Cybersecurity Webinar: How to Be Your Own Best Self Defense

‍

Practical Steps to Implement to Reduce The Chances of Cybercrime or Identity Theft.

‍Be aware of emails, texts, or phone calls telling you to take immediate action. Stop, take a breath, and trust your gut instincts – if it doesn’t make sense, it isn’t true.

Don’t click on links from unknown senders. Instead, open a separate browser and go to the site at the web address you know is legitimate.

Keep your devices, including your phone, updated. Those updates are often to fix security holes, so the longer you wait to update, the longer you are vulnerable.
Use a password manager or system that allows you to follow best password practices and go through a monthly review.

Create a “Family Password” for you and your family members that can be used to verbally confirm a person is who they say they are, or confirm a person is legitimately acting on behalf of a family member.

Set up two-factor authentication on financial and social media sites. Two-factor authentication will send a code to your phone if sign-in occurs from a new device.

Perform a credit freeze – including for your kids. A credit freeze is the best way to prevent someone from opening credit in your name.

‍

‍

The "Never Ever" List

Never ever will the IRS email, text, or call you to initiate a tax bill or refund. The IRS will always contact you via U.S. Postal Service mail. If you are contacted by an alternative method, look up the number for your local IRS office and report it.

Never ever will someone know your computer has a virus. Someone calling and telling you that and offering to fix it is attempting to gain unauthorized access. Popups on your PCs with a number to call are also fake. If you think your computer has an issue, physically take it to a business you know to be legitimate.

Never ever write down or re-use the same passwords. Passwords should never be written down – they can easily be lost or stolen. Using the same password multiple times increases the risk of a data breach involving one password leading to other accounts being breached. Consider using a password manager.

Never ever take online quizzes about yourself. These quizzes are mostly designed to gather data about you that could be used to correctly guess your answers to security questions.

Never ever share vacation plans on social media. Doing so alerts others when you may not be home for an extended time. Also, avoid posting photos of your trip while still on vacation and instead wait until you get back home.

Never ever skip past two-factor authentication when setting up your account for a web site or app. Two-factor authentication is a great way to add an extra level of security and protects you if your password for that account is ever stolen.

Never ever respond to pressure or threats from an email, phone call, or text. These are almost always methods of social engineering designed to get you to give someone money or sensitive data. Instead, call the company that the person is claiming to be from at a phone number you know to be legitimate to let them know how you were contacted and to confirm if it was fraudulent.

‍

‍

Identity Theft Checklist

Identity theft occurs when someone steals your personal information to commit fraud, such as fraudulently opening accounts, gaining access to accounts, filing tax returns, filing for unemployment benefits, obtaining medical services, sending fake bills to your health insurer, etc. If you have been a victim of identity theft, we recommend taking the following steps. While these are core steps to take, this is not designed to be an exhaustive list of all steps you may need to take. You should review additional resources based on your identity theft situation.

Contact your Advisory Team at LaFleur & Godfrey. Once you have contacted us, we will contact the custodians or instruct you to contact your custodians related to your accounts. You should also immediately contact any custodians and other financial service providers for accounts not under LaFleur & Godfrey management. Request a freeze on your current accounts; if possible, open new accounts.

• Review all accounts to ensure no suspicious activity has occurred.
• Change all account passwords. Set up two-factor authentication where available.
• Pull your credit report from the three major credit bureaus and contact them to place a “fraud alert” on your credit records or consider freezing your credit.

‍Contact the police in your city. Securing a police report is of utmost importance. It could be necessary if you know the identity of the thief, the thief used your name in an interaction with police, or a creditor or another company requires you to provide a police report.

‍File a report with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), a division of the FBI, at www.ic3.gov/Home/ComplaintChoice

‍Contact the Social Security fraud hotline through the Office of the Inspector General for the Social Security Administration at www.ssa.gov/antifraudfacts

‍Get a new driver’s license.

‍Consider identity monitoring services, credit monitoring services, and identity recovery services. If you already have an identity monitoring service that has identity theft insurance, file a claim.

‍Review your homeowners or renter insurance policy. Your may have additional support for identity theft under your policy.

‍Report specific types of identity theft to other federal agencies. You may also need to report specific types of identity theft to other federal agencies. There are additional steps to take at the state level.

‍

‍

Identity Theft Prevention

Below are different ways to prevent identity theft and protect yourself from fraudulent activity.

• Review your accounts regularly to ensure no suspicious activity.
• Perform a security scan on all devices at least every 30 days (most security scanning software allows you to schedule scans).
• Always keep computers and any internet connected devices, including smart phones, updated.
• If possible, enable two-factor authentication for any online accounts, including email.
• Use a password manager to generate and store unique passwords for your accounts.
• Do not reuse passwords and use random unique passwords for each account.
• Encrypt and password-protect all computers and mobile devices.
• Disable “remember my computer” or “auto login” features when logging in.
• Store your personal information in a safe place.
• Sign up for banking and credit card alerts via email or text message.
• Look out for social engineering or phishing attempts.
• Do not respond to unsolicited requests for personal information (name, birth date, Social Security number, bank account number, etc.) by phone, email, mail, or online.
• Shred receipts, credit offers, account statements, and expired cards to prevent “dumpster divers” from getting your personal information.
• Be prudent when using a wireless connection. Unsecured wireless connections can be vulnerable to cyberattacks based on their lack of security. If you are going to access any account on a public wireless network, make certain you secure the network with wireless encryption prior to logging on.
• Be careful downloading files or programs from unknown sources, as you open yourself up to the risk of malicious software programs being downloaded on your computer.
• Do not carry personal information such as your Social Security card in your wallet and only give this information out when necessary.
• Collect your mail promptly and place a hold on your mail when you are away for several days.
• Pay attention to billing cycles. If bills or financial statements are late, contact the sender.
• Review your credit reports.
  • TransUnion: www.transunion.com
  • ‍Experian: www.experian.com
  • ‍Equifax: www.equifax.com
• Consider freezing your credit files for free. Credit freezes prevent someone from applying for and getting approval for a credit account or utility services in your name.