Three tips for avoiding virtual scams
👋 Hi, and welcome to the Daily Edition. It’s the 12th Friday of 2024.
Today: A lawyer examines TikTok’s privacy policy, cocoa inflation, and realistic odds of dying. Written by Scott Lamb
It’s not exactly a fun topic of conversation for a cocktail party, but it’s true: Scams are a defining feature of the internet era. From the early days of email-based advance-fee scams (sometimes know as Nigerian prince scams) to the new rash of AI-based voice deepfake scams, the cons are all around us.
You might be tempted to think you’re immune, but there’s a lot of evidence to the contrary. Last month, the Cut had a viral piece from their financial advice columnist about how she was scammed into handing over $50,000 in a shoebox to a scammer; yesterday, the New York Times had a story about how Mexican drug cartels are targeting seniors with timeshares. Even the most technologically savvy among us could still get scammed: Cory Doctorow wrote last month about how his “swiss cheese” approach to security fell prey to a scammer, despite his expertise in online privacy, and shared this useful reminder: “everyone is vulnerable sometimes.”
To protect yourself, a few basic tips on how to avoid being scammed from a cybersecurity expert:
- Weird call or email? Don’t respond. Most scams begin with someone you don’t know reaching out. Take a beat but don’t react until you know more.
- Hang up/don’t click. Don’t engage, don’t give out any information if something seems off, and don’t click that link in your inbox; if there’s a real issue, there are other ways to find out.
- Log into your account directly, or call someone. If there’s an issue with an account or company you use, you should be able to find that out on your own.
P.S. Somewhat related, yesterday we wrote about how we’re stepping up our efforts to tackle spam and fraud on Medium, to protect our readers and writers. Read about it here.
What else we’re reading
- With the U.S. Senate starting to consider the TikTok ban legislation that recently passed the House, a lawyer who writes on Medium takes a deep look at the platform’s privacy policy. What he finds should give you pause — especially if you log in using another service, or use the clipboard to cut and paste anything with the app.
- The climate crisis is starting to impact the chocolate industry in West Africa: The 2023–24 harvest season is the third year in a row that global chocolate consumption has outpaced production. Cocoa prices are now at all-time highs, so expect to see the price of your favorite chocolate going up before Easter arrives.
From the archive
If, like me, you occasionally find yourself wondering as you walk down the sidewalk if an airconditioning unit will crush you from on high, or a careening car will jump the curb and swipe you out of existence, this is a grimly reassuring read: “Odds of Dying: What You Should Really Fear.” While the odds for all of us are definitively bad in the long run (sorry!), the chances of a dramatic death by, say, lightning strike, are extremely remote (1-in-218,106). It’s the more mundane ones—heart disease (1-in-6) and cancer (1-in-7)—you should worry about, but they’re also luckily ones that lifestyle changes can help you mitigate.
📈 Your daily dose of practical wisdom (about growing your business)
Are you at a fork in the road of a successful business and wondering what comes next? this is a useful framework: Pick a path with inbound vs outbound strategies. How can you find ways to grow what works while also branching out?
Edited and produced by Harris Sockel & Scott Lamb
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