Be careful! Emojis Can Lead to Data Theft: AVG Tech Support Experts
Whether it
is on Facebook or WhatsApp, our social conversations without emojis are just
like a sweet dish without sugar. Becoming popular day by day, these small and
smiley faces have acquired almost all the online chatting platforms (even the
emails). But be cautious! The attractive emojis can be dangerous. Surprised?
Don’t be! It is because as not just you, me or other simple users but even the
hackers love these smiley faces.
Let’s go through this blog by AVG Technical Support professionals & find out how cybercriminals misuse
emojis for their own benefits.
Ways
in which the Cybercriminals Use Emojis for Their benefits
To
Carry out Data theft: There is hardly
anyone who doesn’t want to make his/ her conversation interesting by including
these little and colorful pictures. Expressing feelings via emojis sound a
noticeable fun & near about 15 billion emojis travel from one inbox to
another every day.
Considering all this and that the emails holding emojis in
their subjects are opened more frequently in comparison of those don’t comprise
emojis, the hackers turn towards taking undue advantage of these. And as per
the survey, hackers are getting success in accessing the users’ sensitive data in
this way.
To
Push You into the Trap by Emoji Keyboards: Hackers understand our love for these cute-looking smileys.
To exploit it cruelly, the intruders focus trapping us by accessing the
downloadable emoji keyboards. However, they are free but risky too. Hence, if
you want to have some new emojis, AVG Antivirus Support experts recommend you to reach the app stores or obtain
them from the trustworthy sources.
Else, instead of getting the new emojis, keep
using the smileys that come with your apps. Yep! It is the easiest way that
prevents you from falling into the trap by hackers.
Hackers
don’t attack Via Email Emojis Only
Yep! It is
true that the platforms which the hackers use to carry out the cyber-attacks
like identity theft with help of emojis are not limited to just emails. In
order to make their attempts of accessing and using your personal or financial
information, they send malicious emojis thorough WhatsApp or Facebook
Messenger. Once you tap the infected emoji (intentionally or unintentionally),
the cybercriminals will be free to track and steal almost everything you have
on your device.
The details they target the most are your login ID, online banking
data, etc. On the other hand, cybercriminals send emails incorporating
malicious emojis to your inbox. These emails (if opened) will let the viruses to
get downloaded on your computer system or smartphone.
Symptoms
Shown by The Devices Infected with Hacked Emojis
If your system
is infected with malevolent emojis, it:
- Works in a remarkably sluggish manner
- Display unwanted and false pop-ups, ads, and more on a
frequent basis
- Encounters issues like apps stop working, operating
system stops responding to inputs
Things
to Be Done After Hacking Attack by Emojis
Noticed that
your device is not working as it usually does? Be quick and run the antivirus
program on your device. However, if you are sensing that the issue is with an
app on your system, then please uninstall it immediately.
Conclusion: Though emojis are a little bit riskier to use yet we can’t stop entertaining ourselves by using them. The only thing AVG Tech Support professionals suggest is to be careful while responding to the messages or emails with emojis. The precautionary measures to stay safe from cyber-attack by emojis can be obtained from these experts.
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