INVITATION TO CYBERSECURITY 250 of these sites are already morally compromised, and this makes them more vulnerable to being victimized. Cyber criminals use sites like these to entice people to click on links to draw them further into danger and to download files that come laced with viruses and remote access trojans. Users of these sites may later notice unusual behavior on their computers but be reluctant to seek help for fear that their browsing history may be exposed. This reluctance can provide hackers more time to compromise their victims. Users may also enter into relationships with strangers they meet online. Bad actors assume fake identities that they use to cultivate trust relationships with unsuspecting victims. Catphishing is a social engineering attack where a bad actor creates trust through online interactions and then manipulates victims financially, emotionally, or otherwise. Attackers may deceive a person into sharing private information, pictures, or videos and then turn around and use that information to blackmail the person by threatening to share it with their friends, families, or co-workers. This could result in further humiliation and harm at the hands of the attacker. Attackers can be ruthless, threatening physical harm to the victim and their loved ones. Although these threats are empty, they can scare the victim into silence and prolong the abuse. If a person has been victimized in one of these attacks, they must ignore the threats and seek help by telling someone what happened—this is the only path to freedom. Internet dark alleys should be avoided at all costs because they pose real danger. The risk is significant that a user of these sites might inadvertently invite a hacker or cyber criminal right into his computer. They also open users up to associations that could result in being harassed, blackmailed, or even victimized in physical space. 9.2.5.2 Caveat Emptor “If you didn’t buy the product, you are the product.” - Anonymous Internet saying Caveat emptor is a Latin phrase that translates to “let the buyer beware.” It means that a buyer accepts the risk for a purchase. In the Internet age, many online services do not cost anything. However, caveat emptor still applies, because there are hidden costs to using free services. It may be the case that the user’s data is being monetized by the online service by selling it to third parties who may then use it for targeted marketing or other purposes. Most users do not realize that they are providing consent for their data to be used in this way, but it is likely stated in the end-user license agreement (EULA) they clicked “Accept” to when signing up. People rarely read these documents but that does not make them invalid. The social media website Facebook faced public criticism in 2018 when it became known that they were selling their users’ data to third parties. Since people share so much of their lives on Facebook’s website, Facebook has the ability to create detailed dossiers of their users, and this information has substantial value. Users did not realize that the information they shared on Facebook could be used by Facebook and third parties to
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