Bensalem
Major Ratslayer
Dear All,
I want to talk about International Online Rats, These guys are labeled now as cyber-criminals .. I will also, talk about cyber-police in Tunisia !
Cyber-Rats, are one of the worst types of Rats out there. These guys are so smart, very nerdy and very good at pretending and convincing you that they are real people.
They scout the internet, they are pretty much everywhere, and they can watch everything you do !!
In one word, Cyber-Rats, like any other Rats .. Target everything and everyone that has money .. it doesn't have to be a huge amount but anything that looks like a Dollar or Euro, is a target for them.
They usually target emotionally-vulnerable people, mostly women, but also I've heard of a lot of men that have fallen for them.
Disclaimer : If you think that Cyber-Rats target a certain Age-range, you're WRONG ! They pretty much Target Adults, people that are old enough to be working, living on their own and paying their own bills.
As I've mentioned earlier, Cyber-Rats are pretty much everywhere ... so as long as you're online !! you are a potential target ..
Some of them focus their work mainly on :
- Social Media Websites *Facebook, Instagram, VK etc..
- Dating websites/services *Tinder, Tagged, Badoo, etc..
- Forums, oh yeah there are some forums online that are infested with these Rats.
- Digital Platforms, some digital platforms look nice and cute, from which you can download free stuff, pictures, software, etc...
Well, these cyber-criminals are pretty much everywhere on the planet, as much as they can be African guys, as much as they can be Asian, Russian, Arabs and even Europeans and Americans (YES European and American Rats Do exist !!)
But since this forum is about Tunisian Rats, let's say mainly African Rats so I'll be focusing on this Area !
So, these guys are usually Men even when some of them are posing as girls !! they are men behind the screens and they are as young as 14 years old, and as old as 65 years old.
They are Africans, whether sub-Saharan or North Africans
Well, These Cyber-Rats are usually connecting from the comfort of their own homes, with their own computers ...
Yet, they can get access to any IP in the world, because they use very advanced and sophisticated NETWORK HARDWARE, so basically they can login to Tinder, with a UK IP, and start browsing through people that are Really in the UK.
As mentioned earlier, these Cyber-Rats use very advanced tools and very complex ones as well, such as :
- COMPUTER VPN
- ROUTER VPN
- FAKE WEBCAM SOFTWARE ( making you see whatever they want on the webcam )
- VIRUS SOFTWARE ENGINEERING (BASICALLY VIRUS CREATORS)
- PRIVATE PERSONAL SERVERS AND EVEN ONLINE HOSTING.
- AI (ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE) PHOTO CREATORS ( in order to post a photo of a person that doesn't exist)
*Google AI photo generators*
ETC...
1- We all know, LOVE-RATS ! building Romantic relationships, giving the illusion of being in love with the victim, then they begin to ask for money ( We all know this one)
2- Posing as girls, talking to foreign men and as usual love illusion, then money requests.
3 - Pretending to be there to help, presenting themselves as IT support, Technicians, asking you to install some random software on your computer or visit a certain link.
4 - Pretending to be US Soldiers stuck in 3rd world countries ( many have fallen for this, it's not a game ) asking for money to buy their way back home.
And the list goes on ...
1- STRENGTHENING OUR PRIVACY AND EVEN ANONYMITY ONLINE.
This, may work out for some that are obsessed with being anonymous online, there's plenty of Open-source software that can guarantee that, they must be gotten from their official websites though ( There are plenty of alternatives ) just look up "Privacytools"
If you are super concerned, just stop using Google and start using DuckDuckGo as a search engine.
2- HIDING YOUR REAL LOCATION (If you want of course)
You just need to use some VPN service (Free ones are sh#tty ) but it's not expensive though.
3- SECURE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA
We all may be a target when we're connected to social media, it's best to secure our profiles, making them visible only to the "Friends of friends" for example, allowing only people that are in our friends list to see our photos and posts and to send messages etc..
4- NOT ACCEPTING FRIEND-REQUESTS FROM RANDOM PEOPLE.
Some on you would do so, some won't .. it depends on your personal preferences ... sometimes, we feel like let's get to make some new online friends, which isn't wrong...
