Those on the lookout for ‘quick bucks’ or online jobs that give a handsome salary, think twice if some ‘good Samaritan’ offers you in your inbox - chances are, it can be a hoax attempting to free you from one’s savings.
Mostly, innocent job-seekers as well as those after easy money fall prey to such offers online. This is because while the first one is frantically seeking a job to support himself/herself and his family, the latter is blindly seeking ways to get rewarded without working for the same.
A typical offer letter online reads thus: “I'm the General Manager of the xxx project. I am currently recruiting a team of part-time workers to work from home.
There are no working hours requirements and wages are settled immediately.
Daily salary: up to RO 150
Newcomers will receive RO 3 immediately
If you are interested in this, please click the button below to add WhatsApp below to add online customer service consultation."
Upon receiving an e-mail like this, chances are high that the above-mentioned two classes of people would respond to it and open the link shared by the owner of the mail following which the unpleasant twist would take place.
The Royal Oman Police (ROP) has urged people not to respond to such e-mails and to safeguard themselves without even opening such e-mails.
“If you receive a spurious mail or a spam message from an unknown person, one should ignore it or report to the cyber department of the ROP and alert others not to fall prey to these kinds of unscrupulous cyber frauds," says a ROP source.
"We never know what modes that the cyber criminals resort to in search of their potential prey and one needs to be careful in the cyber world since one small mistake can mean a lot while taking precautions can protect you from many dangers," says Ahmed al Habsi, an IT expert.
This precaution applies to downloading apps and material from suspect sites, accessing dubious websites, or even opening a link shared by suspicious sources and the like.
He further said that there were attempts of cyber blackmailing using extortion by suspected international online criminals wanting money lest the users would be exposed and the like.
"We are living in a world where cyber crime is quite rampant hence cybersecurity is every individual's responsibility. We should be aware of the various risks involved while living in the social media era as every click forward is an opportunity for cyber fraudsters to dupe someone online," adds Al Habsi.
There were 140 cases of cybercrimes in the country in 2023, compared to 126 in 2022 while cases related to online content increased to 2,686 in 2023 from 2,519 in 2022, according to a study report released by Trend Micro Cyber Security Solutions.
The perpetrators mostly used social engineering methods for obtaining employee data and credentials and more than 75 per cent of targeted cyberattacks started with an e-mail offering a lucrative business or easy money to the receiver.
In terms of cases, phishing was one of the top causes of data breaches, followed by the use of stolen credentials and ransomware, the report said, suggesting precaution as the only way to avoid such online scams.
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