Summertime is the perfect time to sit back, relax and enjoy the sun. But while we’re relaxing, cybercriminals and scammers are working harder than ever to steal your personal information. In many ways, scammers are a lot like the sun — persistent, pervasive and able to burn you financially with their fraudulent tactics.
To avoid getting sunburned, people often turn to different products to help them, including clothing, sunglasses or sunscreen. Each of these products has a different level of effectiveness.
And different online security practices have different levels of effectiveness against financial scams. Here are four ways to safeguard your bank account and identity this summer.
1. Wearing sunglasses and a hat: Know the warning signs
Sunglasses and a hat are the bare minimum for keeping the sun out of your eyes, but they don’t cover everything – just like scam warning signs.
Learning basic anatomy of a scam and scammers’ tactics is the first step in avoiding them. Be informed about common scams, such as phishing emails and text fraud (aka smishing or SMS phishing), and look for red flags such as:
- Scare tactics that create fear or a false sense of urgency to act immediately
- Requests for unusual payment methods (gift cards, wire transfers)
- Unexpected requests or communications which encourage you to click a link, open an attachment or scan a QR code
- Something “too good to be true”
While knowing the warning signs is essential for fraud prevention, hackers now use AI to craft very convincing messages. We’re all human, and we can still get burned by perfectly crafted social engineering. We need more than some sunglasses to block out those UV rays.
2. Using sunscreen: Don’t overshare on the internet
Sunscreen works by preventing UV rays from damaging your skin. You can prevent scammers from damaging your finances by preventing them from getting information about you.
Scammers use information you post online to trick you. They might impersonate someone from your Facebook friends list, try to guess your passwords based on what you post, lure you into a financial scheme, or be able to answer your security questions. Review your privacy settings for personal social media accounts and be wary when sharing information online with people you don’t know personally.
3. Wearing the right clothing: Set a strong password
Oftentimes the best way to avoid the sun’s rays is to not let the sun touch your skin at all. A strong, unique password can help prevent scammers from touching your finances.
And just like avoiding the sun is about wearing the right clothing, finding a strong password to give you coverage against cyber threats is the same. Your coverage in a short-sleeved shirt is not going to be as good as a long-sleeved one. A strong password is like a long-sleeved shirt.
Don’t use your birthday or other easy-to-find information as your password. The best passwords are long passphrases (15 characters or more) made of unrelated words such as “summer donuts football.” Never use the same password for different accounts and websites.
A password manager is a great tool for helping you create and store strong, unique passwords. Password managers can also identify when a password has been detected in a data breach and help you identify spoofed websites.
4. Finding a shady spot: Turn on two-factor authentication (2FA)
If a strong password is clothing blocking the sun, then two-factor authentication is finding a shady spot. You may still get a little bit of sun through leaves or reflecting off the ground, but, in general, you’re avoiding those dangerous rays of the sun.
Two-factor authentication is that added bit of shade that helps keep your accounts safer. Two-factor authentication, or 2FA, is when you set your login to require a second type of authentication, such as a code sent to your phone, to access your account. It is more difficult for scammers to get access to your physical phone or authenticator app than it is to simply access your password.
Remember, the only shady thing about your summer should be your beach umbrella, so stay vigilant and take steps towards learning how to best defend yourself against scams.
Got burned by a scam?
Never contact the scammer. Gather emails, bank statements and other information that may help authorities catch the scammer and help get your money back. Take these steps:
1. Report it, even if you didn't lose money or data. You can report scam websites to law enforcement and file a complaint to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center. You can also report them to the Google Safe Browsing Report Phishing Page and Microsoft.
2. Lost money? File a police report.
3. Stolen banking details? Contact your bank to block credit cards and accounts.
4. Stolen personally identifiable information? Report it to the police, your bank, credit bureaus, Social Security Administration and Federal Trade Commission.
5. Stolen password? Change it to something more secure and enable two-factor authentication.
6. Scammer accessed your personal device? Change your passwords, inform your bank and scan for malware.
Additional resources are available in the Zions Bank Online Security Center and the Zions Bank Personal Finance blog.