It’s another friendly reminder from your friends at FBI cybersecurity ? when in doubt don’t click. With the news of Usama bin Laden’s death spiraling across the Internet cyber sleuths are taking advantage of the frenzy with a wave of malware and malicious code tied to photos or video. With individuals eager to see all the news some are taking their Internet security for granted. Hackers are quick to take advantage with malware that digs into a user’s contact lists, infecting friends and associates.
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center offered these tips/reminders:
- Adjust the privacy settings on social networking sites you frequent to make it more difficult for people you know and do not know to post content to your page. Even a “friend” can unknowingly pass on multimedia that’s actually malicious software.
- Do not agree to download software to view videos. These applications can infect your computer.
- Read e-mails you receive carefully. Fraudulent messages often feature misspellings, poor grammar, and nonstandard English.
- Report e-mails you receive that purport to be from the FBI. Criminals often use the FBI’s name and seal to add legitimacy to their fraudulent schemes. In fact, the FBI does not send unsolicited e-mails to the public. Should you receive unsolicited messages that feature the FBI’s name, seal, or that reference a division or unit within the FBI or an individual employee, report it to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.
