Protecting Your Information

There are many tactics that scammers and fraudsters will use to gain access to your information, and ultimately try to steal your identity and/or your money. It's important that consumers stay up-to-date on how to be digitally safe online. For your safety and convenience we have listed, described, and linked many resources to help you stay on top of protecting your information. Topics on this page include:

• General Online Security
• Social Engineering
• Phishing Scams
• Malware
• Public Internet Usage
• Using Anti-virus 
• Identity Theft Protection
• Inspect Your Credit

General Online Security

• Keep your computer operating system patched, and up to date.  
• Install a strong and reputable anti-virus software program and run updates to ensure your computer is protected.
• Do not use public computers for accessing online banking as these can store usernames and passwords.
• Avoid using public Wi-Fi hotspots because you don’t know what security measures are in place for those networks.
• It’s important to not use the same password for all of your logins. It’s also recommended to periodically change your password. And never share your logins with anyone.
• Using combinations of upper and lower case letters along with numbers and symbols will strengthen your password safety.  Using acronyms or letters from a phrase are much more secure than using standard dictionary words.

Social Engineering

Social engineering is an attack that relies heavily on human interaction and often involves manipulating people into breaking normal security procedures and best practices in order to gain access to systems, networks or physical locations, or for financial gain. 

You can read more about Social Engineering here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_engineering_(security)

Phishing Scams

Malware

Malware is a term that describes many different types of undesireable computer software. Many scams these days involve the use of malware. Malware can be used against individuals to gain information such as personal identification numbers or details, bank or credit card numbers, and passwords. Victims of malware scams often have installed malware on their computers and are convinced or coerced into payiing to have it removed.  You should NEVER get an unsolicited call from ANYONE telling you that you have a virus or malware on your computer. You can read more about malware here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malware

Public Internet Usage (Cafe's, Internet Hotspots, Etc)

Using free wireless connections sure can be helpful sometimes but it also has its risks. You can read more about staying safe on free wi-fi here: https://www.wired.com/story/public-wifi-safety-tips/

Using Antivirus

Most internet service providers now offer free anti-virus, however whether or not it's free to you, you should ALWAYS protect your computers with antivirus software. You can read more about the importance of antivirus protections here.

Identity Theft Prevention

Inspect Your Credit