You may think you’ve heard about all the ways cybercriminals are trying to take advantage of you. Even if you consider yourself a savvy consumer because you are getting smart by reading all of my articles and taking proactive measures — cybercriminals are always coming up with new ways to take advantage of you. That’s why I’m constantly bringing you the latest information, including the top 8 tech disasters making it to the top of my threat list.
Top 8 digital mistakes you’re making
1. Password laziness
- Creating super simple passwords
- Repeatedly using the same password across different accounts
- Sharing passwords with others
In the past, I have been guilty of being ‘lazy’ when creating unique and complex passwords. With so many accounts online, it’s often easier to make one up that is slightly easier to remember. However, it puts you at risk because when one account gets compromised, all the accounts that used that same password are compromised. That’s a lot of compromises and a much bigger headache in the long run.
Solutions:
- Create unique, alphanumeric passwords that are not easy to guess. Where possible, use symbols and punctuation to make it harder to guess
What qualities should I look for in a password manager?
- secure
- seamlessly
- unique complicated passwords
- Automatically populates
- browser extension
- failsafe
- alerts you
- two-factor authentication
Definitely consider using a password manager to securely store and generate complex passwords. It will help you to create unique and difficult-to-crack passwords that a hacker could never guess. Second, it also keeps track of all your passwords in one place and fills passwords in for you when you’re logging into an account so that you never have to remember them yourself. The fewer passwords you remember, the less likely you will be to reuse them for your accounts.
MORE: HOW TO DELETE EMBARRASSING AUTOFILL ENTRIES ON YOUR MAC OR IPHONE BROWSER
2. Clicking unsafe links
Opening texts and emails from unknown senders – even known senders can be dicey these days. Certainly, when I’m in a rush or clicking too quickly through texts or emails, I have accidentally clicked on a link from an unknown sender, which inevitably throws me into a state of panic. You do not want to find yourself in one of these oops! moments, trust me. Aside from slowing down so you don’t make those accidental mistakes, below are ways to prevent the issue, to begin with.
Solutions:
Find my review of Best Antivirus Protection of 2023 here
3. Using any public WiFi or internet connections
Hackers prey on people tapping into wifi networks in public places and quietly attack. Only later do you discover that a compromised phone is in your hand – and potentially major aspects of your digital life and security are also hacked. While the need to stay connected, especially while traveling, is high, the risk of being hacked when connecting to public wifi is even greater.
Solutions:
Utilize a VPN service
- Many sites are able to read your IP address and, depending on their privacy settings, may display the city from which you are corresponding. A VPN protects against being tracked and identifies your potential location on websites that you visit.
- My top recommendation is ExpressVPN. It has a quick and easy setup, is available in 94 countries, and will not log your IP address, browsing history, traffic destination or metadata, or DNS queries. Right now, you can get 3 extra months FREE with a 12-month ExpressVPN plan. That’s just $6.67 per month, a saving of 49%! Try 30 days risk-free.
Read more of my reviews for best VPNs here
4. Oversharing on social media or online
Most people who have spent any time online have overshared at some point. Whether or not you’ve deleted a post or put your account on private, some identifying data is available for cybercriminals to collect and utilize now or later.
Solutions:
Scrub social media, change settings, opt-out, and use removal service
- opt-out here.
- While no service promises to remove all your data from the internet, having a removal service is great if you want to constantly monitor and automate the process of removing your information from hundreds of sites continuously over a longer period of time. A service like Incogni can help you remove all this personal information from the internet. It has a very clean interface and will scan 195 websites for your information and remove it and keep it removed.
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5. Not checking your credit report or score
While ignorance may be bliss in other areas of life, your credit health is not. Not being aware of your current credit score or report means you can be vulnerable to identity theft and other forms of fraud. Keeping tabs on your score and reports can help you see if any accounts have been closed or opened in your name.
Solutions:
Access your credit score and pull credit reports
- You can pull your credit score from your credit card company (usually for free), or you can pay to find it through a variety of third-party companies
- You can pull your free annual credit reports from the 3 main bureaus – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion once a year
- 1 million dollars to cover losses and legal fees white glove fraud resolution team where a US-based case manager
Special for CyberGuy Readers:
6. Not reviewing bank & credit card statements
With so many purchases made on credit or debit cards, both on and offline, it is hard to keep track of all your transactions. But that’s what criminals are banking on (pun intended). They’re hoping you’re not paying attention to your transaction history long enough for them to make purchases on your dime or make changes to your account.
Solutions:
Monitoring and protection
7. Not safeguarding your Social Security number
Some people still carry their social security cards in their wallets and provide them whenever requested. As outlined in my article, Top ways to safeguard your Social Security Number, you should protect your social security number as it can upend your life if it gets into the wrong hands.
Solutions:
Opt out of using your social security number
MORE: TOP IDENTITY THEFT SCAMS TO AVOID
8. Leaving your mail out & throwing it out flippantly
Between porch pirates and nosy neighbors or family, your mail can provide a lot of data that can be used against you, especially since many companies and governmental agencies send sensitive information about you and for you via snail mail.
Solutions:
Secure mail handling
Kurt’s key takeaways
We’ve all been guilty of at least one of these top digital mistakes. Or if any of these mistakes are new to you, this refresher will keep you safer. So, let’s learn from our blunders, stay informed, and keep navigating the digital world safely and with confidence.
Let me know which digital mistakes you’ve made, the consequences, and how you solved them in the comments below.
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