As we march further into the information age, it’s becoming more and more apparent to larger swaths of the population that identity theft and online fraud are both becoming a problem. It’s important for everyone to protect themselves, particularly those who think that they’re safe from identity theft simply because they don’t make much money. We often hear about high profile cases of rich people becoming a target, but the reality is that these fraudsters are by and large looking for smaller hits of 10 to 20 dollars from millions of people. This is why it’s important to protect yourself no matter your income bracket. Look at these stats from SafeSmartLiving.Com
Let’s take a look at some of the ways we can protect ourselves from fraud. We have numerous examples that people often don’t think about.
Using Default Passwords
This point is particularly true when it comes to your router. If you have a standard password or even worse, no password at all, that can easily spell trouble when it comes to protecting your identity from fraud. Make sure to avoid overly simplified passwords. On the flip side, make sure that the password is easy to remember to avoid writing them down in public areas.
Over-Utilizing Public Wi-Fi
Public Wi-Fi is a great feature found in numerous hotels and diners, but make sure to keep your financial apps under close watch while you’re utilizing someone else’s internet. It’s impossible to know exactly what kind of security features they have on there or if it’s already been compromised. At the end of the day, a sophisticated hacker can infiltrate your system and you wouldn’t even know it.
Trusting Default Settings
There are plenty of financial apps out there such as the one you use for your bank account, but sticking to the default settings can compromise your security. We need to make sure we’re checking out some of the security features the next time that we try to use our apps, particularly those apps that contain important financial information. Read through the privacy terms and conditions. Apps love to leave boxes checked to get as much user data as possible. You can reject their access and still use the app in most cases.
Credit Cards
Many things can be said about credit cards, but it’s important to remember that while debit cards might not have interest that needs to be paid off, credit cards often have significantly more fraud protection just because of how often they’re targeted by fraudsters. In addition to that, it’s important not to use the same credit cards for everything. Consider dedicating credit cards to specific purchases, such as having one for groceries and another for gas.
Giving Out Personal Information
Social security numbers are seeming to be becoming a thing of the past, but that doesn’t stop businesses from utilizing them when they’re hiring or reviewing their documents. It’s best to always avoid giving out our social security numbers and dates of birth whenever possible, as many experts would agree. This goes for face to face meetings as well, not just things that happen on the internet.
Checking Suspicious Emails
We often receive junk mail that’s automatically sent to our trash bin but sometimes suspicious emails can get through even the best filters. It’s important to always check your emails to ensure you aren’t getting one with a spoofed name. It’s very easy for a fraudster to spoof somebody’s name to send an email that will automatically open up malicious spyware. As a rule of thumb, if you do not know the source and its not regarding friends or work, ignore and delete it without opening. This ensures the best possible outcome.
Handing Out Data to Careless People
It’s hard to admit, but some of the most caring and trusted people in our personal circles can oftentimes be bad for our security. If you have a friend that simply doesn’t understand why security and passwords matter so much, it can be hard to deny them. For example, if someone needed to access your internet, it can be awkward telling them that you’ll enter the password for them yourself. This is a must. All you have to say is “No problem, let me see your device and I’ll throw the password in and you’ll be all set.
At the end of the day, whether your filling out financial data, social media, emails, how you connect to the internet, personal information, etc. The information age has shed light on just how easy it is for theft and pick pocketing of personal information can be. The economy in general is having a problem mitigating the issue. Always do your due diligence and understand an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Go the extra mile and change passwords instead of using default stuff. Look at setting and deny app permissions when you can. Have a secure Wi-Fi network at your home. You will be glad you did at the end of the day.