5- LOOK FOR SUSPICIOUS SIGNS:
Remember, ONLY the most dangerous RATS will be quite anonymous online. Everyday Rats would just use their real profiles ...
So look for these signs if you find them, just don't add the person or accept their requests:
☢ RANDOM/GENERIC PROFILE PICTURE: ( Try to use "Tineye.com" or Google to reverse search image ) maybe it's a generic photo that belongs to someone else.
☢ EMPTY or NEW PROFILES: Remember, these are the most dangerous ones, check the profile, browse through the wall and posts and get an idea of everything.
☢ MONO-PHOTO PROFILES: Some profiles would be with only one photo, there's nothing else.
☢ CREEPY PROFILES: Some profiles may have several photos, but if you focus close enough you'd notice that it's not the same person in every picture.
☢ ATTRACTIVE YOUNG MEN: Also, You may feel attracted to the person, they'd look nice, good etc... but it can be someone else's pictures that are used.
☢ UPDATES: Normal profiles, would always have some updates, if not too many pictures as well, shared videos, bio, music, posts, people commenting etc...
Fun Fact : Now, there are efforts from social media administration to help decrease these fake profiles, they've decided to ask for a piece of identity that real human agents will review to guarantee profile ownership, the other profiles will be permanently deleted.
☢ TIMING : Be Smart !! check for the posted pictures, the time they got posted, if you notice that all of them were uploaded during a specific time-frame .. Block him/her !!
☢ DO NOT ENGAGE EMOTIONALLY RIGHT AWAY : Many people met their "significant ones" online, who knows, but to build a relationship, you need time !!
☢ DO NOT SHARE TOO MUCH : Let's assume you've added someone that seems genuine, remember, he can be one of the Low-Risk-Rats .. so it's best to be MYSTERIOUS.
☢ COPY-PASTE YOUR LINKS : You received a link. NEVER click it !! no matter what, get used to copying then pasting it in a new tab or incognito tab just no direct clicking.
☢ NEVER SAVE YOUR CREDIT CARD : as much as it makes things easy, just don't !! if you want to use it, take out use it then put it back where it belongs.. simple !!
☢ ALWAYS SCAN YOUR COMPUTER : Malwarebytes seems to be a good recommendation, scan it, get rid of trackers, malware viruses etc..
☢ BEZNESS : Don't accept people that look like ; Young men posing topless, having cheap tattoos, posing with motorbikes etc...you guys know how a bezness looks like.
6- NO MONEY GIVE-AWAY !!! ( Double or Triple Underline this )
No matter what you hear, no matter what they tell you, no matter how they'd accuse you of being selfish, careless etc... NEVER SEND ANY MONEY SO SOMEONE YOU DON'T REALLY KNOW for years !! simple, just don't give your money away !!
Some would say, "But my Hobbi is genuine, he's honest and I can help him." YES you can, but in a very moderate logical way !! Give and Receive that's it.
7- NO PHOTO-SHARING:
Assuming you've gotten in a relationship with someone online .. just don't share your intimate photos right away .. personally I'd recommend sharing no photos of yourself AT ALL, surely not sexting out of the blue ( Some Rats, maybe most of them are very sexual ) so please don't do it.
8- PASSWORDS MANAGING :
Simply, find a way to manage your passwords online type them once, copy them somewhere safe .. every time you want to login to something, just copy and paste your password. Because some of these Rats can actually HACK you !! through different ways that are so super easy :
☢ NJ-RAT : I swear to the gods, that this is what it's called " NJ-RAT" its creator must've been a psychic and knew that this will be RATS' favorite tool, it's a Rat's server creator, that can be patched into a normal simple picture, undetectable by anti-virus, as soon as you click-or-download that picture and boom !! The Rat is in your computer, and he's able to do anything he wants, including copying, deleting, modifying your files .. taking your passwords, credit card details etc...
☢ Ransomware: It's also a virus, that can be easily obtained .. it can also be patched in a random file, once clicked .. it will encrypt your whole phone/computer and the Rat will ask for money to de-crypt it, otherwise you'd format it and lose all your data ( But there are other options, check online and learn them just in case).
