Security test: can you spot the danger?

1. 1You get a text message: "Your package could not be delivered. Pay the $2.99 redelivery fee here" – with a link. What do you do?

   Pay. At $2.99 the risk is small. Open the link and see whether the page looks genuine. Do not tap it. Enter the tracking number directly in the carrier's official app or website. Reply "STOP" so you get no more messages.
2. 2An unknown number messages you: "Hi Mom, my phone broke, this is my new number." Soon after, you are asked to send money for a bill. What is the right step?

   Call the old, known number and check there. Send it. The writing style sounds like your child. Message the new number back and ask questions there. Send a small part of the amount to stay safe.
3. 3A caller says they are from Microsoft support: your PC is infected and you should install a remote access program. What is true?

   Ask for an employee ID and a callback number, then install it. Allow it, but watch the session and cut it off if needed. Install it so support can fix the problem. Hang up. No company calls you out of the blue about an infected PC.
4. 4An email looks like it is from your bank. The sender is [email protected]. Which detail is the strongest sign of fraud?

   Spelling mistakes in the text. The domain before the first slash does not belong to the bank. The email arrived on a weekend. The impersonal greeting "Dear Customer".
5. 5An unfamiliar online store offers brand-name goods at 70% off. Which signal is the most serious?

   There are no customer reviews. The store has no phone number. There is no real company address, and the only payment options are wire transfer, Zelle and gift cards. The product photos look copied from elsewhere.
6. 6At a parking meter, a QR code sticker has been placed over the printed one. What do you do?

   Do not scan. Pay at the meter or use the city's official app. Scan it, but pay by credit card only. Scan it – the meter has clearly been updated. Scan it and decide on the page itself whether it looks genuine.
7. 7A job offer by text promises $200 a day for writing product reviews. To start, you have to pay a $50 "activation fee". What applies?

   Pay, but ask for a contract first. A small starting fee is normal for work-from-home jobs. Pay first, then wait for the first assignments. A real employer never asks you for money – this is a scam.
8. 8Someone you met on a dating app has been attentive for weeks. Then comes a crypto tip with "guaranteed returns" through an app you should install. What is happening?

   A well-meant tip – you should start small. The weeks of attention were the setup for exactly this moment. Risky but legitimate, as long as the app is in the App Store. Unclear – you would have to test the returns with a small amount.
9. 9You clicked a phishing link and entered your login details. What do you do first?

   Change that account's password, sign out all active sessions, and turn on two-factor authentication. Wait and see whether anything actually happens. Call the bank and freeze the account. Run a virus scan.
10. 10An email claims to have filmed you through your webcam and demands Bitcoin. It quotes a password you really did use once. What is the right reaction?

    Pay – the password proves the threat is real. Reply and ask for more time, to buy yourself some room. Do not pay, do not reply. The password came from a data breach – change it everywhere it still works. Cover the webcam and ignore the email.

Please answer every question – then we can score it.