Keeping Safe in Cyberspace
Several weeks ago, I introduced you to my good friend, Former Secret Service Special Agent, and SVP of Global General Services at Fiserv, Peter Cavicchia. Peter gave us a few tips on how to stay safe in cyberspace. To refresh your memory, click here.
Now that we’ve covered the basics, I wanted Peter to dive deeper into some of these topics and the many ways we can protect ourselves against cybercriminals, recognizing malware, phishing scams, and what you should monitor regularly.
How do I detect malware?
Malware can intercept data you enter into websites, steal passwords, etc, all because you clicked on an attachment or a link that was faulty. These most often come through from phishing scams. Phishing emails or text messages may look like they're from a company you know or trust. So how can you tell what’s real and what’s not? Ask yourself: Were you expecting that message or email? Is the wording strange, does it have a lot of grammar errors, or is it not what you would expect from someone you normally speak with? Try doing a quick Google search and see if you can verify that it came from a legitimate source.
PETER’S TIP: A good rule of thumb is if you’re not comfortable sharing the information requested, don’t respond. Banks and financial providers are not going to send you emails asking for your personal information. If you have a relationship with them, they already have that information. When in doubt, contact them directly at the customer service numbers on your statement or on the back of your bank cards.
What should I be monitoring?
Everything! Don’t expect your bank or credit card company to do all the work. Banks and financial companies have gotten really great at detecting fraud and unauthorized access, however, their challenge is always a tough one as they are trying to figure out if it’s you behind those transactions or an imposter. You can also monitor all three credit bureaus. There are enhanced services that will monitor them for you, allow you to instantly lock and unlock your credit to prevent inquiries and new unauthorized accounts, and do it all on a mobile app. This is a great defense if your personal info is stolen from you or in a data breach somewhere. Some of these services will also provide identity restoration and help you deal with fraud specifically targeted against you by giving you guidance on how to clear your name.
PETER’S TIP: Use all the alerting features bank companies provide - text alerts, push notifications in their mobile apps, alerts for logging in, transaction amounts, withdrawals, etc. You are the best defense! If you get an alert that doesn’t look familiar, call your bank immediately, so that you can stop things before they progress into bigger problems.
For more tips follow Peter Cavicchia on Twitter and stay up to date on the latest!
