ANTWERP

Hackers strike on Instagram or Snapchat to rip off young people… (Antwerp)

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Antwerp –

The Antwerp public prosecutor’s office for young people for hackers on social media. The prosecutor’s office speaks of a new trend, in which the hackers want to make intimate images of people in order to extort them. Recently, several young people in Antwerp were the victims.

The hackers seem to be hitting young people who log on to Instagram or Snapchat via a public WiFi network. Because their smartphone is often not enough, the perpetrators can thus take control. “From that moment on, hackers send messages to possible contacts, but they mainly target friends of their victim,” explains Kristof Aerts of the Antwerp public prosecutor’s office.

Those messages contain an unsafe link, but because the message comes from friends, the recipients often open the link. “At that time, their own device is also hacked and the improved sensitive information, such as intimate images, can be stolen. the girls are extorted to send even more intimate images,” said Aerts.

The public prosecutor’s office has already received two files, but it turned out that there must be many more and therefore speaks of a trend. It seems to have come over from the Netherlands, where young people were previously the victims. “The consequences for the population can be very serious. The Public Prosecution Service is conducting a thorough investigation into the facts,” says Aerts.

How can you prevent this?

  • Late with public wifi. Use a VPN connection or only surf to websites with an https address.

  • Make sure your smartphone or laptop is sufficiently protected.

  • Change your passwords regularly and choose strong (long) passwords.

  • Keep your profile private as much as possible.

  • Make sure that you can only be contacted on social media by people you know.

What can do?

  • Never give in to the extortion.

  • Block whoever contacted you to blackmail you and prevent strangers on social media from contacting you.

  • Contact the social media provider to report the abuse.

  • Also contact the Institute for the equality of men & women or Childfocus if you are a minor.

  • File a complaint with the police.

  • Let your friends know on your social media that you can move your contacts with messages they received from you.

  • Don’t just sit there and talk about parents’ friends! Awel telephone reception for minors is also there to help you.

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