All our lives have become more digital and it’s almost impossible to do some tasks without going online, such as booking flights or doing our banking. If only we could still visit a physical bank, eh?
That said, the internet has made many aspects of our lives easier, quicker and more accessible, so I’m certainly not saying that we should avoid using apps and websites for the services we need to access.
However, let’s just talk about the importance of protecting yourself from online fraud. It’s more than just an inconvenience to regain access to your accounts; it can actually cost you money:
- Fraudsters can use your personal details to open new credit accounts or loans in your name
- If they can gain access to your bank account, they can transfer your money away
- Stored payment card details can be used by scammers to buy items and services online
- Malware can take over your devices, needing you to pay a PC/phone repair service to remove the programs, reset and repair the device
- You may buy a product that ends up being fake or not delivered, losing the value of that item
- If your credit score is damaged by hackers using your credit card or overdraft, it’ll take years to repair and you may pay higher interest on a future mortgage or loan
- You might not notice small or regular payments leaving your account, but they soon add up
- If a payment is taken out of your account and it makes you overdrawn, there will be fees, interest or banking charges to pay
- You may be manipulated by a fraudster posing as someone you care about and become convinced to send them money
Email account security
One of the most worrying things that can happen online is having your email hacked, especially if it’s a Google account. Think about it; our email accounts don’t just contain emails but also sensitive or financial information you may have sent or received, and also your passwords and auto-fill details for other websites.
Making sure your email account stays secure can be as simple as staying vigilant. If you see an email that looks a bit ‘off’, be suspicious of it and don’t click on any links. Scammers will often use send/reply email addresses that aren’t anything like the brand they’re pretending to be. There will probably be formatting errors and spelling mistakes within the content. And it’s likely the message will contain a sense of urgency: “click here to prevent your account from being closed” or something similar.
That said, it’s not always possible to spot a fake because the email designs can look so similar to the brand or business, so in those instances, you can get in touch with the service provider directly to ask if the email is authentic. Or you can forward the message to the brand’s phishing department – simply Google the “business name + phishing” to find out how you can report a phishing email to them.
If your Gmail account has been hacked, there are ways you can tell and securely recover your account – see how it actually works and take the steps to secure your account as soon as possible. It’s also worth warning your family and friends if you think your email account has been hacked, so that they aren’t also targeted too – it’s so easy for hackers to send emails from your account that look genuine and will trick the people you know into clicking on links that leave them vulnerable.
Preventing payment fraud
There are many ways you can protect yourself from fraud when you’re shopping or banking online. Firstly, using two-factor authentication to use apps and sites that handle financial data will help to ensure that cyber criminals won’t be able to access your account and steal your details. 2FA means you’ll receive a message via text or notification on your phone if someone tries to log into your account using your email address. You can then block them from logging in and report the issue.
Secondly, you can make sure that your passwords are extra secure. For a long time, many of us used the same password for every site we accessed, which meant that, if that one password was discovered, it could be used across all our accounts. So, at the very minimum, you should have a unique password for every single account you create. A password manager app can generate and remember ridiculously long, unique passwords for every website you use.
Finally, if you’re making a payment for goods or a service online, use a credit card rather than a debit card or a bank transfer. Fraudulent transactions can be investigated faster and you can be reimbursed more quickly through your credit card provider compared to a bank. And always check that the site you’re visiting has a security padlock symbol and starts with https:// in the address bar to confirm it’s a secure site.
One last thing that’s essential for your online financial security is to regularly check your statements and accounts. Sometimes fraudulent payments can go undetected simply because we haven’t kept an eye on our transactions, so log into your banking app or credit card account and check that you recognise all the payments.
Cyber criminals don’t always steal huge amounts of money, as this would be easily noticeable, so look for smaller amounts that could show that your card has been tested to see if it’s active as a payment method. Or even a recurring payment might have been set up and you haven’t noticed it, allowing the fraudsters to take money from you under the radar, “little-and-often”.
I hope that this discussion will help you to be vigilant when shopping online, logging into your accounts and preventing phishing scams via email. Please share any of your own tips for cyber safety in the comments below, it would be great to hear your advice.
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This article is a sponsored collaboration. The pink links in the content indicate a sponsored link or information source. The blog post reflects my own experience and the sponsor hasn’t had any control over my content 🙂
