As digital crime keeps increasing, the biggest offenders aren't doing advanced technical attacks. Criminals are mostly just scamming people into doing what they want. They are particularly targeting companies and keep having success through email. But increased automation also allows them to reproduce attacks on any platform, including ad networks that appear in searches, websites, or apps.

The most basic defence against these scams is to avoid getting pushed around by these messages. Ignore the fabricated urgency and don't click where they tell us. Microsoft says you should change your Outlook password? OK, open your Outlook account settings and do that on your own. Don't click that initial message. Use what you know to not let scammers boss you around. 

The same principle applies to ads, which also represent a security risk. You search for Zoom, and you get an ad on top to download it. This can be malware that will silently steal logins from your computer. It may even still work just like Zoom, so that no one will suspect anything.  Computer attacks no longer do us the courtesy of blowing up in our faces. 

Ad blocking and spam filters can help to reduce the volume of solicitations that try to grab our wandering attention. But we also need to exercise our agency. Know where to find account settings by ourselves, or save bookmarks for software we keep downloading.  Reach out for help to someone you can trust if you're unsure what to do. 

Give yourself the space to pull your digital levers towards you instead of letting strangers push you towards them. Simply remember: pull, don't get pushed.