Getting scammed or defrauded could be one of the worst things to happen to anyone. The experience usually leaves the victim feeling really sad.
There are a number of ways people react to this type of occurrence. First there’s the blame cycle, starting with victims blaming themselves for being gullible, onlookers blaming the government for unemployment and others acknowledging the cybercriminals for their high intellect.
But like the saying goes; there is no need crying over spilt milk, meaning something wey don spoil don spoil. Lol
There is no point hosting a blame or pity party, what you should do if you’ve been a victim of cybercrime, is follow these steps to prevent another occurrence to you, or people in your sphere of influence.
1. Find Out What Went Wrong
This should probably be the first thing to do as you need to know what went wrong, establish theories of how and what made the scam possible.
Were you social engineered (tricked or manipulated to divulge confidential information), via vishing (Scammed via Telephone Call), Smishing (Scammed via SMS) or Phishing (Scammed via Social media or Email). Was your account hacked and then your card details stolen? Was your password guessed or leaked in a data breach? Was your phone hacked or monitored?
You need to know what went wrong so that you know how to prevent future re-occurrence.
After identifying this, maybe with the help of a professional, you should also promptly report the incidence to the appropriate authorities.
2. Inform the General Public (Creating Awareness)
This is a key step to take. It is very important that you let everyone in your physical and online circle know about the unfortunate incidence and make sure to narrate exactly how it happened. You can leverage your social media pages to share your story as a forewarn to other people. You will be thwarting the efforts of these fraudsters by doing this, because the people you’ve shared your experience with, become less likely to fall for similar tactics or become secondary victims.
To amplify your audience, you also have the option of sharing your story anonymously with NoGoFallMaga
3. Recovering what you lost
Errrrhh! This might be what you wanted to hear, or should I say see, I know right lol. Sometimes you can’t recover the money lost, integrity thrashed or customers lost as a result of this ugly incidence. Make sure to check with your bank to see how they can help you recover stolen money. For example, in a scenario where a fraudster steals by making transfers out of your account, you can obtain a court order to request a reversal of the stolen funds or place transaction limitations on the suspected beneficiary’s accounts until such a time when you can recover what was stolen from you.
If after reporting to the appropriate authorities, you receive no hope for redress, don’t dwell on it, move on. I know you’re probably saying, “easier said than done”, but really, embracing sanity and caring about your mental health, necessitates that you let go and move on as fast as possible.
4. Stay Aware and Alert (Avoiding Scams in Future)
The mind of an Ignorant person is generally a fertilized soil for fraudsters to plant seeds. Hence, it is important that you keep yourself protected by continuously learning about cyber safety. One of the coolest places for this is Youtube, subscribe to channels that teach about online safety, Cyber security awareness etc. Other social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc are also great channels for keeping abreast on cyber security issues and prevention tips, especially if you’re following @nogofallmaga.
Strive to always be in the know. Don’t think, because you were hit once, that you can’t be hit again. Breaking news, you can.
Scammers, fraudsters and malicious hackers find new and potent ways daily, of perpetrating these acts.
You may be surprised that some people still fall for certain scams and tricks that has existed for over a year or even a decade. You might see the scam and say to yourself, “Ha! Nobody fit fall for this scam joor!” But yet many people still fall for them, because of ignorance or lack of awareness.
Don’t be caught sleeping on a moving bicycle.