Recently, there’s been a huge increase in cyber attacks and data leaks. You may be thinking that hackers only target specific people who have “valuable” information and that you’re safe because you’re just an “average person”. That would be nice, but it’s not true.
Hackers can target literally anybody, and if you think your data wouldn’t be of much use, think again. Hackers can use your data in so many different ways, and nobody is ever completely safe. Here’s how hackers steal your personal information and why they do it.
How do hackers steal people’s information?
There are many ways through which hackers can steal your personal information. Here are some of the most common ones:
- Through social engineering. Social engineering is when hackers try to scam people by playing with their emotions and trust. For example, scammers can target people’s sense of fear by calling them and telling them that their information has been stolen and that they need to verify their identity by providing their name and social security number. (Most people know that government agencies never ask people for their social security numbers through a phone call). Sure, this type of scam is pretty obvious, but criminals can be much more subtle and believable than that, so you need to be careful.
- By guessing their passwords. Weak passwords are so widespread that hackers love to test their luck at guessing people’s passwords. Short and easy passwords like…
