How Verified Accounts Protect You Online
Companies and customers both benefit from verified accounts
Verified accounts help protect you online in a few different ways. There are your personal web accounts, that usually ask for an email confirmation and sometimes a mobile number to confirm your registration. But there are also verified accounts for companies. Verified accounts help protect both sides: Customers know that they’re communicating with the right social media accounts and companies know that the account is tied to a real email address and/or mobile phone number.
When a website asks to verify you via phone number, they’re usually paving the way for two-step verification – a security feature that requires to have your phone, email, or tablet handy. The website will send you a message with a code to login. Many people use one password for everything, so a randomly generated access code helps thwart simple hackers from gaining access. This is a great innovation that has come about due to the proliferation of smartphones. It might annoy some users, but with massive hacks happening every year, two-step verification should be welcomed with open arms. Those who think it’s annoying simply haven’t been hacked before or don’t understand today’s fast changing world of technology.
Companies that verify their accounts with Twitter, Facebook, or another social media site receive a verified badge. This badge usually appears as a checkmark next to the company’s name. When dealing with a large company that has your personal information, you should look for the verified badge. Of course, not all companies are verified on social media accounts, so you should use their official website’s contact information. Even though it’s less convenient, it’s better than getting scammed. Social media websites try to remove fraudulent company accounts, but criminals are persistent.
Customer representatives should not ask some questions
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Legitimate or fraudulent, a customer representative should not ask you for your credit card number or password. Almost every online customer service helpdesk displays this warning for a good reason. Big companies outsource their customer service overseas or hire people at minimum wage. This results in low morale and sometimes, an urge to steal.
A customer representative that asks for your password or credit card number “to verify something” isn’t following proper procedure. There are other ways to verify your identity other than these two pieces of sensitive information. Customer representatives that ask for credit card numbers and passwords aren’t doing it to help you. They’re doing it to help themselves via criminal activity. One of your passwords may be used on several different websites, like a key that opens many locks. Your credit card, obviously, can be used for fraudulent purchases. If your customer service representative insists on asking you these questions, you should hang up and call again. You will most likely talk to a completely different person. It’s better to queue in line again than to deal with a shady individual.
These shady customer representatives simply ask as many people as they can dupe, then sell the information on the black market for ill-gotten gains. This information ends up on obscure websites for criminals to look at. If you’ve been fooled online or over the phone, then you should contact Wiperts to see if your personal information is at risk. It might have happened years ago, or just recently, but checking now will help you in the long-term. Having your personal information exposed is never a good thing.
Job offers – real or fake?
Legitimate recruiters use legitimate (verified) accounts – this might sound obvious, but there are plenty of scams that involve fake job offers. An uninvited solicitation to submit your resume to an unknown and unverified company may just be a scammer trying to collect your personal information. If someone contacts you via LinkedIn, check their online profile first before responding and/or contact the company via the official website to check if the account is legitimate or not. It’s okay to be skeptical, even if you need a job. Protecting yourself against fraud is always a good idea.
Asking a legitimate recruiter directly if they’re a scammer may not end well for you – which is why contacting the company via the official website or looking at the recruiter’s profile is recommended instead.
A scammer will always say they are who they say they are. Sticking with a lie is what scammers do. Once they receive your resume, there’s no telling what they can do with your name, address, phone number, email address, and work history. Resumes may only be the professional side of your life story, but this information can be sold on the black market or used to find more about you on social media. Wiperts can help you clean the internet of any personal information that may have been leaked by scammers and fraudsters.
