Shoulder surfing for beginners

You’ve probably overheard a private conversation or caught a peek of someone’s message as they were typing it on their mobile or laptop. Chances are you’ve also experienced something similar when the person next to you catches a glimpse of your email or a part of your chat. Usually, it’s nothing more than a harmless glance or hearing a part of a comment you made. Sometimes, it’s insidious.

For the criminal at heart, it’s good ol’ fashioned spying. Crooks take advantage by listening in on a conversation you are having or keeping an eye on what you are reading, writing or typing without your knowledge. And they do this with the aim of using it for all the wrong reasons.

A lot like spy movies, shoulder surfing is a social engineering technique criminals use to harvest information for a variety of villainous activities. Unlike the movies where the hero saves the day, shoulder surfing can turn your life upside down like losing your entire life savings or wiping your business out.

Evildoers do this in creative ways that include grabbing your credit card numbers as you swipe it or stealing your pin as you tap the ATM keypad to carry out fraud, compromise accounts and more. Shoulder surfing can take place anywhere like cafés, airport lounges and even workplaces and at anytime.

Inconspicuous bad guys hang out in all the same places as we do and they have mastered the art of blending in and not standing out. They could be seated right next to you or secretly keeping tabs on you from a distance using video cameras, audio recorders or binoculars. Picture this.

It’s a hot summer day. You’re at the local tapas restaurant with friends. The place is buzzing with a big crowd and live music. You are kicking back and soaking up the beats. You take your phone out to snap photos and shoot videos to post on social media. Someone in the crowd catches you punching in the code to unlock your phone.

As you wade through the masses later that day, your phone disappears. It’s swiped from your pockets by the person who had been spying on your. They unlock the phone with your pin and access your personal information including emails, social media accounts and more.

It’s only the beginning. Next, they copy all of your content from Google Drive and empty your bank accounts. To end it all with a bang, they change your passwords and in an instant, you are completely locked out of your entire life to pick up the broken pieces.

Wrap-up

It might sound like doom and gloom but there’s hope with 12 simple tips.

  • Logout of your accounts if you aren’t using them.
  • Protect your accounts with strong passwords and MFA or passkeys.
  • Unlock your phone with biometrics like your fingerprint or face.
  • Lock your screen if you are away from your desk.
  • Use a privacy screen protector for your phone, tablet or laptop.
  • Keep your devices with you at all times while in open or public spaces.
  • Shield the keypad when entering your pin on your phone or at the ATM.
  • Minimize using your devices in crowded spaces.
  • Check ATM or credit card readers for skimmers or shimmers.
  • Get to know your surroundings and everything that’s around you.
  • Keep separate devices to access sensitive or financial information.
  • Lockdown your SIM card with a pin before it can be used on another device.