It is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. What better time to share this checklist containing tips and best practices to help you protect your data, information and prevent fraud.
Cybercrime and fraud are serious threats and constant vigilance is key. While Gryphon Financial Partners plays an important role in helping protect your assets, you can also take action to protect yourself and help secure your information.
Cyber criminals exploit our increasing reliance on technology. Methods used to compromise a victim’s identity or login credentials – such as malware, phishing, and social engineering – are increasingly sophisticated and difficult to spot. A fraudster’s goal is to obtain information to get access to your account and assets or sell your information for this purpose. Fortunately, criminals often take the path of least resistance. Following best practices and applying caution when sharing information or executing transactions makes a big difference.
What you can do
- Be aware of suspicious phone calls, emails, and texts asking you to send money or disclose personal information. If a service rep calls you, hang up and call back using a known phone number.
- Never share sensitive information via email, as accounts are often compromised.
- Beware of phishing and malicious links. Urgent-sounding, legitimate-looking emails are intended to tempt you to accidentally disclose personal information or install malware.
- Don’t open links or attachments from unknown sources.
- Check your email and account statements regularly for suspicious activity.
- Never enter confidential information in public areas. Assume someone is always watching.
Adhere to strong password principles
- Don’t use personal information as part of your login ID or password and don’t share login credentials.
- Create a unique, complex password for each website, Change it every six months. Consider using a password manager to simplify this process.
Maintain updated technology
- Keep your web browser, operating system, antivirus, and anti-spyware updated, and activate the firewall.
- Do not use free/found USB devices. They may be infected with malware.
- Check security settings on your applications and web browser. Make sure they’re strong.
- Turn off Bluetooth when it’s not needed.
- Dispose of old hardware safely by performing a factory reset or removing and destroying all storage data devices.
Use caution on websites and social media
- Do not visit websites you don’t know, (e.g., advertised on pop-up ads and banners).
- Log out completely to terminate access when exiting all websites.
- Don’t use public computers or free Wi-Fi. Use a personal Wi-Fi hotspot or a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
- Hover over questionable links to reveal the URL before clicking. Secure websites start with “https,” not “http.”
- Be cautious when accepting “friend” requests on social media, liking posts, or following links.
- Limit sharing information on social media sites. Assume fraudsters can see everything, even if you have safeguards.
- Consider what you’re disclosing before sharing or posting your resume.
Safe practices for communicating with our firm
- Keep us informed regarding changes to your personal information.
- Expect us to call you to confirm email requests to move money, trade, or change account information.
What to do if you suspect a breach
- Call our office (614) 929-2880 so that we can discuss next steps to take.
Learn more
Visit these sites for more information and best practices: