Surfing With Sharks
Okay, first a disclaimer. I don’t actually surf, which may come as a surprise to those of you who don’t really know me. Aside from my lack of athleticism, the fact that I live in Ohio and there isn’t any surfing that I know of on Lake Erie keeps me firmly grounded, so to speak. But I do surf the Interwebs. And I keep running into sharks there.
The sharks online don’t chew off body parts. Instead, they’re scammers and spammers. (Do sharks eat spam? Or do they hate it as much as we all hate the electronic kind? There’s no one who likes it (except for the spammers themselves). But I digress.)
Spam isn’t the only hazard to life online. (Yes, I live online. I work online. I read online. I communicate online. The only things I don’t do online are eat and poo. But I digress again.) Some online phenomena I hate, while others just puzzle me, like the memes and pass-alongs that say, “Share if you hate cancer/child abuse/nuclear war.” Who likes them? They’re just trying to boost their “shared” numbers. Similar to this is the passive-aggressive “I bet you won’t share/repost this.” You’re right. I won’t.
Boosting share numbers is a form of like-farming. This bucolic-sounding practice is often engaged in by businesses like radio stations. They post an intriguing question or celebrity photo, then wait for the “likes” and “loves” to roll in. This proves that the business has lots of “reach” or generates “impressions,” which means they can charge more, get more advertisers, or do something else that’s good for the business.
Social media is a hotbed of lies and deceptions, some harmless and some less so. In the “less so” category, there are pass-alongs that rise to the level of urban legends. Facebook is either going to start charging or has access to all your photos for their own nefarious purposes. You can address holiday cards to “Any Soldier” at Walter Reed Hospital. People are using various ruses to lure or incapacitate women for sex trafficking. Apple is practically giving away computers if you post something, forward something, or send $5. Check out such dubious claims on Snopes.com and you’ll find out the truth.
People have learned to be wary of Nigerian princes and many other lures. But online deceptions become dangerous when underhanded users find other ways to capture your personal information. One of the come-ons most often used is seemingly harmless questions that entice users to reveal sensitive information. Less blatant than merely asking for your bank card and PIN number, these questions may ask, “Do you remember your first-grade teacher’s name?” “What kind of car did you drive in high school?” or even “Your stripper name is your first pet’s name and the street you grew up on.” It’s no coincidence that the answers reveal info commonly used for security questions on bank accounts and the like.
Another ploy makes use of the “cute factor” or the “sympathy post.” There will be a post about someone who has eight adorable puppies or kittens and needs to find homes for them. Or one that shows an injured dog that’s been found and needs an owner to claim it. One of the giveaways that this isn’t legit is that the poster is really a business or wants you to respond via DM or “bump this post.” If you do that, you’re leaving yourself open to having your identity stolen, your account spoofed, or being bombarded by ads for the business.
If you want to protect yourself online, you need shark-repellent. The delete, unfriend, and unsubscribe buttons are good weapons. Clicking on the poster to see who’s really behind the message is another. Pay attention to the source. There are publications that are known for their inaccuracy or sensationalization (New York Post and Daily Mail, I’m looking at you). And, as mentioned, Snopes.com is valuable for checking lots of rumors and scare tactics. (I understand that some people feel that Snopes has a political agenda. I doubt it (I think that’s an urban legend), but even if they do, debunking urban legends isn’t what I’d call political. Is this another digression? Yes. Yes, it is.)
I don’t know how to stop the ads that appear anytime you Google something. If you do, please tell me. Google is a shark I haven’t been able to dodge. I’ve been bitten more than once.
