Phishing attacks in Social Media (Main Body)

   The majority of users share a massive number of personal information, thinking that it is reliable and preserves privacy. In fact, it is noticed that a significant spread of violation of privacy and theft of personal data. Additionally, phishing attacks on social media occur to certain individuals than others. Indeed, some factors make you more susceptible to phishing attacks (Parker, J and Flowerday, V,2020). Besides, online habit is considering an essential factor, energetic individuals on social media are more expected to expose to phishing attacks than those who are inactive on social media platforms (Parker, J and Flowerday, V,2020 cited in Vishwanath,2015). Demographic factors such as sexes and age group have also been found as one of affecting phishing susceptibility. Hence, the ages between 18 to 25 are more likely to be attacked (Parker, J and Flowerday, V,2020).

The criminals have several aims to phishing, such as stealing identities and qualifications (Deliri and Albanese, 2015). Furthermore, fraudsters probably concentrate on financial aims. For instance, they might steal the victim's bank details or they could open a bank account in your name if he has sufficient data (Wilson, 2019). Moreover, phishing in social media comes in several ways, such as fake customer service accounts, fake comments on popular posts, fake online discounts and fake trending videos. Therefore, some components could assist you to protect your accounts from any risk of your privacy. First, if you have a follow request from an anonymous, refuse it immediately (Strawbridge,2019). Second, consistently check and change your security settings to confine what individuals can and cannot see on your profile (Strawbridge,2019). Third, do not click on links that demanding your personal data. Fourth, choose a complicated and unique username and password to make it impossible to guess your details. Fifth, use an antivirus to protect your device from malware, numerous great antivirus programs caution you at whatever point you download an obscure connection or attempt to get to a dubious site.(Lockwood,2019).

References:

PARKER, J. and FLOWERDAY, V (2020 Contributing factors to increased susceptibility to social media phishing attacks. South African Journal of Information Management. [Online] 22 (1). Available from: https://search-proquest-com.proxy.library.dmu.ac.uk/docview/2414201019/fulltext/DE3FF98FC4C747A1PQ/1?accountid=10472 [Accessed 30/04/2021].

ALBANESE, M and DELIRI, S. (2015) security and privacy issues in social networks Data Management in Pervasive Systems. Springer Cham, Heidelberg, New York, pp. 195-209.

EDITOR (2016) 5 simple ways you can protect yourself from phishing attacks. [Online] WELIVESECURITY. Available from: 5 simple ways you can protect yourself from phishing attacks | WeLiveSecurity [Accessed 26/04/2021].

VINSONHALER, M(2018) Preventing Social Media Phishing. [Weblog] DLVR.IT. 14th February. Available from: Preventing Social Media Phishing [INFOGRAPHIC] - (dlvrit.com)[Accessed 26/04/2021].

STRAWBRIDGE, G (2019) How To Protect Yourself From Social Media Phishing. [Online] METACOMPLIANCE . Available from: How To Protect Yourself From Social Media Phishing | MetaCompliance [Accessed 26/04/2021].

INSPIERDELEARNING (2017) Social Media Phishing: A Primer. [Weblog] INSPIERDELEARNING. 19th October. Available from: Social Media Phishing: A Primer | Inspired eLearning Blog[Accessed 26/04/2021].

SEYMOUR, J and TULLY, P (2016). Weaponizing data science for social engineering: Automated E2E spear phishing on Twitter. [Online]. Available from: us-16-Seymour-Tully-Weaponizing-Data-Science-For-Social-Engineering-Automated-E2E-Spear-Phishing-On-Twitter-wp.pdf (blackhat.com)

CASTLE, A (2018) Just Keep Swimming: How to Avoid Phishing on Social Media. [Weblog] WEBROOT. 22nd January. Available from: Avoiding Phishing on Social Media | Webroot [Accessed 26/04/2021].