You know how it is. You have a really busy day and your mom keeps sending you copy and paste messages of how if you don’t send this to 10 people, you will die.
“Mom I love you, but stop ittttt.”
“Ok sorry darling.”
And then she stops for 2 days before sending you more. -___-“
But there are more annoying things in life. Like whatsapp messages or emails from people you don’t know at all. Firstly, how on earth did you get my number. Secondly, why are you asking me to bank in to your account to help a child in need. Is the child really in need? Is there even a child?
Or like Missing Child or Missing Car or even Missing Person, please call this number etc etc. You feel so bad, you know? Like you want to help and spread the information so others can help. But at the same time, you don’t know if the information is verified or not.
So what do you do????
No seriously, I’m genuinely asking. Please leave a comment so that we all can learn from each other on what to do when we receive those kinds of messages.
That’s not my only encounter with Internet danger. There are many btw… cyber-bullying, identity theft, defamation, cyber security, spams, trolling.
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For me, I’ve had experience with these:
1) Identity theft – someone created a fake Facebook profile with some girl’s name and put my picture there. And started calling men for phone sex. So somewhere on this earth, some people might bump into me thinking ohhhh I’ve had phone sex with this girl. Errr, no dude, you have not, trust me.
What to do? – REPORT. I did so and the account got removed by Facebook.
2) Online shopping – I bought some notebooks from a US site and paid etc etc. Weeks gone by and I still haven’t received anything. I emailed them, no reply. Emailed all the emails on the website, no reply. I decided to check their insta account to leave a comment… they don’t have an insta account. Omg I’m so stupid. I didn’t even bother to check their credibility. So there you go, no notebook and some US dollars taken out of my pocket just like that.
What to do? – Always check a website’s other accounts for testimonials and credibility.
3) Child protection – when so much of your life is exposed (e.g. me as a blogger for almost a decade, and being active on Insta), you can’t help but share happy moments of your life like when you give birth or when your child does something funny on video. But be careful not to reveal TOO MUCH about your children, like their school name or where they go everyday for tuition, car plate numbers etc. If I want to post a cute picture of Husna at a restaurant or something, I will always make sure to post it after we have left. There are so many more pics and videos I’d like to put up of Husna but his safety and privacy prevail above all these social media obsessions.
What to do? – YOUR CHOICE. What you put up of your life is your choice, so think many many times.
4) Cyber bullying – I get a lot of negative comments on my insta, but you really can differentiate the sincere ones with the blatantly mean ones like “F*** you, !” etc which are probably just cries for attention. I never get worked up over them because they’re irrelevant.
What to do? – IGNORE. So many more things in life you have to do… like give birth next week. Bahaah.
5) Spammers – Omggg the Tinggi Langsing people on Instagram… and the Tag & Win contests where contestants tag me constantly… or the Tudung Murah Visit My IG comments I get on my insta. Ok first of all, they’re annoying and really spoil the picture. And secondly, I actually sell clothes and scarves myself, so it’s just plain rude to come into my space to sell yours. It’s like me going into a Chanel store and goingBelilah beg Sofina saya, murah, murah! and doing it every single day. It’s just so not classy and a very cheap way of advertising, so don’ttttt ruin your brand image please.
What to do? – BLOCK AND REPORT ABUSE. If your thumbs don’t get tired. Because there are a lot of spammers everywhere.
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These are some examples I can think of. But I’ve heard of more. Like you should actually tape your videocam with a plaster or something because I’ve heard some cases where your videocam just turns on and someone in another country somewhere is recording you while you change clothes or something.
I hope I didn’t paint such a bad picture of the Internet because I’m not saying the Internet is all bad at all! Hello, I’ve gained so much from its existence in my business and personal life,… I probably should buy it several bouquets of flowers and maybe even take it out for dinner.
Like it or not, it is the tech era now and you should get on the bandwagon and ride the virtual wave too in order to not get left behind. There are so many things you need the Internet for… research, verified news, keeping updated with friends, and well, FashionValet! But like anything in life, it has its risks and you should use it with caution always.
Especially when you use it to find a life partner.
You could be talking to a guy who claims he is single, tall, rich, handsome… You might even think he’s the ONE and you’d like to buy a plane ticket to somewhere to finally meet him in person…
When actually the person behind the screen all along looks like this…
