Online Awareness and How to Protect Yourself

People are being targeted in various ways.  The main methods use social engineering attacks to try and steal sensitive information:

• Smishing – uses fraudulent SMS text messages
• Phishing – uses deceptive emails and websites
• Solicitation calls – people call trying to solicit you over the phone

All methods try to create an immediate call to action or generate urgency to induce you into disclosing your information or money.

Some current scams going around

• EZ Pass/IPass missed violations
• Locked account (Apple ID, Amazon, etc.)
• Package held by U.S. Customs
• Get rich quick & job solicitations
• Requesting payment with gift cards
• Spoofed phone calls/hostage money demands
• Questionable merchandise & travel sites
• Pop up ads & computer de-bugging
• Classified/for-sale ads (vehicles, sports apparel, general merchandise)

How to spot these sites

• Bad grammar, spelling and punctuation errors
• Non clickable links on website
• Questionable domains from overseas that are recently created or expiring soon

How to better protect yourself

• Use a credit card when shopping online, not your debit card
• Create secure passwords (think of something personal and put it into a sentence then take the first letters and numbers to make it and include other numbers & characters:
  • Ex: I watched the Cubbies win the World Series in 2016 from Bernie’s.
  • Iwtcwtwsi@16fb$
• Never store your credit cards or passwords on file with a website or merchant
• Keep your passwords safe and secure where only you have access to them
• Never Google a company’s contact number then call, go directly to their website and find a good contact number
• If you need to speak with your bank or card issuers, call the number on the back of the card or communicate through their secure online portal
• Set alerts on your cards to send you SMS messages
  • Look for minimum dollar amount thresholds, card not present restrictions etc.
• Use familiar and reputable sites when shopping online or purchasing airline tickets
• If you are using a site that is not familiar, poke around the site and look for inconsistencies, check the domain, search for reviews both recent and old before proceeding to make any purchase or provide personal & financial information

General Info and References

• com
  • Free service to check a website’s domain and identify where it’s registered and for how long
• GOV
  • FBI’s internet/cyber-crime online reporting site. If you have been the victim of an online crime, you can go to this site to file a report and upload any documentation. 
• 3 Major Credit Bureaus
  • Equifax
    • 888-EQUIFAX (888-378-4329) equifax.com
  • Experian
    • 888-397-3742 experian.com
  • Transunion
    • 833-806-1627 transunion.com

If your personal information or identity has been compromised, call these 3 credit bureaus and place a fraud alert on your info.  Their websites have great information on what steps to take and how to monitor your credit. 

Don’t click on any links sent via text or email from people you don’t know!

Always remember, if the deal appears too good to be true, it probably is!