The holiday decorations are down, packed away, and we’re all heading back to work or school. But unlike the Grinch, criminal scammers don’t go into hibernation. Don’t let your guard down as you get back to business as usual. Here are some tips we hope the citizens of Tuscaloosa County will find useful now and all year long…
Did You Receive a New Electronic Device This Holiday Season?
Perhaps you received a new smartphone, tablet or laptop? Make sure you protect those devices with strong passwords and/or passcodes. The same goes for all your online accounts. What exactly is a “strong password?” Well, there are some pretty simple rules to follow to make your personal information and accounts much harder for criminals/hackers to access:
- Never use personal information. Birthdays and children’s names are easy to remember but are easy for hackers (and their malware) to guess.
- Create a unique password using a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. “#1BigA!isdAm@n4evEr” is a pretty good password. “PASSWORD” or “ABCD123” are not.
- Use a different password for all of your accounts. A single password is easier to remember but it leaves all your personal accounts and data vulnerable if a hacker manages to guess it.
- If, like me, you can’t remember all your passwords, keep a written cheat sheet. BUT IF YOU DO, make sure you keep it in a hidden and VERY secure place.
- Consider changing all your passwords at least once a year. With all the online accounts we tend to keep these days, that can be a big job, but doing so will offer you an extra level of protection.
Sketchy Calls and Texts to Your Cellphone?
Do you get calls from unknown or blocked numbers? What about texts announcing you’ve won a new iPhone or a trip to the Bahamas? In general, I don’t answer calls from numbers I don’t recognize. If the call is legitimate/important, the caller will leave a voice mail. Every time I get a call from a strange number, I decline the call and Google the number. 9.9 times out of 10, I find that the number belongs to some scammer trying to sell something or offering a deal “too good to be true.” And those texts? Avoid them like the plague. Tapping that link can load malware on your phone.
If you do answer calls from strange numbers, watch out for scammers. Locally, we’ve heard reports of callers telling people they missed jury duty or have an active warrant for some forgotten traffic ticket. But, there’s good news, the caller claims. The whole mess can all be cleared up by wiring money or giving them your credit card information. If you get these calls, HANG UP! It’s a scam. If you receive the call on a smart phone, you can easily block the number.
Gone Phishing?
Fishing isn’t just about catching bass anymore. The 21st Century has given us phishing and it’s neither fun nor relaxing. Phishing is the act of defrauding an account holder of personal information by posing as a legitimate company. This activity can take place via phone call or text message but most of the time this criminal act takes the form of an e-mail. These phishing e-mails are designed to look legitimate but clicking on that embedded link can cause massive damage to your computer by downloading malware (viruses that do all kinds of nefarious things) or ransomware (it locks your files and solicits money from you to release them). Microsoft has an excellent webpage explaining these types of threats and offering guidance on how to recognize and avoid them.
Remember, if you get a call from scammers, or a phishing e-mail, The Federal Trade Commission encourages you to file a complaint.
Physical Security
Every year, around the holidays, we hear warnings about not leaving packages in our cars while shopping, keeping our doors locked & porch lights on, and not announcing travel plans on social media. Those are all excellent tips that really apply all year round. Criminals don’t take time off so we shouldn’t let our guard down.
Hopefully, by being mindful of the threats described above, we can keep ourselves, our families, and our personal property/information safe in 2017.