Staying Safe Online – Part Two

In Compliance, Cyber Security, Financial Services Technology by Amaya Swanson

In Part One of Staying Safe Online, we reviewed the five most common online risks. Some risks are obvious like the Prince who wants to share his fortune, but some are a bit sneakier and can take you by surprise.

Here are some tips to avoid falling victim to these scams:

  • If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is! If you didn’t enter a contest or giveaway, your “prize” is likely not on its way, and if you did enter a contest, ensure said contest is legitimate before you provide any PII. Always check the source.
  • Avoid accessing banking on a public computer (e.g. the library or an internet café) or while using public WiFi.
  • Never reveal PII such as birthdate, your social security number, banking information, or the street you grew up on (all common security questions) to unknown sources, especially if they contacted you rather than vice versa. You can – and should – tell a caller that you will call them back – and then look up the correct number for the service provider Before entering credit card information online, ensure the website has the padlock or a “S” after the “HTTP” in the URL.
  • Don’t click links in emails, instead type the URL directly into your browser.
  • If an email from someone you know looks suspicious, pick up the phone and call or text the sender to verify its authenticity.
  • Hover over links and images in emails to check for redirection to a fraudulent site – often the redirection is subtle and only missing a character or two.

Check back on Friday for a post on passwords!

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