Security Expert Warns: Delete These Apps As Soon As You Get Home From Vacation
Holidays are the one time when many people can disconnect from their routine, but cybercriminals don't understand the holidays and will take advantage of even the slightest bit of disinterest to scam their victims.
If you go on a trip, you probably install new apps to pay for city parking, buy museum tickets, find out the frequency of public transport, bike rental services or alternatives to Google Maps. Most apps are unnecessary when you get back, but many people keep them installed out of laziness or habitual carelessness.
Sam Crawford is a technology expert who has warned that these apps could pose a risk to the security of users’ personal and banking information. Cybercriminals are taking advantage of the fact that tourists are letting their guard down during their holidays and will use the apps to install malware on their devices.
“The fewer apps you have, the less likely it is that a hacker will be able to steal your personal or payment information,” he told the Mirror. If you come back from a trip, delete all the apps you won’t be using again.
You should hurry up and put the password for your accounts on this site to make
Apps collect users' locations and often have weak measures to combat cyber attacks, so many of them end up exposing users' personal and banking data.
Tourists are often unaware of the official apps used at their destination to hire a taxi, enter a museum, or pay for public transportation, and cybercriminals take advantage of this situation as well.
Some apps are so simple that it only takes a few minutes for scammers to replicate and clone the same apps. Cybercriminals will use the company’s official logo and copy the interface so that people who are not familiar with it do not notice it.
Access to the site even when you return from a trip is a growing concern, but these apps can access all your money if you enter your bank account details or make a payment through them.
Sam Crawford also recommended using tools like Have I been pwned? to check if your email and associated accounts have been affected by a data breach, simply by entering the address into a search engine.