infect the computer
Of course, through such suspicious links they could infect your system. May contain malware and that a simple click starts a download automatically. That file could infect your computer and put your privacy and security at risk. It is something that can affect both desktop computers and mobile devices.
Here we must mention that the range of possibilities is quite wide. That is, not all viruses will act the same. You may come across malware that steals passwords, such as keyloggerothers that encrypt the files, such as the ransomwarecausing system errors, etc.
Take you to a fake store
Another cause of accessing a fraudulent link that has been sent to you by Facebook or WhatsApp is that you end up in a fake store without knowing it. For example a page that pretends to be from Amazon, eBay or any other. You can see products to buy, but in reality you are on a fake site, an illegitimate copy.
When attracting you to those sites several things can happen. One of them is that you directly end up buying a product that will never take you away, something false or even that they collect your data to sneak in Spam. It is a strategy used by cybercriminals to manipulate the victim’s browsing.
spy on you
Another very important issue is that they could spy on you. That false link may be used to steal personal data, know what your tastes are, what services you use on the Internet, etc. They can sell all of this to a third party and profit from it. Nowadays our personal information has a great value on the network and it is something that you must take into account to be protected.
These links could also contain a URL for you to install a Chrome or Firefox add-on to spy on you. One more reason why you should be careful about which links you open, even if someone you trust has sent it to you via WhatsApp or social networks.
How to act before a dangerous link
After explaining what can happen if you open a malicious link that has been sent to you by WhatsApp or social networks, we are going to see how to act to avoid problems. It is important to avoid making mistakes, since not only our team could be compromised but also that of our contacts.
Avoid opening the link
The most important thing is to avoid opening the link that they have sent us. Normally we will see clearly that it is a scam. For example seeing that it is a strange addressthat the message does not make much sense or that it has been directly sent by a contact that we do not know or we did not expect to send us anything.
There is details that they are going to indicate to us that this may be a hoax. Things like looking for speed, a supposed prize or discount, etc. They are going to launch different hooks with the objective that we bite and open that link. If we directly ignore it, we will not have any problem and our team will be safe.
Inform the contact
After you have ignored the link, it is important that report to whoever sent it to you. It may be a friend or family member who sent it to you without knowing. For example, if you have a virus on your system or if your account has been infected in some way and an intruder is controlling it and therefore sends links to other contacts.
This will help the person who sent it take action. For example, change the password, clean your computer in case there is any threat or find the reason why you are sending links. Maybe you have installed some program recently and that is the cause. Therefore, you must report quickly to prevent this threat from spreading further.
never interact
If you have made the mistake of opening that link and you have entered a page that you clearly notice is false, the most important thing is do not interact. Surely nothing has happened to you, it has not downloaded any file or affected your security. But yes there would be problems if you interact with that page.
What does this mean? For example, you should avoid putting your data, either when logging in or simply filling out a form on the web. You should also not download possible files that are on that page, since it could be a threat and this could be the way to attack you or steal your personal information.
So if you’ve clicked on that link and it’s already too late, the best thing to do is simply close it. You should never send data or download files that could compromise your privacy or security.
Analyze the system
You should also scan the system. Perhaps it was too late and your computer has been compromised by one of the many varieties of malware out there. You may have a virus and you don’t know it or your browser has adware and may even spy on you while you browse.
What you should do is to correctly analyze the system. Can you use a good antivirus for this, such as Microsoft Defender itself or any other program you trust, such as Avast or Bitdefender. In this way you will be able to detect possible threats and eliminate them as soon as possible.
This should also apply to the browser itself. If you have clicked on a fraudulent link, it may have affected Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or the browser you use. It is important that you make sure that it is clean and your data will not be compromised at any time.
never forward it
Of course, a very important point is that you should never forward that message to another person. On many occasions it will be a chain and what the hacker is looking for is to reach as many users as possible. Therefore, it is important to break that chain and not continue so that it does not put others at risk.
Whenever you’re suspicious of a link, sending it to someone else to look at, for example, is a mistake. Perhaps that person, also by mistake, clicks and puts your personal data at risk and his computer can be infected. Therefore, the best thing to do once again is to ignore it and when in doubt ask the person who sent it.
In short, as you have seen, a simple link sent to you by WhatsApp or social networks can become a major problem for your security and privacy. The best thing is that you ignore them and contact the person who sent it as soon as possible. This will help protect your own security, but also that of third parties by breaking the chain and thus preventing it from reaching more people and the cybercriminal from succeeding.
