as trojans, used to steal bank details to perpetrate fraud. Here is how you can prevent any damage




WHAT TO DO

* Make net banking passwords difficult to guess, change them regularly

* Before keying in sensitive information, ensure the site is running in a secure mode by looking for the padlock symbol at the bottom of the browser

* Scan email attachments for viruses before opening them. When unsure about the source of an attachment, delete it

* Tear or shred any old cheques or account statements before discarding them

* Don't share your password or CVV details orally with banks. Bank never asks for confidential information like user ID, password, credit card number, CVV, etc, via mail, SMS or bank initiated phone calls.

* Customers should install a good anti-virus system on their PCs and ensure that it is updated regularly.


WHAT NOT TO DO

* Do not share passwords with anybody, including family members, friends or bank employees

* Don't access bank website from a link provided in an email from any source. Instead, type the address of the bank website in the address bar of browser to access the bank account

* Don't click on any link provided in emails, they may redirect users to a fake/phishing site.

* Never note down user ID, password on piece of paper, documents or phones for easy retrieval.

* Customers should also never use the 'remember password' feature provided by browsers to save their net banking passwords.

* Don't access net banking from cyber cafes. If you have to, use the virtual key board to key in details and ensure you log out of the system once you are done.

The 20 most expensive keywords categories with the highest search volume and highest costs per click, thereby netting Google the most money

The 20 most expensive keywords categories with the highest search volume and highest costs per click, thereby netting Google the most money, are:

Insurance (example keywords in this category include "buy car insurance online" and "auto insurance price quotes")

Loans (example keywords include "consolidate graduate student loans" and "cheapest homeowner loans")

Mortgage (example keywords include “refinanced second mortgages” and “remortgage with bad credit”)

Attorney (example keywords include “personal injury attorney” and “dui defense attorney”)

Credit (example keywords include “home equity line of credit” and “bad credit home buyer”)

Lawyer ("personal injury lawyer," "criminal defense lawyer)

Donate ("car donation centers," "donating a used car")

Degree ("criminal justice degrees online," "psychology bachelors degree online")

Hosting ("hosting ms exchange," "managed web hosting solution")

Claim ("personal injury claim," "accident claims no win no fee")

Conference Call ("best conference call service," "conference calls toll free")

Trading ("cheap online trading," "stock trades online")

Software ("crm software programs," "help desk software cheap")

Recovery ("raid server data recovery," "hard drive recovery laptop")

Transfer ("zero apr balance transfer," "credit card balance transfer zero interest")

Gas/Electricity ("business electricity price comparison," "switch gas and electricity suppliers")

Classes ("criminal justice online classes," "online classes business administration")

Rehab ("alcohol rehab centers," "crack rehab centers")

Treatment ("mesothelioma treatment options," "drug treatment centers")

Cord Blood ("cordblood bank," "store umbilical cord blood")

How Blind People Can Use Echolocation To See Like Bats

Echolocation is the ability to 'see' with sound using sound to sense the surrounding area and detect obstacles. Usually bats and a few marine mammals exhibit echolocation. But, in recent research it was determined that, like these animals, blind people could also see with their 'natural' echolocation ability.
According to an article published in the May 25, 2011 issue of the scientific journal PLos ONE, researchers at The University of Western Ontario’s Centre for Brain and Mind have discovered that blind people can use echolocation to determine important information about surrounding objects – their size, shape and movement – with great accuracy. The question is: how do they use their ears to 'see' and navigate their environment. To better understand human echolocation, let us first understand echolocation in animals. The best example of echolocation is found in bats.

