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Tips on how to avoid financial scams Norvell and Associates Certified Public Accountants Other Services USA Singapore, Hong Kong, Jakarta. Modern technology seems to be very magical for some. It makes our tasks much easier to accomplish. It helps us to communicate with others, aim for a better living, improve teaching and learning process, and many others.

However, this technology is also the reason why attackers perform a lot of criminal activities online these days where there is a rampant case of security breaches, identity theft and online scams everywhere. It is now easier for criminals to steal and cause harm to innocent individuals.

It is obvious that the number of cybercrime is growing each year and different security firms are making their move to stop the attacks.

Here are some tips by Norvell and Associates Certified Public Accountants to help you avoid some of the most usual financial scams.

Don't send money to a stranger

You've probably receive a suspicious email from a wealthy individual whose member of the family recently died and left him a large fortune. Then this person needs your help transferring millions of dollars from a U.S. account. In return, he will reward you thousands of dollars and all you have to do is send $5,000 to him.

Other example goes like this - your long-lost cousin who claims to be in an emergency situation and needs certain amount of money immediately.

Never fall for this kind of trick especially if it comes from a suspicious sender. If you are worried about your cousin or other family members, make a direct call, or check their situation to your other relatives.

This is probably one of the oldest scams in the internet, but there are still people who fall for this.

Be careful of phishing attacks

Attackers will sometimes email you claiming to be a representative from a reliable institution or government agency and requesting for your personal and financial information such Social Security number or credit card number. This common scam is called phishing.

Remember that bank/credit card companies, and government agencies will never email you and ask for your financial information.

Don't click on links in emails

If you receive an email asking you to click on a hyperlink or open an attachment and then enter your financial information, delete the email immediately. If the email seems to be from your bank or credit card company, it's more likely a scam called pharming.

Install antivirus and spyware protection

After you install an antivirus, firewall and spyware protection on your computer, turn-on the auto-updating feature to make sure the software is always updated.

Use strong passwords

These days, hackers can easily crack passwords that have a common name or simple number combinations. Create a password has at least eight characters with lower and upper case letters, numbers and special characters.

Also use a different password for every website. But you are not expected to remember all of your passwords, so Norvell Associates suggests that you use an effective password manager.

Don't shop with peculiar online stores

If you are interested in buying a product from an unfamiliar shop, make sure that the business is legitimate and trustworthy by doing some research. But it is advisable to shop online with familiar companies.

Check the websites if they are safe

Make sure that a website uses encryption, which is symbolized by a lock to the left of the web address. This means that the information you're entering is safety encrypted and protected against hackers.