It seems that every day brings news of a new data breach and news of thousands, if not millions of credit card numbers stolen. The thing is that isn’t the only way for criminals to get access to your money. If you aren’t worried about your on line security, you should be. Take a few simple steps to secure your online ID.
There are many methods used to get your information, two of the most common are;
• Keyloggers – these are malicious bits of programs that are installed on a computer, which then reports that information back to the controller.
• “Social Engineering” – this is nothing more than someone calling or emailing pretending to be a bank or store and asking you to “verify” information for them. Even revealing only small amounts of information can be added to other things they find online that can be used to gain access to your accounts.
1) All your banking/credit card info should be tied to an email (or more than one) that you don’t use for anything else and it shouldn’t be your name or something easy to guess.
2) Come up with secure passwords, don’t use the same one for everything and change them regularly.
Use a combination of numbers, upper and lower case letters and, if the site allows it, symbols. The longer the password is the more secure it is.
3) Use two factor authentication if it’s available. This means making changes to your accounts requires a onetime code that is texted to your phone before they take effect. This prevents someone who is able to get access to your account by any method from changing the password or email and locking you out of it.
4) Call your banks and credit cards and tell them they are to release NO information over the phone without a secure phrase that only you know. It’s surprisingly easy to get a company to release for example, the last 4 of a credit card, when many companies use THAT as security.
5) Set your social media to friends only to make it harder for people to learn things about you that could be used to compromise your accounts (birthdays, kids names, etc)
6) When setting up answers to security questions, don’t use your information, use a close friend’s instead. Even if someone is able to find out enough about you to be able to fake your identity, it still won’t be right.
7) Avoid using public computers to log onto any important accounts. If you absolutely have to, when you finish, clear the cookies, cache and browser history and close the browser. Make sure that you uncheck any boxes that would store your information and don’t accidentally tell it to remember your passwords. If you log into Bank of America and Yahoo from a public computer, anyone who uses that computer knows most of what they need to get into your account.
Mobile and online banking are incredibly convenient and useful tools, but they must be managed and used carefully to avoid having your accounts compromised.
Do you have any tips to add?
Great tips, I only add to update antivirus software regularly. Online security is very important and should be taken seriously.
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These are some great tips. Most people are unaware of just how easy it is for hackers to get your information online.
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Those are some really great tips. I need to write all of my passwords down or I’ll forget them quickly.
Great tips, it's best to make sure your password is something complex that people would have a hard time getting.
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Fantastic tips it's scary how easily people can get hold of your details online 🙁 – thankfully I've not had it happen myself but it is very worrying x
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These scammers are getting more and more sophisticated, and seniors especially have to be careful. Many have been duped by these criminals.
these are such great tips. It is amazing that the basic picking a secure password is not followed by a lot of people
I've heard of most of those tips but never #6 (using your friends info) what a GREAT idea. Thanks so much.
I have never heard of tip #6 before! Sneaky & smart 😀
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Our electric went out in a storm once and I had the option to pay a late fee or go to the library and pay online there. I went to the library, but I was a nervous wreck. That's a great point you make about the public computer!
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Great tips – it is so scary how much access people can get to your information these days!
Thank you for the tips. I am so weary about online banking!
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Great tips and so important for everyone of all ages to know. It's important to stay on top of these things, especially since scammers and hackers are getting more and more creative.
These are really great tips! I'm such a crazy person about security especially in the blogging world.
With everything being done online now it's easy for people to fall prey to these scams. =( Being aware is the first step to protecting yourself. #6 is a good tip!
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I love these tips.They are crucial to avoid identity theft and danger. I'm so glad you are educating everyone with regard to these very important security matters.
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Thanks for the tips!
These are some very good tips. For #6, I would probably mix it up somehow by adding someone elses info in place of mine.