CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - According to a recent survey, 1 out of 2 Americans have their smart phone with them at all times. We are connected to the internet all the time via these handy devices.
So, how hard is it for someone to get to your life on the internet via your phone?
For years the focus for criminals has been to hack into your computer but now, your smartphone could be the key criminals need to open the door to your personal life, bank account and more.
WBTV's Cyber Expert, Theresa Payton, has advice on stopping the hackers from getting in.
Sample of Smart Phone Crimes:
- Physical phone: Stealing your phone and trying to get into apps on the phone that are not password protected
- Bad apps: Rogue apps from the app stores can snoop on your text messages, emails, and even look for your online banking password
- Spoofing Tricks: Spoofing your phone number to trick your vmail account into letting the bad guy in
- Poisoned Email or Browser Links: Clicking on links while surfing the net or reading emails that could have mobile malware on them
- Social Engineering: Using information you post about yourself on social networks to guess your pin code
5 Quick Tips - How to stop them in time:
- Lock your phone - Password protect your phone so if you lose it, you can help prevent physical access
- Practice safe surfing – be very selective about the links you click on
- Voice mail passwords - If you still use the cell phone default password that the vendor provided, change it right away
- Automatic voice mail access - Don't allow automatic access from your cell phone number to your voice mail, always require a pin even from your own phone
- Pin codes: Use a number that you can remember that is not public information – stay away from your birthday, graduation year, and information that might be on social networks
If you are not sure if your phone uses an automatic code or dial in, try calling your phone and hitting the # or * key to see what happens. Call your smart phone services provider and ask them for instructions on how to lock your smart phone and set up pins.
WORD FOR THE WEEK:
Bieber Baiting
One of the top internet search terms is Justin Bieber. Bieber Baiting is when a web page uses a random reference to Justin Bieber just to make sure their web page gets picked up by search engines to draw traffic to their website. That should be considered a no no and is called Bieber Baiting.
If you would like to see the current trend for how often Justin Bieber is searched, go to the Google Trends for "Bieber" at:
http://www.google.com/trends?q=bieber&ctab=0 and your can find statistics for searches with "Justin Bieber" at:
http://www.google.com/trends?q=justin+bieber&ctab=0&geo=all&date=all&sort=0
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