As part of its Festive Finance eLearning Series, SamuelFields Consulting Group is creating greater public awareness about how to protect your finances. As a Community eLearning partner, SFCG will feature dynamic discussions with tips and strategies to help consumers manage their finances, while enjoying the Yuletide celebration.
The first discussion was held on SFCG’s Likkle Byte Ideas Show on December 13th. The theme was “Holiday Season Cybersecurity Tips” and Mr. Alan Scholl, a seasoned IT Specialist, was the featured speaker. Click to listen to the show: https://www.youtube.com/live/B2y-MG-0l_g?si=nCYlXRsIjldBRZ-8
Megan Samuel-Fields, CEO of SFCG, indicated that one of the hallmarks of the holiday season is consumers swarming e-commerce sites, as they focus on completing their shopping lists on their own terms, from the convenience of their homes or offices. She indicated that unfortunately, this means that cyber criminals spot more opportunities to take advantage of online shoppers because of increased internet use.
The CEO added, “As we all get busy with our holiday shopping and preparations, keeping cyber security in mind should be an essential part of your financial planning strategy. Ensure that your personal and professional information are safe, for a stress-free holiday season.”
Why Cyber Attacks Increase During the Holidays
While cyber attacks can happen any time of year, they tend to increase during the holidays. Scholl indicated two main reasons for this heightened activity.
“First, people are generally more relaxed and less vigilant during the holiday season,” Scholl explained. “Another reason is that there are more people online. This means more opportunities for cyber criminals or ‘bad actors’ to find ways to infiltrate the system.”
5 Tips to Protect Your Financial Information This Holiday Season
Cyber attacks are a part of highly organized criminal activity executed by call centers throughout the world and consumers must be prepared for any attack. The panel discussed tips to increase cyber awareness among consumers. These tips can make the difference between securing your personal information, and your data becoming compromised.
- Avoid public Wi-Fi
Public Wi-Fi is one of the most common ways cyber criminals can access your personal information. Avoid those without password protection, as they’re the least secure. Even if a public network in a hotel or café is protected with a password, activating a Virtual Private Network (VPN) while connecting to it is highly recommended.
- Be aware of phishing scams
Phishing is cyber crime that leverages deceptive emails, websites, and text messages to steal confidential personal and corporate information. Victims are tricked into giving up personal information such as their credit card data, phone number, mailing address, company information, etc. Criminals use this information to steal the victim’s identity and commit further crimes. Be aware of unexpected emails or text messages from unknown senders.
- Use a credit card
Use a credit card rather than a debit card. If your credit card number is stolen as part of a data breach, you can simply cancel the card and get a new one. You will not be liable for any fraudulent charges. Debit cards do not offer this same level of protection.
- Use strong passwords
The vast majority of breaches use stolen or weak passwords. Using strong passwords can protect your online accounts. Be sure to use a different password for each of your online accounts so that a hack in one doesn’t affect the others. Also, avoid using easily guessed words or phrases like “12345” or “abcdef.” Most accounts now recommend a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols to make a stronger password.
- Be careful what you share online
Cyber criminals can often gain access to your personal information by simply looking at what you have shared online. Be sure to limit the personal information you share on social media and other websites.
Don’t Let Cyber Criminals Ruin Your Holidays
You can play a significant role in your own cyber security by ensuring that your personal and professional information are safe. While cyber attacks can happen any time of year, they tend to increase during the holiday season.
SFCG’s next episode of Likkle Byte Ideas will be held on December 20th. It will feature finance guru, Luana Laurent, of Finance Focus in Dominica and will address another important theme, “The Pitfalls of SPAVING.” This is when people spend more money in an attempt to save money. An example is when you add another $20 worth of filler items into your cart to avoid a $10 shipping charge. This will be an eye-opening discussion about some of the financial temptations that consumers face during the holiday season.
Visit our social media channels to join the next episode of Likkle Byte Ideas.
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