A conversation with RJ Anjali on dealing with cybercrime

30th June is celebrated as World Social Media Day. The hours of the day we spend on social media reflects a lot about us on social platforms or sometimes in daily life too. Not just emotional behavior is influenced by social media but the way you treat your fellow mates online and offline also depends on the effect of social media in your life. Many slang words, we use these days have entered our lives through social media only. Well, there are many pros and cons of social media, you are well known about it. But here, we are going to deal with your security online. How secure are you on social media?

Last month, Patna noticed a consequence of hacking and cybercrime which affected none other than the famous Rj of Bihar- RJ Anjali, her Instagram account with 63.5k followers was hacked. The account was hacked on 1st June and was recovered on 9th. Our team had a conversation with the RJ regarding hacking and cybersecurity-

PatnaBeats- When and  how did you come to know that your account was hacked?
RJ- I got a mail on my official mail id to verify my account, I did not notice that the mail wasn’t from the official Instagram help desk and verified the questions asked and then within a second my all information went to the hacker and they changed the login details and username. They even went live, besides that they changed the username in a couple of hours too.

PatnaBeats- How did you handle it initially?
RJ- A few of my colleagues and friends helped in reporting the account. I even received a mail from the hacker itself.The hacker was from Turkey and the process of hacking is called ‘Phishing’ and they ask for a certain amount to give back your account.

PatnaBeats-  What steps did you take to recover your account?
RJ- Recovery was tough. I had few contacts in the Facebook office, Mumbai, they helped me. I sent many emails to Instagram but it has no special help desk online. After a  tough process of verification, I got my account back. I have many dummy accounts on Instagram handled by my fans, so the copied content on those pages made it difficult for verification. But then, a fan helped me as well. As he came to know about the hacking, he copied my username to a different account and gave me back as soon as I recovered my account.

PatnaBeats- Do we have good laws against cybercrime?
RJ- Well, we do have laws against cybercrime but my experience with the reporting wasn’t good. First of all, the police lacked information about social media  and what consequences we can face after hacking. He was unaware about Instagram and cyber crime factors too. Even he asked for 1 month time for the process but I got my account back within 8 days when I directly contacted to Facebook.

PatnaBeats- How common people can deal with cybercrime?
RJ- I am afraid after the experience I had with cybercrime rules and actions that are not strict. But yes, you can get help online in many ways. Rather I would suggest to take precautions before.

PatnaBeats-  Any tips on cybersecurity for today’s youngsters?
RJ- Yes, never open any unwanted links and reply to emails that are not from official accounts. Please google the official accounts of the social media companies. If you have a public profile, never link your recovery mail id in the mail section this makes your account easy to hack. Change your passwords time to time, even its not necessary to give all your contact details in the profile. Panicking is not an option, if this happens, mail your problem to the official email id of social media handle.

PatnaBeats- Today is Social Media Day, so how would you like to wish your fans and listeners?

RJ- I joined Radio when we had no social media, the coming of social media has made me connected to my listeners. I can talk to them, get appreciation and read their wonderful messages. After Social Media, the world seems small. Connectivity is so easy and you can influence anybody from any corner of the world. I would wish everyone to have a safe and secure social media accounts, get connected and stay alert always.

We have a few tips to deal with cybersecurity-
1. Check your logins–
Never ever login anywhere.
Don’t access your account through external links you receive.
Check that your browser doesn’t save your passwords.
Be cautious of logging in to your social media accounts using a hotspot or free WiFi — if you’re logging on at a cafe, for example. These networks are ‘untrusted’. That means it’s possible that others could see what you’re doing when you use them.

2. Strong Passwords can help
Use a password with caps lock, numerics, and symbol.
Have a unique password for each account.
Make your account passwords long and strong. Short sentences make the best passwords as they’re easy to remember.
Don’t use the information you share on your social media accounts to create your passwords — this information is easy for attackers to find out.
Don’t share your passwords with anyone — not even your partner, your parents, or your children.
If you’re worried about remembering all of your passwords, try using a password manager which will store and manage them for you.

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3. Stay updated with privacy checking–
Limit your visitors and followers through privacy settings.

Turning on two-factor authentication (2FA) is another way to protect your social media accounts. For example, you can use an application on your phone that generates a unique code each time you log in. It means that even if someone gets access to your account passwords if they don’t have your phone to get the code they can’t complete the login and get into your accounts. You can usually find the option to turn on 2FA in your profile settings.

4.    Scam Check

There are Scammers who use social media to trick people into giving away their personal details, financial details, or money. Check the links, emails and scam messages. Never rush into opening such emails and links.

5. Get your old accounts close
If you have any old social media accounts that you don’t use anymore, close them down. Don’t leave your personal information out there unused and unloved. Otherwise, you run the risk of someone else using it without your knowledge.

These days Social media has become a part of life, we don’t want to see you in trouble because of the unusual and unwanted cyber activities happening on the online platform . So on this Social Media Day, PatnaBeats wish you Safe scrolling and posting.

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