How to protect yourself from online scams
This summer has been full of major scams in the news, like the $11-million loss at MacEwan University, the RCMP scam or the Equifax hack which made headlines in the last couple weeks.
The Internet can be the wild west for scams if you’re not careful.
Posting too much personal information in your social networking profile could result in identity theft, financial fraud and monetary losses. You should consider whatever you post as being accessible to the entire world. If you would not put it on a public bulletin board, then do not post it online. Even if you delete your profile, it can still remain on the Internet. [Financial Consumer Agency of Canada]
- Never follow links in emails that request your personal information. For example: PayPal would never email you to confirm your personal information.
- If you print records from online, make sure you shred them afterwards or file them in a safe, secure place.
- Never click on links on Twitter that look odd, for example: “You look hilarious in this video …” those are common on social media and will allow the person to takeover your account.
- Always back up your data regularly in case of a hacking, you don’t want to lose everything.
- Review your accounts regularly to be sure there’s no transactions you don’t recognize. If there is, report it immediately to your bank.
- Never give out personal information or banking information on sites that you don’t know to be secure.
- If you have to post your date of birth, do not include your year of birth.
- Use different passwords for different applications like social networking sites, email and online banking. Change your passwords often.
- Do not accept friend requests from people you do not know.
- Be aware of a site’s privacy settings and policies when you are creating a profile or setting up an account. Check whether the site is allowed to sell your information to other companies.
At the end of the day, if it doesn’t seem right, it probably isn’t. Links are your worst enemy, so never click on anything you’re unsure of. There should always be a way to confirm a source or website.
