Blog 9: Cybercrime

Cybercrime is any illegal activity carried out using computers or the Internet. Since 2001, the number of cybercrime victims has increased nearly 1500%. It is a worldwide issue. In my personal experiences, I have experienced phishing, data breaches, and adware. 

Phishing is a type of cyberattack where attackers attempt to trick individuals into revealing sensitive information, like passwords, bank numbers, or personal data. This is done in several different ways like impersonating a trustworthy entity, like a bank or government agency. I have experienced this type of cybercrime several times in different methods like someone pretending that an online order hasn’t gone through and they need to verify my address. I have received emails about renewing my insurance. It is easy for me to understand these messages are fake and spam, however, my mother is not so technologically advanced (to put it nicely). So, she constantly falls for it. 

A data breach is a security incident in which sensitive, confidential, or protected information is accessed without permission, often through hacking. This typically happens when hackers exploit vulnerabilities in a company’s digital systems to access personal information, which is often sold to the highest bidder. I have experienced this a couple of times, but I had to change my passwords. 

Adware is software that automatically displays or downloads advertising material (often unwanted) when a user is online. It has happened to me before when I downloaded something online, it was extremely annoying. It took me forever to get rid of it from my laptop.