October is also the kick-off of National Cyber Security Awareness month at Stay Safe Online and across the Internet. As an endorser of this important event, watch for more tips, resources and articles on fraud and cyber crimes throughout the month. I take a strong stand in favor of scam awareness education and preparedness to help limit your exposure to potential cyber crimes and fraud.
It's never a bad time to remind everyone who uses Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, peer-to-peer file sharing sites, or any other social networking sites that it matters what you put out there, what you agree to reveal about yourself, and how much you really should "share."
Social media sites are a great place to hang out, share photos, and chat with friends old and new. Unfortunately, they are also the place where many of us list our birth date, post personal photos, and chat about where and when we're going on vacation. Talk about TMI! You have to be aware that cyber criminals hang out in many of the same places as you and your cyber friends -and they love to create new and innovative ways to trick, trap and scam you.
Facebook and other social sites are especially susceptible to malware and key-logging schemes that are essentially designed to hack into sites and then capture your login and password as you type them in. Banks and other high-security-minded sites have powerful protections against this, but they are not fool-proof and neither are the social media sites. Founders of sites such as Facebook and Twitter remind us of the vulnerabilities and urge users to exercise caution when asked to provide information, especially one's log-in.
It used to be that we knew the people in our community. Years ago, the only people we really had to worry about were local, and criminals couldn't hide as easily among them. Now, with hundreds of millions of people online, cyber bullies and cyber predators can hide in plain site. They're there, but we can't see them. They're not lurking behind the bushes in the Town Square, they're behind a monitor, and they could be in any town, city, state, country -or home. It's so important today to be well-informed and alert to the latest scams and techniques used by today's criminals out to steal your data and your very identity.
Those are really the keys to keeping safe online and elsewhere: use caution, and arm yourself with knowledge. Keeping up to date with the latest hoaxes and techniques criminals use to scam you can go a long way toward keeping you from falling victim to any one of the many rip-offs in progress today.
Make sure your virus protection software is up-to-date and take the time to learn about the various high-tech services available today (See: 8 Reasons YOU need to take identity theft seriously).
Take advantage of helpful educational resources at StaySafeOnline.org and stay aware and informed of today's cyber risks and potential solutions.
With data breaches climbing, law enforcement resources dropping and tech-savvy criminal schemes continuing, having the ability to monitor a broad base of potential sources of information--the same information that identity thieves can and do lift personal data from--is an important strategy for protecting yourself, your money and your peace of mind. Make an informed decision when creating your own plan of action to thwart crime.
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