☢ Keylogger: This is also Rats' favorite tool, you remember when I said that it's best to copy paste your password? because keylogger is also a very tiny safe server that will gather every piece of information, text, email, username, password practically everything you type on the keyboard and send it over to the Cyber-Rat.
9- SPAMMING VIA EMAIL:
Remember, sometimes, a Rat via social-engineering can gather a lot of information about you, including your email, probably your paypal, bank or anything that he can use .. so you can get to receive an email that looks pretty much like your banker's email, Apple ID, Paypal etc.. asking you to update your information on the website !! make sure to think not twice but 1000 Times before doing anything or clicking on anything !!! CALL THEM ON THEIR OFFICIAL PHONE NUMBER IF NEEDED TO VERIFY !! ALSO VERIFY THE LINK SENT TO YOU.
Trust me, this is important because I'm gonna tell you a story that's based on REAL-Happenings ..
" So a couple of years ago, IN TUNISIA, a group of about 4 young students, very educated, intelligent and brilliant .. started doing this "Email-spamming" job !! they got millions of Euros, and millions of dollars out of credit cards details that they have collected from all over the world, this group of 4 became a group of 11 people .. including online shop-owners, so that the money will enter the country undetectable etc.. they bought luxury cars, expensive goods, branded clothing even luxurious houses and villas. It took the Police about 2 years to uncover the whole operation with the help of the Interpol" So this is no game !!
Now, the Interpol has their own Cyber-Division in Tunisia in cooperation with the Tunisian Cyber-Police, It's still growing .. I'm not yet sure how efficient they are, but I wanted to let y'all know that it's there and I'll pull some strings as soon as I go to Tunisia to check for more information.
Woof This has been quite a long post, I hope that I've been able to cover some aspects that we should all be aware of and I hope that I've been a help, I know it may not be very very related to Tunisian Love Rats in general, but as they represent a not so small category of these Cyber-Rats, I wanted to tackle the whole THING for further security ..
I want to talk about International Online Rats, These guys are labeled now as cyber-criminals .. I will also, talk about cyber-police in Tunisia !
What is a Cyber-Rat, Cyber-Criminal ?
Cyber-Rats, are one of the worst types of Rats out there. These guys are so smart, very nerdy and very good at pretending and convincing you that they are real people.
They scout the internet, they are pretty much everywhere, and they can watch everything you do !!
Who do they target ?
In one word, Cyber-Rats, like any other Rats .. Target everything and everyone that has money .. it doesn't have to be a huge amount but anything that looks like a Dollar or Euro, is a target for them.
They usually target emotionally-vulnerable people, mostly women, but also I've heard of a lot of men that have fallen for them.
Disclaimer : If you think that Cyber-Rats target a certain Age-range, you're WRONG ! They pretty much Target Adults, people that are old enough to be working, living on their own and paying their own bills.
Where can they be found ?
As I've mentioned earlier, Cyber-Rats are pretty much everywhere ... so as long as you're online !! you are a potential target ..
Some of them focus their work mainly on :
- Social Media Websites *Facebook, Instagram, VK etc..
- Dating websites/services *Tinder, Tagged, Badoo, etc..
- Forums, oh yeah there are some forums online that are infested with these Rats.
- Digital Platforms, some digital platforms look nice and cute, from which you can download free stuff, pictures, software, etc...
Who are these Rats ?
Well, these cyber-criminals are pretty much everywhere on the planet, as much as they can be African guys, as much as they can be Asian, Russian, Arabs and even Europeans and Americans (YES European and American Rats Do exist !!)
But since this forum is about Tunisian Rats, let's say mainly African Rats so I'll be focusing on this Area !
So, these guys are usually Men even when some of them are posing as girls !! they are men behind the screens and they are as young as 14 years old, and as old as 65 years old.
They are Africans, whether sub-Saharan or North Africans
Where are they connecting from and how do they have the access to get so close ?
Well, These Cyber-Rats are usually connecting from the comfort of their own homes, with their own computers ...
Yet, they can get access to any IP in the world, because they use very advanced and sophisticated NETWORK HARDWARE, so basically they can login to Tinder, with a UK IP, and start browsing through people that are Really in the UK.
What are their Tools/equipment ?
