Have you ever felt unsure of your safety when online? You may be familiar with the phishing email from your “bank” telling you to reset your password, or a text from UPS that claims they couldn’t deliver a package to your house. Unfortunately, these are both ploys to steal your login information; unless you’re completely sure you are logging in to the verified website or service, you shouldn’t give away anything through an odd or unknown link.
There are a lot of ways your information can be stolen, including straightforward methods that take over your accounts or even your computer, called hacking. But how do you avoid it, and how do you know which sources are malicious? It’s a question many of us ask each time we come across something suspicious in our inbox or direct messages.
We’ve created a deck of information that can help you learn how to decipher a scam—as well as other tips that can help you remain protected.
One of the most important factors of your safety online is your passwords. Ideally, you should try to use a different password for every account, and it should be comprised of sequences of numbers, letters, and symbols that are hard to guess. If a hacker gains access to one of your passwords, they might try to use it across all sites along with your email or username. This is called password reuse and can land you in serious trouble. But if you put in the effort to diversify your passwords, the hacker’s impact on you can lessen dramatically.
In avoiding being compromised, we recommend that you pay close attention to the emails you receive. Hints that a sender can be a threat can be hidden in things like: the address (slightly different from the official or originating from an unfamiliar domain), the email itself (poor grammar and spelling), and its request for sensitive information that the sender would not usually ask from you otherwise. We hope that if you come across one of these emails, you can come to confidently differentiate between dangerous and authentic.
On our deck, we include more information about types of threats, ideas for passwords, and even tips for making safety prioritization a natural habit. If you’re not sure where to start, that’s okay! We’re here to help you make the best of your online experience.
Come visit us at TheHelperBears.com to learn more!
