These days pretty much everything is done online from work, study, shopping, and dating. Therefore, the need to protect yourself is even greater. Now, many people do foolish things online that can get them into deep trouble, financial or otherwise. To make sure you’re staying safe, consider these key tips.
- Choose A Strong Password
If your password is your birthday, your favorite food, your dog’s name, or something else that belongs on a funny passwords list, then you may wish to change it. The best passwords are those that are completely random and have no correlation with you.
Your choice should be at least eight characters and include a mixture of lowercase and uppercase letters, numbers, and symbols. It is also recommended that you use different passwords for different sites. If you simply use the same one every time, then should it get comprised, hackers will have access to ALL your online accounts.
- What Out For Phishing Emails
Often, people will receive emails requesting them to log into a financial account to resolve some issue. A common format of these phishing scams is PayPal emails. These pertain to be from the official company and require you to click on a link and then enter your login details. Of course, the problem is that the link supplied is to a fake site that simply steals your credentials.
While these emails will regularly be identified by your email account’s spam detectors, some will still make their way through and end up at the top of your inbox.
These emails will typically have a subject that garners attention, such as one informing you that you just sent thousands of dollars to a particular person.
Remember, PayPal and other legitimate financial institutions will never ask you for your account details, nor will they supply you with a link to the company website. You will also notice that many phishing emails contain spelling and grammatical errors.
If you’re ever in doubt, then phone your bank for clarification, however, note that many banks won’t message you via email.
- Be Wary Of Online Dating
The internet is rife with online dating scams, so if you are one of the many people looking for love in cyberspace then be wary. You may think that you are too smart to be fooled, but many others have thought the same thing and ended up losing large sums.
Many scammers set up profiles with fake photos and information to lure in potential victims. They may initially attempt to build rapport with you before the requests for money start trickling in. Many of these requests may seem genuine, such as asking for money to help out a sick relative. However, it is much more likely that they are made up.
As a golden rule, you should never send money to someone that you’ve never meet in person.
Final Thoughts
The internet has become such an ingrained part of our daily lives, which means it’s even more crucial to be cautious. You don’t want to get your accounts hacked or get scammed of thousands so be diligent every time you jump online.