What the Equifax Data Breach Can Teach Us About Security Fatigue

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If you buy anything, anywhere, you are at risk of a cyber threat. Though you probably know that cyber threats exist, if you are like most of us, you don’t’ know what to do when it comes to being safe online, and if you become a victim, you really don’t know what to do. This is all important as we prepare for the next big breach like the one that happened with Equifax. If you use credit, you are a potential victim here.

According to Equifax, more than 147 million people were affected by the breach, and most of us had or have no idea what we can do about it, or how it might affect us in the future. On top of this, when we look at statistics, we can see that almost 27 billion…not million, but billion…additional records were exposed due to data breaches in 2020, and things are only going to get worse.

The issue is that people are frustrated, scared, and confused, and because these cyber-attacks are so common now, people are just getting apathetic about it. Of course, this is very dangerous. Additionally, there are other issues, too, specifically “security fatigue.”

What does this mean? It means that people just want nothing to do with worrying about computer security at all, and they get annoyed when they hear all of the rhetoric that comes from security experts like “keep an eye out for blah, blah, blah.”

Cyber Attacks are More Common Now Than Ever in the Past

It should be no surprise that cyber attacks are more common today than they were in the past. That also means that the chances of becoming a victim of identity theft are higher. Internet fraud is playing a big role in this, but it’s not just human error and bad passwords that are causing this. Instead, it’s the lack of people doing anything to stop it. And here’s the thing…if you think it can’t happen to you, you are wrong.

Tips for Protecting Yourself Online

It is not difficult to protect yourself online. Here are seven tips to keep yourself safe:

  • Download a program for your browser that tells you if a site you are going to go to is dangerous. These can be seen right from your browser, and if a site is safe, you will immediately know. A full suite of antivirus should include a browser plug-in to serve this purpose.
  • Keep your passwords safe with a password manager. It is very important to use a different password for every account.
  • Get some type of ID theft coverage through your employer, your bank, or other business. It’s not easy to 100% fully protect your identity, but using something like this can make things much, much easier.
  • Set up two-factor authentication and text alerts for sensitive accounts like bank accounts, email, and social media.
  • Freeze your credit. This way, a scammer can’t open any new accounts in your name.
  • Learn more about common internet scams. You should understand what ransomware is, phishing, scareware, and more.

One of the biggest things you should take away from this is to understand that if you become a victim of something like this, it doesn’t just affect you; it also can affect your family, friends, co-workers, and more. Yes, it might be annoying to some to have to take these steps, but it could be the difference between staying safe and becoming a victim.

Written by Robert Siciliano, CEO of Credit Parent, Head of Training & Security Awareness Expert at Protect Now, #1 Best Selling Amazon author, Media Personality & Architect of CSI Protection Certification.

Make your Mobile a Tough Target: Strengthening Your Mobile Device

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Do you pay attention to how secure your mobile phone is? Most of us do not do this, which makes it very easy for a hacker to get in and target us. Here are some tips that you can use to protect your phone from becoming a target:

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Always Set a Passcode 

One of the best things you can do to strengthen your mobile device’s security is to make sure you have a passcode on it. All mobile phones have a passcode option, and some phones, like the iPhone, even allows you to remotely lock it if you believe the phone has been stolen.

Use Biometrics 

You can make your device even safer by setting up some type of biometric access like a fingerprint or facial recognition.

Use “Find My”

If you have an iPhone and it gets stolen, you can use the Find My iPhone app. This app is already on your iPhone, and it’s totally free. It uses GPS to locate your iPhone as long as the GPS capabilities are enabled. If you have an Android, you can do a similar thing with Find My Device.

Check Up on Your Privacy Settings

It is also a good idea to take a peek at your privacy settings. Your data is very important, and there are constant threats. Thankfully, you can set up your privacy settings to make it difficult to get into. Depending on your phone, you can look at privacy settings, location settings, VPN settings, and encryption settings.

Is Phone Antivirus Software Necessary?

Many people think that you can make your phone a lot safer by using anti-virus software. When you put this on your computer, it certainly helps a lot. However, it doesn’t do much, or isn’t even available for an iPhone. If you have an Android, though, it’s best to load one up. You can find a ton of them on Google Play.