As mentioned earlier, these Cyber-Rats use very advanced tools and very complex ones as well, such as :
- COMPUTER VPN
- ROUTER VPN
- FAKE WEBCAM SOFTWARE ( making you see whatever they want on the webcam )
- VIRUS SOFTWARE ENGINEERING (BASICALLY VIRUS CREATORS)
- PRIVATE PERSONAL SERVERS AND EVEN ONLINE HOSTING.
- AI (ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE) PHOTO CREATORS ( in order to post a photo of a person that doesn't exist)
*Google AI photo generators*
ETC...
Examples of Cyber-Rats Tricks and ways to gain money (This list is not exhaustive)
1- We all know, LOVE-RATS ! building Romantic relationships, giving the illusion of being in love with the victim, then they begin to ask for money ( We all know this one)
2- Posing as girls, talking to foreign men and as usual love illusion, then money requests.
3 - Pretending to be there to help, presenting themselves as IT support, Technicians, asking you to install some random software on your computer or visit a certain link.
4 - Pretending to be US Soldiers stuck in 3rd world countries ( many have fallen for this, it's not a game ) asking for money to buy their way back home.
And the list goes on ...
Now, How do we protect ourselves from these Rats ?
1- STRENGTHENING OUR PRIVACY AND EVEN ANONYMITY ONLINE.
This, may work out for some that are obsessed with being anonymous online, there's plenty of Open-source software that can guarantee that, they must be gotten from their official websites though ( There are plenty of alternatives ) just look up "Privacytools"
If you are super concerned, just stop using Google and start using DuckDuckGo as a search engine.
2- HIDING YOUR REAL LOCATION (If you want of course)
You just need to use some VPN service (Free ones are sh#tty ) but it's not expensive though.
3- SECURE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA
We all may be a target when we're connected to social media, it's best to secure our profiles, making them visible only to the "Friends of friends" for example, allowing only people that are in our friends list to see our photos and posts and to send messages etc..
4- NOT ACCEPTING FRIEND-REQUESTS FROM RANDOM PEOPLE.
Some on you would do so, some won't .. it depends on your personal preferences ... sometimes, we feel like let's get to make some new online friends, which isn't wrong...
5- LOOK FOR SUSPICIOUS SIGNS:
Remember, ONLY the most dangerous RATS will be quite anonymous online. Everyday Rats would just use their real profiles ...
So look for these signs if you find them, just don't add the person or accept their requests:
☢ RANDOM/GENERIC PROFILE PICTURE: ( Try to use "Tineye.com" or Google to reverse search image ) maybe it's a generic photo that belongs to someone else.
☢ EMPTY or NEW PROFILES: Remember, these are the most dangerous ones, check the profile, browse through the wall and posts and get an idea of everything.
☢ MONO-PHOTO PROFILES: Some profiles would be with only one photo, there's nothing else.
☢ CREEPY PROFILES: Some profiles may have several photos, but if you focus close enough you'd notice that it's not the same person in every picture.
☢ ATTRACTIVE YOUNG MEN: Also, You may feel attracted to the person, they'd look nice, good etc... but it can be someone else's pictures that are used.
☢ UPDATES: Normal profiles, would always have some updates, if not too many pictures as well, shared videos, bio, music, posts, people commenting etc...
Fun Fact : Now, there are efforts from social media administration to help decrease these fake profiles, they've decided to ask for a piece of identity that real human agents will review to guarantee profile ownership, the other profiles will be permanently deleted.
☢ TIMING : Be Smart !! check for the posted pictures, the time they got posted, if you notice that all of them were uploaded during a specific time-frame .. Block him/her !!
☢ DO NOT ENGAGE EMOTIONALLY RIGHT AWAY : Many people met their "significant ones" online, who knows, but to build a relationship, you need time !!
☢ DO NOT SHARE TOO MUCH : Let's assume you've added someone that seems genuine, remember, he can be one of the Low-Risk-Rats .. so it's best to be MYSTERIOUS.
☢ COPY-PASTE YOUR LINKS : You received a link. NEVER click it !! no matter what, get used to copying then pasting it in a new tab or incognito tab just no direct clicking.