A depiction of the ultrasound signals emitted by a bat, and the echo from a nearby object
Bats are very good at echolocation. They have an amazing ability to hear – and 'see' – through the use of sonar. While navigating in the dark or hunting prey, a bat emits a series of short, high-pitched sound waves from its mouth or nose. These sound waves bounce off any object they come across, producing an echo. This process helps the bat recognize features in the environment – not to mention prey.
The Echolocation Experiment 
A figure showing the activation to echoes in the brain of the echolocation expert and the absence of activation in the brain of a control (sighted) person.
'Flash sonar' is a synonym for the word ‘echolocation’ in the human world. Visually impaired persons have been found to be able to sense silent objects in the environment by processing sound in the visual centers of their brains. 
In the experiment mentioned above, the Canadian researchers placed tiny microphones in the ears of blind individuals and recorded the clicks of their tongues and the returning echoes. Those recorded echoes were played back and the individuals' brain activity during that period was studied with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). fMRI is a specialized MRI scan used to measure the change in blood flow in the brain or spinal cord of humans (and animals) related to neural activity.
The fMRI scanning results were very surprising. Interestingly, the scanner showed activity in that particular part of the brain which is associated with ‘visual information processing’, instead of the part where auditory information is processed. "This suggests that visual brain areas play an important role for echolocation in blind people," says lead author Lore Thaler, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Western Ontario, Canada.
How Echolocation works in blind people? 
Left panel: Bold activity while participant listened to the recordings and judged the location, Right Panel: Contrast between BOLD activations for recordings containing echoes from objects and recordings that did not contains the echoes 
The researchers found that the blind echo locators could sense "the shape, motion and location of the objects based on the recorded echoes." The click gives information about the density of an object, where it is located, and its dimension.
On the other hand, sighted control subjects who do not echolocate could not detect objects based on the echo recordings. Also, their brain scans did not show activity related to the echoes.
There is much more to investigate in this first-of-its-kind study, and the research is still ongoing. “Even at this point, it is clear that echolocation enables blind people to do things that are otherwise thought to be impossible without vision and in this way it can provide blind and vision-impaired people with a high degree of independence in their daily lives,” said senior author Mel Goodale, Canada Research Chair in Visual Neuroscience.

How to Detect Hidden Camera in Trial Room?

How to Detect Hidden Camera in Trial Room?

In front of the trial room take your mobile and make sure that mobile can make calls........
Then enter into the trail room, take your mobile and make a call.....
If u can't make a call......!!!!
There is a hidden camera......
This is due to the interference of fiber optic cable during the signal transfer......

Please forward this to your friends to educate this issue to the
public......To prevent our innocent ladies from HIDDEN CAMERA...........

Pinhole Cameras in Changing Rooms of Big Bazaar, Shoppers Stop?

A few days ago, I received this text message:
Please don't use Trial room of BIG BAZAAR there are pinhole cameras to make MMS of young girls.
So, please forward to all girls. Also forward to all boys who have sisters and girlfriends.

Don't be shy in forwarding this message. Because its about protecting the integrity of all girls & ladies.

HOW TO DETECT A 2-WAY MIRROR?

When we visit toilets, bathrooms, hotel rooms, changing rooms, etc., How many of you know for sure that the seemingly ordinary mirror hanging on the wall is a real mirror, or actually a 2-way mirror I.e., they can see you, but you can't see them. There have been many cases of people installing 2-way mirrors in female changing rooms or bathroom or bedrooms.

It is very difficult to positively identify the surface by just looking at it. So, how do we determine with any amount of certainty what type of Mirror we are looking at?

CONDUCT THIS SIMPLE TEST:

Place the tip of your fingernail against the reflective surface and if there is a GAP between your fingernail and the image of the nail, then it is a GENUINE mirror.

However, if your fingernail DIRECTLY TOUCHES the image of your nail, then BEWARE, IT IS A 2-WAY MIRROR! (There may be someone seeing you from the other side). So remember, every time you see a mirror, do the "fingernail test." It doesn't cost you anything. It is simple to do.

This is a really good thing to do. The reason there is a gap on a real mirror, is because the silver is on the back of the mirror UNDER the glass.

Whereas with a two-way mirror, the silver is on the surface. Keep it in mind! Make sure and check every time you enter in hotel rooms.

Share this with your sisters, wife, daughters, friends, colleagues, etc.

Pass this message to all Ur friends in the Contacts.

Tips for phone interviews

The phone interview is a process which helps a company to find a person who handles their customer in a better way. While attending a phone interview you can make it successful by using the following tips.

Always start with a greeting or with a wish. Hold your resume in a clear view so that you won’t get struck while something questioned about your skills. Always hold a pen and a note pad to make a note of some important details like contacts, telephone number etc,. As soon as you get the call occupy a room, where you can stay away from kids and pets.

Shut down the stereo systems and television as soon as your conversation begins.  Always try to respond when the interviewer is briefing something.  Try to stay cool and be fluent. Smiling is something what we can see and feel, so try to smile even though the interviewer can’t see you.

Tips for saving money

Congratulations! You are here this shows that you are interested in saving money. For this only interest leads you to a great success. But some of the intelligent ideas and tips will make you successful. First make a note of each and every penny you spend in a small note pad, follow this for a week. After a week take the note pad and keenly make a study of your each spending. Then split the spending into necessary and unnecessary spending.

