I listened to this podcast (Retirement Answer Man with Roger Whitney) where he had a Cybersecurity professional expert as a guest. He had some great thoughts about how to secure your data. Having worked in Information Security - I thought many of his thoughts were spot on. The podcast interview is here:
He breaks the recommendations in to three categories: 1 - Most important, 2 - Important, 3 - Good to do/Advanced techniques
I've listened to this podcast a couple of times and here are the highlights:
Level 1:
Secure/ Lock down your email account.
Use 2FA (2-Factor Authentication) esp for financial accounts
Use complex passwords. At least 12 characters using letters, capitals, numbers, symbols, characters, phrases. One way to do this is use a password manager like 1Password, LastPass, Dashlane, etc.
Don't respond to unsolicited texts and phone calls
With AI being used to smarten/contextualize phishing attacks - we can easily be fooled
Set up a family emergency code / password / phrase that only your family members know. (This is in case someone/AI tries to impersonate you on a phone call.)
Monitor / Check your credit report at least quarterly.
Use credit cards instead of debit cards. This is due to better security of the credit card infrastructure. And also - if there is fraud involved - the credit card companies act as a buffer and the money is taken from them. Whereas with debit cards - any money taken is directly taken from your bank account.
Level 2:
Freeze your credit at all 3 credit agencies (Transunion, Experian, Equifax) : (It's easy to unfreeze credit temporarily for the infrequent times you need to - new credit card, car loan, etc.)
Use alerts on bank accounts / credit card accounts
Sign up for an identity pin with the IRS to prevent fraudulent tax returns being submitted in place of yours
Claim your SSA.GOV account - even though it might be years before you apply for social security.
Level 3:
These are advanced level protections
Locking your mobile phone simcard (so that your phone # can't be moved to a different physical phone)
It's a best practice to do financial transactions on a different device than the one you do normal/daily usage (email, web, social media, etc.)
Remove your personal information from Information Aggregators (i.e. TruePeopleSearch, MyLife, Spokeo)
Use Passkeys instead of passwords (These are somewhat new. I need to research this more myself.)
I hope this information can be helpful. I'll be sharing this with family and church members to help them avoid problems. I've already done most of Level 1 & 2, but I'll be adding these tasks to my To-Do list.
Lastly - and additionally - here is some tips that a search on Google provided:
Here are some ways to protect your personal information online:
Create strong passwords: Use unique passwords for online accounts.
Be cautious with social media: Don't overshare personal information.
Use caution with free Wi-Fi: Be aware of the risks of using free Wi-Fi.
Be careful with links and attachments: Watch out for links and attachments, especially in emails.
Check site security: Before providing personal information, check to see if the site is secure.
Be aware of social engineering: Be aware of risks like phishing.
Use secure payment services: When shopping online, use secure payment services.