☢ NEVER SAVE YOUR CREDIT CARD : as much as it makes things easy, just don't !! if you want to use it, take out use it then put it back where it belongs.. simple !!
☢ ALWAYS SCAN YOUR COMPUTER : Malwarebytes seems to be a good recommendation, scan it, get rid of trackers, malware viruses etc..
☢ BEZNESS : Don't accept people that look like ; Young men posing topless, having cheap tattoos, posing with motorbikes etc...you guys know how a bezness looks like.
6- NO MONEY GIVE-AWAY !!! ( Double or Triple Underline this )
No matter what you hear, no matter what they tell you, no matter how they'd accuse you of being selfish, careless etc... NEVER SEND ANY MONEY SO SOMEONE YOU DON'T REALLY KNOW for years !! simple, just don't give your money away !!
Some would say, "But my Hobbi is genuine, he's honest and I can help him." YES you can, but in a very moderate logical way !! Give and Receive that's it.
7- NO PHOTO-SHARING:
Assuming you've gotten in a relationship with someone online .. just don't share your intimate photos right away .. personally I'd recommend sharing no photos of yourself AT ALL, surely not sexting out of the blue ( Some Rats, maybe most of them are very sexual ) so please don't do it.
8- PASSWORDS MANAGING :
Simply, find a way to manage your passwords online type them once, copy them somewhere safe .. every time you want to login to something, just copy and paste your password. Because some of these Rats can actually HACK you !! through different ways that are so super easy :
☢ NJ-RAT : I swear to the gods, that this is what it's called " NJ-RAT" its creator must've been a psychic and knew that this will be RATS' favorite tool, it's a Rat's server creator, that can be patched into a normal simple picture, undetectable by anti-virus, as soon as you click-or-download that picture and boom !! The Rat is in your computer, and he's able to do anything he wants, including copying, deleting, modifying your files .. taking your passwords, credit card details etc...
☢ Ransomware: It's also a virus, that can be easily obtained .. it can also be patched in a random file, once clicked .. it will encrypt your whole phone/computer and the Rat will ask for money to de-crypt it, otherwise you'd format it and lose all your data ( But there are other options, check online and learn them just in case).
☢ Keylogger: This is also Rats' favorite tool, you remember when I said that it's best to copy paste your password? because keylogger is also a very tiny safe server that will gather every piece of information, text, email, username, password practically everything you type on the keyboard and send it over to the Cyber-Rat.
9- SPAMMING VIA EMAIL:
Remember, sometimes, a Rat via social-engineering can gather a lot of information about you, including your email, probably your paypal, bank or anything that he can use .. so you can get to receive an email that looks pretty much like your banker's email, Apple ID, Paypal etc.. asking you to update your information on the website !! make sure to think not twice but 1000 Times before doing anything or clicking on anything !!! CALL THEM ON THEIR OFFICIAL PHONE NUMBER IF NEEDED TO VERIFY !! ALSO VERIFY THE LINK SENT TO YOU.
Trust me, this is important because I'm gonna tell you a story that's based on REAL-Happenings ..
" So a couple of years ago, IN TUNISIA, a group of about 4 young students, very educated, intelligent and brilliant .. started doing this "Email-spamming" job !! they got millions of Euros, and millions of dollars out of credit cards details that they have collected from all over the world, this group of 4 became a group of 11 people .. including online shop-owners, so that the money will enter the country undetectable etc.. they bought luxury cars, expensive goods, branded clothing even luxurious houses and villas. It took the Police about 2 years to uncover the whole operation with the help of the Interpol" So this is no game !!
Finally this brings me to the Tunisian Cyber-Police, or Cyber-crime division.
Now, the Interpol has their own Cyber-Division in Tunisia in cooperation with the Tunisian Cyber-Police, It's still growing .. I'm not yet sure how efficient they are, but I wanted to let y'all know that it's there and I'll pull some strings as soon as I go to Tunisia to check for more information.
Woof This has been quite a long post, I hope that I've been able to cover some aspects that we should all be aware of and I hope that I've been a help, I know it may not be very very related to Tunisian Love Rats in general, but as they represent a not so small category of these Cyber-Rats, I wanted to tackle the whole THING for further security ..
been there I actually busted one got in touch with real guy he was claiming to be
