It seems that daily headlines are populated with tales of cybercriminals, online scams, identity theft and system outages.
The Federal Trade Commission even posts an annual Top Scams article to inform consumers of the latest and most nefarious scams plaguing the country. This can make us feel unsafe and stressed, and learning about cybersecurity can be overwhelming, especially if you’ve just forgotten your password… again.
However, the changes we recommend below can help you better protect yourself against cyber thieves and other digital ne’er-do-wells.
1. Spot and Report Phishing
Phishing is an unsolicited message or email asking for personal information or mimicking something you trust, like your bank or a relative. Phishing messages may display unusual urgency, ask for your personal information or feature odd or misspelled words or URLs. These links often redirect you to a fake version of a trusted website.
As a best practice, if you receive an email or text message from someone that seems ‘phishy,’ do not click any links in the email, including an “unsubscribe” button. Instead, go directly to the site and conduct your business there. Don’t respond to the message, click any links or call any numbers in the message. Instead, go to your contacts and use the trusted number of the business or person.
When you identify a phishing email or message, you should always report and delete it immediately. Most email providers will have a “report spam” or “report phishing” button that you can click from the toolbar of your email client. Similarly, most phone service providers have a “report message” option as well as a “block” option.
2. Set Up a Credit Freeze
A credit freeze (aka a security freeze) restricts access to your credit report so most lenders can’t see your information until you unfreeze it, which can easily be done online, by phone or by mail. If your financial information gets stolen, any fraudulent attempts to open an account in your name will be blocked.
Credit freezes and unfreezes are free from all three credit reporting bureaus and are generally recommended to consumers as a fraud prevention measure. Refer to the following article from NerdWallet to learn how to freeze and unfreeze your credit with all three bureaus.
3. Create Complex Passwords
Even more important than changing your password regularly is to have a good password.
Hackers use a technique—usually referred to as a “brute force attack”—that uses computing power to figure out the password by testing many possibilities. The more complex the password, the more time it takes. For example, a seven-character password can generally be cracked in two seconds, whereas a 13-character combination of numbers, upper and lowercase letters, and symbols will take approximately 15 years to crack.
According to the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), good passwords must be long, random and unique. Security experts also recommend using a password manager to store all your complex passwords, so you don’t have to rely on memorization.
For the latest reviews on different password managers, check Consumer Reports Product Ratings and Expert Advice (accessible for free with your Canton Public Library card).
4. Turn On Multifactor Authentication
Most email programs, banks and shopping sites offer the option to enable multi-factor authentication (MFA), an extra layer of security for your online accounts. After entering your username and password, the site will send a code or a text to a device you physically have with you, like your phone.
This prevents someone from another part of the world, who may have stolen your password, from getting into your account from afar.
5. Keep Up to Date
Make sure your software, phone operating systems, web browsers, etc., are updated to their latest versions.
Software companies regularly release bug and security fixes that can prevent hackers from accessing your system and information. Automatic updates are a great way to do this; find the setting on your computer, phone or device and make sure it is turned on.
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