Cyber Safety Tips to Lock Down Personal Data from Online Scam Threats

Take a little advice from a wounded healer when it comes to recovering from cyber safety attacks—it's not if your online safety becomes compromised, it's a matter of when you realize the violation of your security. How much do you take the digital safety of your personal information for granted? Each time we log in online, we are vulnerable to cyber crime threats being waged against our most valuable assets. Not too surprisingly, hackers are relentless and unbelievably savvy in attempting to phish for access to unprotected or under-protected online information. The potential for disaster is a very real risk, occurring with increasing frequency. Our immersion into the world of technology is increasing at an unprecedented level and we are all at risk. Review these cyber safety tips to lock down your personal data from cyber crime scam threats.

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Cyber Safety Tips to Lock Down Personal Data from Online Scam Threats

What is Cyber Crime?

Endangering our safety through illegal activities committed digitally via internet are considered cyber crimes. Examples of various types of cyber crimes would be email spam, identity theft, phishing, online harassment, drug trafficking, cyber terrorism, hateful or offensive content, or other fraudulent activities. 

Violating the sanctity of our rights to privacy, cyber hackers are invasive criminals ruthlessly stealing confidential data to access millions of dollars from unsuspecting victims. Anyone and everyone ranging from defenseless children to corporate conglomerates are at risk of cyber criminals taking advantage of opportunities to gain access and control of our confidential information. 

What is Phishing?

Phishing is the act of sending out fraudulent email appearing to have been sent from a reputable source. These types of communications can deceive you into sharing your personal information. Unfortunately, once this data is obtained, it is often used for unlawful purposes. 

As busy as we are, it is important to be aware of phishing email sent right to your inbox. Watching out for red flags such as-

- your response requires a payment

- noticeable typos or grammatical errors

- you are directed to visit a link or sign in

- any request for you to provide personal information

Network Privacy

While visiting websites, take a look at the site information in the address bar to see if the small lock icon is open or closed.  Is the web address http or https? The “s” in https stands for “secure.” Information communicated between your browser and the website are encrypted, preventing data from being viewed. Clicking on links to sites without https may activate warnings from your browsers that the site is not secure.

While out and about, logging on to unsecured public wi-fi may leave your information vulnerable to attack by cyber criminals. Cybersecurity experts recommend establishing a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to encrypt your online data when using public wi-fi.

Guard yourself against access to your data with unique 10-12 character password combinations of numbers, phrases, and special characters in place of passwords. Managing routine updates to strengthen passwords is an essential deterrent to cyber criminals using advanced technology to quickly decode passcodes.

Strong passphrases will include at least twelve characters. Do not include personal information such as birthdates, names, or addresses. Combine a mix of words to create a random phrase, adding numbers and symbols at the beginning, middle, or end.

Multi-Factor Authentication

Our accounts manage a vast amount of our personal information, multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds an extra measure of protection. With two-factor authentication, after entering your password, you will be prompted to verify your identity through an additional action. A temporary, unique code would need to be entered in order to gain access to your account.

Remember to keep vigilant and to trust your instincts. Often hackers send messages appearing to be sent from a familiar account by imitating their e-mail address. Check the website URL you are being asked to click on to verify it is the actual site address.

- Only click on email links from trusted sources.

- Never download attachments unless the sender is trusted

- Do not enter personal information into unverified forms 

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