Don’t Jailbreak or Root Your Device

 You should also not jailbreak your iPhone nor root your Android device. Many people do this because they get more freedom for customizing their device, and you can download apps that Apple hasn’t approved. However, this can open your device up to hackers, which could be a devastating thing.

Encrypt Your Backups

 Finally, make sure that you are backing up and encrypting your backups. When you backup your device, the data just sits on your computer or in the cloud, and in some cases that might mean it can get hacked. So, make sure you encrypt the information that’s there, so even if the computer is hacked or your cloud based backup is compromised, the hacker can’t access this data.

Written by Robert Siciliano, CEO of Credit Parent, Head of Training & Security Awareness Expert at Protect Now, #1 Best Selling Amazon author, Media Personality & Architect of CSI Protection Certification.

Protect Your Mail From Thieves

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Do you have Informed Delivery from the US Postal Service? If not, you should. Every day, it sends you an email that shows what is coming in your mail.

Robert Siciliano, CSP, SAFR.MEHowever, there is also the possibility that someone could pose as you and get your Informed Delivery. This means that they could get your mail before you do.

In fact, this is already happening. The bad guys are signing up with the addresses of other people, and then collecting their mail. Why? Because they want to get access to things like credit card applications or new credit cards.

What if your mail contains a check? The thief could easily cash it before you even realized it was gone.

There are numerous reports that show groups of thieves in actually used the USPS to apply for credit cards via an application that we all get in our mail. They then just had to wait. They knew the exact day the credit cards would arrive because they had access to the owners’ mail via Informed Delivery. By doing this, they were able to spend around $400,000, and the owners didn’t realize it until it was too late.

A locking mailbox could certainly help, and you can also opt out of informed delivery by emailing eSafe@usps.gov. This prevents anyone from signing up for it in your name.

You can also consider a credit freeze. This does not guarantee that a thief won’t be able to steal your identity and open a credit card, but it makes it much more difficult.

Other Things You Can Do

Here are a few other things you can do:

  • Check your credit cards statements each month for any charges that look strange or unfamiliar, and then immediately report them, even if it is a small amount.
  • Contact the three major credit reporting agencies and sign up for alerts to get any changes in your credit report.
  • Get a mailbox that locks. There is too much information out there not to have this.

Written by Robert Siciliano, CEO of Credit Parent, Head of Training & Security Awareness Expert at Protect Now, #1 Best Selling Amazon author, Media Personality & Architect of CSI Protection Certification.

Tips to Protect Your Identity from Cyber Thieves

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There are several tried and true ways that you can use to protect yourself from ID theft, and some of them you might have never even considered:
Check Your Passwords – Every online account you have should have a different password. Never use the same password for more than one account. You can easily fix this issue by using a password manager. Also, don’t use specific words/phrases or keyboard sequences when creating passwords. A password manager can even generate passwords for you.

Don’t Post Personal Information on Social Media – This including things like your kid’s school or teacher, the town your parents live in, your pet’s name, or even where and when you are going on vacation. Cyber thieves can use this information to guess passwords.

Ignore Any Email from People You Don’t Know – If you get emails from people you don’t know that have a link or attachment, never, ever click or open them.

Put a Password on Your Phone – This way, if your phone is lost or stolen, you don’t have to worry.

Shred Important Documents – Anything that comes in that has personal information, that would go in the rubbish, should be shredded. This includes credit cards bills and medical records.

Never Give Your Social Security Number Out – Unless you absolutely have to, you should not give up your Social Security number. Just because someone asks for it, that doesn’t mean they actually need it, or you should hand it over. That said, I give up my social all the time. But only on documents or applications that absolutely require it.

Check Out Your Credit Report Each Year – Every year, or every quarter, you can get access to your credit report for free. Check it out when you can to make sure it’s accurate.

Inspect Your Statements – Look for anomalies or unauthorized transactions. This includes any banking and credit card statements, and you should do this each month.

Get a Locking Mailbox – A locking mailbox is available at most big box hardware stores or online.  Or pay for a PO Box.

Stop Your Mail When You Travel – You should also stop your mail delivery when you take a long trip.

Freeze Your Credit – Consider freezing your credit. This will stop an ID thief from opening new accounts in your name.

Written by Robert Siciliano, CEO of Credit Parent, Head of Training & Security Awareness Expert at Protect Now, #1 Best Selling Amazon author, Media Personality & Architect of CSI Protection Certification.