We regularly provide contact information to strangers by entering a phone number into the form when ordering pizza or issuing a discount card in the store. But few people think about what troubles this threatens: knowing the number, you can easily calculate other personal data. We will tell you how attackers work and how to protect yourself from them. Let's say a scammer has learned your phone number and wants more information. To begin with, he will add you to his contact list and start a conversation in one of the messengers. Many users indicate their real first and last name, and also attach their profile photo. With this information, the attacker either goes straight to social networks, or resorts to the help of search engines by uploading your photo to them and receiving a link to the page. How to protect yourself.Firstly, do not indicate your last name in messengers. Second, use a photo that hasn't been posted anywhere else. Thirdly, dig into the settings and restrict access to the profile photo to people who are not in your contacts. < p>There are special sites that give access to Avito ads by phone number. The scammer enters the number of a potential victim and sees several ads. Based on them, you can get an idea of a person’s income (for example, if he sold an expensive car), as well as his place of residence (city area, metro station, etc.). How to protect yourself. Try to provide contact information only upon personal request. The fraudster knows the name and phone number, it's time to return to the search engines. With their help, you can find any ads in which a person left his number. How to protect yourself.The best solution is not to shine your phone on the Internet. If this cannot be avoided, replace the numbers: for example, put “o” instead of “0”. < h2>Working with social networks
If the profile is open, then for the scammer it is just a gold mine. Having studied your publications on VKontakte, Facebook and Instagram (the latter are recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation), we can draw reasonable conclusions about the schedule of a potential victim (approximate time of publication of posts), financial situation (hello, selfies at home), accommodation and places habitat (geolocation will tell), social circle. If you indulge in “stories” from walks and gatherings in a cafe or in the country, it’s just perfect: this way you can find out when you are definitely not at home. Even if the profile is closed, it doesn't matter: the date of birth, place of study and (or) work are still available. It is unlikely that a person closes all social networks, therefore, having obtained new information, the scammer will continue to search on other sites. In addition, a closed profile does not guarantee confidentiality: if a person’s relatives, friends and neighbors regularly share photos, he is also under attack. How to protect yourself. Close pages on all social networks. Do not give links to other accounts in your profile. Ask loved ones not to be too frank. If a person has changed his id on VKontakte, the attacker has a new field of activity. As a rule, this is not a random set of words, but a nickname used on other sites. A few minutes of searching and your forum posts and blog comments will no longer be anonymous. How to protect yourself. Use a separate nickname for each site you register on. /bi/2q/bi2qkhvgw1kw8o8cwgksw488w.jpg First of all, of course, scammers, who in this way learn literally everything about a person: name, address, place of work, social circle, daily routine and income level. But recruiters like to do such searches to weed out dubious job applicants, collectors, aggressive fans and other individuals whose attention you do not want. Try using your phone number to find information about yourself and find out if you trust the Internet too much. 
Working with instant messengers
Working with Ads
Working with search engines
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