Page 27 - December 2017 The Castle Pines Connection

CastlePinesConnection.com 27 Why protecting your digital-self is the only skill
you really need
By Michelle Post
According to the 2017 Identity Fraud Study from Javelin Strategy & Research, 15.4 million Americans had their identities stolen, at the cost of $16 billion. This is an increase of 16 percent from 2015. The study also discussed other methods of stealing your digital-self.
New account fraud is where criminals create new accounts in your name, make charges, and have the statements come to them. Account takeover is where criminals use your stolen account information to take over your accounts and have new cards sent to them. They
hijack your mobile phone and intercept text messages that contain passwords. Moreover, as technology use increases so does the stealing of information.
Protecting one’s digital-self is the only skill
you really need. If you learn how to protect, maintain and control your digital-self, then you have increased your knowledge of the internet, the technology you use, and how your data is shared. However, it is not enough just to protect your digital-self; you also have to protect your family, too. With children receiving social security cards at birth, they too are a target.
How do you protect your digital-self?
Identify your digital presence by listing all your online accounts. You cannot manage or protect what you do not know.
Know your passwords. Use a master password sheet or program to store your passwords securely and then create a single strong password to access all the other passwords.
Ensure your home network is secure. If using a WiFi router at home, make sure the router is using the highest possible encryption, you do not publish the router’s SID and you have a strong password that is not easily hacked.
Install and maintain anti-virus and anti- malware, as well as ensure software is updated.
Know your privacy settings and the permissions you are granting. Whatever online account you open, make sure you
know your privacy settings that include the information you are sharing and with whom you are sharing it.
Use two-step veri cation when possible. Two- step veri cation is also known as two-factor authentication and means adding an extra layer of security on an online account. You sign in with something you know (your password) and something you have (a code sent to your phone).
Browse safely and ensure to use HTTPS websites. Secure websites always use the HTTPS protocol. Never give out payment information if you do not see the HTTPS before the web address.
Do not accept cookies and clean your browser after sur ng. Do not allow websites to create cookies when you are sur ng because this is an easy way to capture personal information, even if you are not online. Additionally, make sure
to clean your browser history after you surf the
internet, as well as clean temporary les o your computer.
Turn on incognito mode when sur ng. An additional layer of protecting your digital-self is to open up an internet browser in incognito mode.
Use a virtual private network (VPN). There are many free virtual private networks you can install to ensure you are protecting your digital- self. Be aware of free public WiFi since it is one of the easiest ways to capture your information.
Purchase identity insurance. There are
many carriers of identity insurance, so do your research and purchase one that covers the whole
family. The plans are not expensive and are worth the peace of mind.
Check your credit report every year at minimum. Visit www.annualcreditreport.com/ index.action and request your FREE credit reports from the top three reporting agencies. This is the only source for your free credit reports authorized by federal law.
Learn more by checking out this great resource to review: Facts + Statistics: Identity theft and cybercrime - www.iii.org/fact-statistic/ facts-statistics-identity-theft-and-cybercrime