Slowly try to reduce each thing that you consider as unnecessary. Save that money in some pig bank. Try to avoid carrying debts to by the sophisticated items.  While considering the groceries, purchase them at a provisional store where you can obtain quality and at the same time some discounts. Purchasing groceries in a bulk amount for a week or a month will definitely help you to save some penny.

Tips for selling your home

Everyone who are planning to sell their house want to make the process to get over as soon as possible and while considering the cost they want to make some profit higher than the market rate. First make your home somehow neat and shinny just by washing the doors and windows, cleaning the dusts and making the ceiling free from dust.

Making a direct conversation with the buyer will help you to finish the process of selling easy and smooth. Declare a cost that is quite high than the average cost that you had planned to sell. Definitely the buyer will bargain, and the will get a satisfaction that you had reduced the amount fairly. Prepare yourself mentally before planning to sell your home. Making some repairs over cracked tile or floor will make the buyer happy. Changing of curtains and hanging new towels will bring up some good look.

Tips for breastfeeding

New born baby mothers or mothers to be you do not know how to feed your new born baby or still having doubts on how you’re going to breastfeed your child well do not worry here are some useful tips on how to breast feed your child. The first main thing is that you should begin breastfeeding one hour after to your delivery. The first milk is yellowish milk called colostrums the first three days it’s a must that child drinks the milk because it’s very healthy for the child. The baby doesn’t require anything but breast milk for the first four to six days.

Make sure your baby suckles your breast more because that means it would increase the production of breast milk more. It’s also important that the baby doesn’t get only foremilk but also hind milk because it’s very nutritious for the baby. Make sure you do not try bottle feeding because it could lead to serious illness. The baby must be positioned properly so that both the mother and the baby is comfortable. Then make sure the baby has the entire nipple in her mouth.You must feed her as long as the baby likes till she gets full and has a feeling of security.

Breast feeding is very important for a baby because the baby strength depends entirely on the mother’s milk. It’s always best to avoid feeding bottles because the nipple of the bottle could confuse the baby with your nipple resulting in the failure of breast feeding .

Tips for babysitting

Love children and want a job that can help you get money at the same time well here is the best job babysitting it helps you spend time with the kids and also gets the cash flowing. Here are some few important tips that can help you baby sit a child and a few important facts.

The first thing is that the parent should call a reputed baby sitter from a well known agency and should check if it’s safe , the baby sitter should know at least basic first aid and CPR so that by chance in case if the child gets hurt the baby sitter can save the child or treat the child with medication. Make sure the baby sitter has a mobile phone so that could be really useful and also make sure that she has told either her parents or friends or relation where she is going to babysitting so that even if it becomes late she can inform them that she is o.k. make sure also you can handle the kids carfully, do not try and impress others by taking care of many kids because looking after kids is a hard job and is not easy.
Be certain to get all the necessary contact numbers and details just in case. Also get the parents mobile number, get the full address of the sitting location in hand so that you can call the emergency services If needed, also ask the parents a second number of a person nearby incase if you would be unable to contact them especially if the parents are going out of town. Ask the parents if there any special rules that concerns the child. And thus  these are a few facts to remember , enjoy babysitting.

Tips for better sleep

Want to have a better sleep and be fresh. Are you suffering from insomnia and you are unable to sleep well. Well no fear here are a few tips to follow so that you can have a sound sleep. The first thing is use your bed only for sleeping and having sex. Do not use the bed for reading books , watching TV, or having snacks or making phone call. When you lie on the bed and your unable to sleep try an old technique like counting backwards from 100 or the other one is counting sheep and when going to bed do not think about anything otherwise there is a possibility that you could have a disturbed sleep.

Try to read some boring books so your eyes can start to droop. Before going to bed try to avoid tobacco and certain caffeine products especially coffee. Also avoid alcohol though it would help your mind get fuzzy and put you to sleep there is a high possibility that you might get addicted to this procedure and it could cause harmful effects to the body. Get up every day at the same time instead of sleeping in on the weekends. Exercise everyday but not before bedtime because the adrenaline rush keeps on going. Buy a proper and comfortable mattress and keep your bedroom well ventilated and cooled so you can sleep at ease. Before going to bed try these stuff have a warm bath, have a nice glass of warm milk, a light bed time snack, massage or listen to quite music.

You can also use earplugs if you don’t want any kind of disturbance at all. If you have any sort of body pain take a pain pill but be sure it doesn’t have caffeine.

