Safety Tips

In these trying times, advice from a security professional can go a long way to assuring personal and community safety in public, as well as, in private spaces. Here, Mike Goldsmith, SCN regional security advisor, offers a couple of easy-to-follow tips.

Cybersecurity

There is no escaping the online world, says Goldsmith. “Most of the business we used to conduct in person (banking, shopping, etc.) has moved onto the internet. While this allows us to be efficient and conduct business without leaving our house, it also opens us up to risk from cyber criminals,” he says. These individuals (or groups of individuals) use various methods to attempt to steal identities or lure people into scams that drain bank accounts. Fortunately, there are ways to increase online safety.

Goldsmith suggests these easy to implement tips to prevent falling victim to scams and cyber theft:

• Keep accounts secure by using complex passwords or pass phrases. Use both upper- and lower-case characters, as well as special characters such as %,$,&. Do not share passwords! Additionally, a password manager can help with this task. Do not use passwords tied to personal information such as birthdates or initials.
• Be wary of suspicious emails. Think before clicking on any link in an email, especially if you don’t recognize the sender or did not expect the message. If you receive an unexpected email for what appears to be a legitimate source, go to the company’s website and make contact through their customer service system.
• Enable multi-factor authentication on your accounts.
• Make sure your software is up to date.
• Back up all important files on a secure external storage device or a secure cloud-based platform.

“We can all be more secure online by using these methods,” says Goldsmith.