Here are common-sense ways to protect your identity, financial data and private information from scammers, hackers and online predators.
Use Strong Passwords
To ensure the security of your account and personal information, here are tips for creating a strong password.
- Ensure your password is a minimum of 12 characters preferably.
- Make your password complex by including uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
- Is different from previous passwords and unique for each account (tip: you can also use a password manager to help you keep track of your passwords).
- Does not contain a familiar name, person, character, or product.
- Avoid using easily accessible information like your name or birthdate.
Update Your Devices and Software
Bad actors continually exploit flaws in systems so it’s important to regularly update your devices and software with the latest fixes.
- Update the operating system on your mobile phones, tablets, and laptops.
- Keep your apps and browsers updated.
- Leverage automatic software updates and periodically restart your devices to ensure that updates are fully installed.
Think Before You Click
You have likely experienced suspicious phishing schemes, pretend emails or texts, and other tricks designed to get you to reveal passwords, social security numbers, credit card numbers and other sensitive information.
- Don’t give any personal or financial information to a request you didn’t expect. Honest organizations won’t call, email or text you to ask for sensitive information.
- If it’s a link you don’t recognize or a document you weren’t expecting, trust your instincts and don’t click on it or open it.
- Verify any requests for private information. You can look up websites and customer contact information to ensure you are interacting with trustworthy sources.
Turn on Multifactor Authentication
Use multifactor authentication when it’s available for online services you use. Multifactor authentication, also known as two factor authentication, adds a second verification method when you sign in with your user name and password. The second factor can include:
- Something you know – a PIN number or answer to a security question.
- Something you have – a confirmation text on your phone or an authentication app.
- Something you are – a fingerprint or face ID.