Tips for falling asleep

Unable to sleep due to a lot of tension and stress and because of this you sleep late and you are unable to get up early and you end going late to work, well here are few things that you can keep in my mind that can help you get a better sleep. Before going to bed make sure you haven’t continuously done any work for the past three hours, be sure to relax your mind and body for an hour by calming yourself and also don’t take a heavy meal before going to bed. Avoid complaining or talking about the things that just when going to bed because this could disturb your sleep mentally and can affect the dreams that you’re having. It could also affect your spouse just when they are tired from work and want to have a good sleep, We know it’s hard to keep the mouth shut but it’s worth a try.
Try reading something boring rather than something interesting which would later make you say oh gosh its two already. Have a nice warm bath because this tends to relax the muscles and keeps the body calm and drops the body temperature making you feel nice and lazy. The bed room is only for sleeping and sex do not under any circumstances read books or talk on the phone or do  any other work on the bed  this could change the aroma of the room. Make sure that your bedroom is silent and dark when you switch of the light , buy a good mattress and make your bed quite comfortable so that you can have a  good night sleep..

Tips for building muscle

Want to impress girls by showing of your muscles and abs so that they can freak out on you but you just don’t know the proper diet plan and technique to do so. Throw away your worries because here are some fabulous ideas and tips on how to maintain your body and get the perfect muscles. Here is a few starters it’s always best to lift heavy weights because this helps to increase the muscle mass.

Lifting heavy weights and working out is pointless unless you do it out the right technique, it could also lead to serious injuries so make sure your following the right technique. Take time while doing exercise so that you don’t sprain yourself or have a muscle pull in the end takes your time leisurely and do the exercise. When working on body building session do not cut the repetitions off short because you can damage your body building in the process. You can increase the reps if you have the capacity to do so. It’s always best to keep the cardio session as minimum as possible do not over strain the pumping of the heart because you will need a lot of calories to do so. Water is a very important and essential component of our body and its always best to keep you body hydrated so that it increases the blood circulation of the body and also flushes out toxins from our body. Another important part is your diet you should monitor what food you’re eating and what kind of food and juices you’re having. It’s always best to have a balanced diet. And last of all you must give your body sufficient rest and you must have enough amount of sleep.

Tips for driving in the rain

All of us know that it’s very dangerous to drive a car in the rain or snow, and the car could at times skid and cause the car to topple over.  Well here are certain safety tips and measures to take while driving a car in rain. The first few hours of rain are very dangerous indeed and driving to them is very difficult as the roads become covered with water causing the roads to be very slippery and the car at times would skid.

 A person always wants to be on top of his car maintenance so that he can avoid break downs during his journey through the rain. One of the leading causes of skids and hydroplaning is due to low tire pressure. You must always check your tire pressure so that you could avoid hydroplaning. When it begins to rain it’s a must to turn on the head lights so that you will be able to see where you’re driving. The main rule is that you must keep a very big distance between you and the cars in front of you always, stay in the middle lane so that you can stop your car from hydroplaning. Its advised not to use cruise control while driving incase if one uses cruise control it tends to keep the feet of the person who is driving away from the gas and brake pedal. Incase if the rain increases it always best to pull up at a nearby rest stop or gas station or park any where safely till the rain subsides.

Tips for buying a house

Want to have a few ideas on what kind of house to buy and how, where and when you can buy the house of your dreams? Here are a few tips that can help you decide the way to get your dream house. The first and foremost thing is what kind of life style you and your family would prefer , sometimes you would want to live in the heart of the city or you would just want to live in a quite suburb make sure the place that you choose is perfect for your needs and desire. Second is the loan that you can take from the bank or elsewhere. Then decide with which dealer and with which consultant you’re deciding to buy.

The location is more important because you need to go to work,then your kids need to go to school, shopping, hospital and all the necessary places should be near the home or within a travelable distance. Then you must study the layout of the apartment or home that you have bought so that you have sufficient space for you and your family. Then be wise and choose the interior decorations  well  don’t put to bright to dull colors and make sure that your house is burglar proof due to the increase in burglary today , so make sure your house is very safe. Then decide what to furnish your dream home or apartment with all the appropriate furniture. Then check with your neighbors about the society of that place and the construction and the working of electricity and water facilities of that place. Make sure to go to right sources be sure not to get fooled , then if your satisfied completely then go through the paper work with your contractor and buy your dream house.