Whether it is the matter if buying grocery, payment of utility bills or any other financial transactions, our most of the tasks are online and can be done quickly and more conveniently even without leaving a favorite space like bedroom, office or classroom. But, cyber security issues like data breach and identity theft are also on peak and growing day by day from simple irritations to major security issues in both personal and professional lives.
However, in this article, we are about to uncover some realistic ways to prevent identity theft and other cybersecurity threats while using the internet regularly.
Keep your Social Security number safe
Protecting your social security number can be one of the vital steps to prevent serious cybersecurity threats like identity theft. Always keep it in custody and never carry with you if unnecessary. If someone is asking for it, make sure it is really necessary to show or communicate with.
Be cautious in public
Hackers and cybercriminals are smart these days and can get personal details and information while you are talking to someone over a phone call. They can also trace your important PINs by looking over your shoulder when you are entering to withdraw money from ATM machine.
Protect your computer
If you often use your computer for confidential communication and financial transaction, keep it safe by using a firewall, anti-viruses, spam filters (for email) and anti-spyware apps and software. Also, keep your windows operating system and other software up to date in order to reduce the chances of spam and cyber security threats.
Ignore spurious links, messages and emails
Don’t click or respond to any bogus links, media files (that can be clickable with a spam link) or any other attachment received by unfamiliar senders either in an email inbox or via social media profile. In this way, you can keep yourself away from identity theft and other serious security issues.
Give importance to your trash
As it is mentioned above that hackers and criminals are smart now, they can acquire confidential information and details like your name, account number or credit card details from dumpsters who are full with ATM receipts and credit card bills. Always carry all the receipts and invoices with you and avoid throwing them in public bins or on road.
Check your inbox every day
Whether you are going to enjoy vacation or away from your computer due to some business issues, try to keep an eye on all your online accounts including email inbox. In this way, you can prevent any other person for using your email or an online account.
Email Phishing
It is the process of sending bogus emails (that usually looks real) from criminals with an intention to gain access to your personal information, name, social security number or any other private data that can help them hack your accounts or in identity theft. Such emails can conveniently be controlled by employing a reliable spam filtering service or any other email security solution. In this way, you can keep your email inbox clean from spam emails and chances of identity theft would also be reduced.
Use strong passwords
Selection of the weak and default passwords for your online accounts is an open invitation to hacker and criminals as weak and default passwords are easy to break and hack as well. Whether it is the social media profile or an online banking account to access your account with the internet, always choose tricky and strong passwords to keep hackers away from your accounts. You can make your password strong by making it a blend of words, symbols and numbers. Also, never use old passwords for your accounts to prevent hacking and identity theft as well.
Purchase from secured sites
When it comes to buy stuff online, you have to be very careful as you may need to share your credit card details to make payment for purchases. Always check whether the site is using SSL certificate to encrypt the data or not. On another hand, prefer to shop from online stores or ecommerce sites with reliable payment options like PayPal or Google Checkout. In this way, chances of scam are always reduced as you can dispute the payment via paypal if the seller is not providing the services or products as agreed.
