Cyber-Safe Tips

The acceleration of cyber-fraud, often inflicted from afar at likely no risk to the perpetrator, is such a pervasive concern that one of our techie friends mentioned he had to have therapy to stop waking up at night worrying about whether his clients’ technical systems were as cyber-safe as humanly possible. His story is a reminder of the effectiveness of cyber-fraudster tactics and the resulting theft of personal confidential information and subsequently, money.

Despite this, there are things we can all do to avoid becoming a target. For instance, consider the following:

1. Whenever possible, implement dual authentication on websites you visit.
2. Adopt longer passwords with a funny phrase. These will be easy to remember, but hard to guess. For example: 2redappleseatenbyteacherspet
3. Use different passwords for different websites.
4. Avoid reusing former passwords.
5. Do not click on links in emails or texts because doing so might permit access into your computer if sent by a fraudster; go to the service provider’s site independently instead.
6. Be astute when reading and responding to emails. For instance, are they actually from the sender you assume wrote them?
7. If you are not expecting a particular email that requests you to click on a link, call the sender to confirm the origin of the request.
8. Avoid completing a wire transaction of funds using email. Confirm the transaction by phone with verbal verifications, using a phone number not provided across email.

As you may discern, we end-users are often the lynchpin to avoiding fraudster traps. Certainly, our own vigilance can make all the difference in preserving cyber-safety. And while there is no doubt that the safety tips we are suggesting you consider will take more time, that recognition brings to mind the time-tested Benjamin Franklin adage: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Please share any cyber-security tips that you have found helpful and feel free to contact us with your questions. We are available at contactus@entrustfinancial.com or by phone 610.687.3515.