Consumer tips of the month: Ways to protect yourself from cyber crimes and online scams
October can be a spooky month, with Halloween and all, but the Better Business Bureau Northwest + Pacific wants to make it less scary online.
Each October, Better Business Bureau Northwest + Pacific emphasizes educating consumers about the importance of staying safe online. Cyber-crimes are ever increasing with the most common being: fake check scams, internet merchandise scams, sweepstakes scams, debt loan scams, and phishing scams.
Throughout the month, BBB will be releasing cyber safety tips and articles to help consumers and businesses stay vigilant. Articles and a cyber security toolkit for small businesses can be found at www.BBB.org/BBBSecure.
BBB encourages online users to educate themselves about cyber security risks and offers the following tips to stay safe online:
Own your online presence. Set the privacy and security settings on websites to your comfort level for information sharing. It’s OK to limit how and with whom you share information.
Shop secure. When shopping online, be sure to only enter personal and financial information into websites that display a padlock symbol in the search bar and whose URL begins with “HTTPS://” — the “S” standing for “secure.”
Get two steps ahead. Turn on two-step verification on accounts where available. This adds an extra layer of security to your account by requiring you to know more than just a password — for example, a texted code or security question.
Keep a clean machine. Technology companies such as Apple Inc. and Microsoft are constantly making safety updates. Keep all software on internet-connected devices – including PCs, smartphones and tablets – up to date to reduce the risk of infection from malware.
Keep a lid on personal information. Information about your history or location has value – just like money. Think about who is seeing the information and how it is gathered by mobile apps or websites.
Think before you post. Take care when posting about yourself and others online. Consider who might see it and how it could be perceived now and in the future.
Anyone who feels they may be a victim of a cyber crime should report it to local law enforcement and BBB Scam Tracker at bbb.org/scamtracker.
This story was originally published September 28, 2018 at 5:30 PM.