International Safe Internet Day: learn how to keep your data protected and avoid falling into internet scams

On this International Safer Internet Day , we remind you of the importance that this tool has in our daily lives. Increasingly, we depend on the internet even for basic procedures , such as registering for federal programs, and we are more connected, mainly through the use of social networks – intensified during the isolation period of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In Brazil, according to data from the federal government, 155.7 million internet users were registered in 2021 (among people over 10 years old), 11.8 million more than in 2019. The Research National by Household Sample (Pnad) also pointed out that 90% of Brazilian homes already have access to the internet .

However, more intensive use has not yet guaranteed a safe internet for everyone. A survey recently carried out by a global company specializing in online security pointed out that scam attempts by digital means , such as computers, tablets and cell phones, grew by 20% in the second quarter of 2022 in Brazil , compared to the same period of 2021 .

Through tools such as SIS Pesquisa , among others, Synergia works daily with data from thousands of people. For this reason, it continuously invests in processes that guarantee the secrecy and security of both this information and the internal data with which the company works.

We have previously published a complete interview on how to ensure a safer internet and circumvent some of the main digital threats that put data and information at risk. Today, we highlight some of the scams that have been the most recurrent nowadays and can affect the lives of almost all of us, who spend a good part of our days online , using the internet to access digital services, work, study and, of course , for leisure.

Check out the main threats against a secure internet

For Ellen Martins Lopes da Silva , Data Protection Officer (DPO), in charge of data protection and compliance with legislation related to the control of digital information at Synergia, the number of scams via the internet has increased considerably every day . For her, the best “weapon” against these scams is knowing some of the main types of risks we are exposed to and knowing how to prevent them : “The most important thing is to stay informed, be wary of messages that you don’t know the origin of, not sharing fake news, taking care of your passwords (which must be strong passwords with letters, numbers and special characters).

With Ellen’s collaboration, we have listed some of the threats that exist in the virtual world and that can put your safety at risk while browsing or using online resources. Check out!

phishing

This term, which translated literally means “fishing”, alludes to throwing a bait and seeing if the user falls for the scam. There are several forms of phishing, but a very common technique is when the attacker sends an email pretending to be a well-known institution , such as banks and the Detran, and informs that the person needs to update their registration data – or even about a pending issue. finance, which to regularize it is necessary to click on the link sent. However, this link may lead the person to a fake page or install malicious code on their device.

Trojan Horse

It is a malicious code that usually comes inside a program downloaded from the internet . You have to be careful with Torrent sites or utility programs , as they can contain this type of malicious code, which will try to gain access to your passwords, and may install viruses and other types of code.

spyware

It is a type of malicious code that is “hidden” installed on the device and can “observe” everything that the person types or does on the device’s screen, in addition to sending this information to the attacker.

Social engineering

It is one of the most used attacks and can be part of the previous items. The attacker uses his power of persuasion, convincing, communication skills to extract information , make the person click on dangerous links , download an apparently legitimate file. Another way for the coup to be applied is when the attacker makes a call impersonating a company and, in the middle of the conversation, asks the person to pass the code sent to his cell phone – this code may simply be the code that the attacker needed to clone WhatsApp or some other application.