Five Simple Ways to Protect Yourself from Cybercrime During COVID-19

By Pittsburgh Young Professionals | May 5, 2020

In its simplest form, cybercrime is defined by Merriam-Webster’s dictionary as “criminal activity committed using a computer especially to illegally access, transmit, or manipulate data”. Cybercrime can be perpetuated using a myriad of devices, but all a fraudster needs is a connection to the internet.

Cybercrime has become so prominent in recent years that multiple full-time occupations have been created to outwit and out-step fraudsters.  In fact, the FBI just introduced a task force dedicated to fighting cybercrime due to the influx from COVID-19. There are multiple ways that your data and your information can be compromised. Oftentimes, this begins with simple user error or social engineering in the form of a text, email, or call and ends with you cleaning up the mess.

After reviewing the GCN latest report and Norton’s latest list of defenses, here are 5 simple ways you can take steps to protect yourself from Cybercrime:

  1. Open Sesame!
    • The easiest and simplest way to protect yourself is to create strong passwords and change them often.  It can be difficult to keep generating and remembering passwords. You can google “password generator”, which can help you with this. But where do you keep these passwords?  Actually, mobile phones (iPhones and Androids) are currently the safest place.  There are password managers that you can pay for, but the safest and cheapest space is in your phone.
  2. Time for an upgrade.
    • Software is designed to streamline your experience, but did you know it is designed to also keep the nebby noses out, too? You do need to be proactive in updating your software (i.e. your operating software on all of your devices) to stay up to date with the best protection.  So the older your software on your devices, the more at risk you are.
  3. Check it out!
    • Check your accounts daily.  I would highly suggest having apps for all sectors of life – social, email, finance, messaging, and games (among others) – and check them daily.  You should also have alerts for changes in your finances and your social media information in case these are compromised. You can choose whether you would like email and/or text alerts. 
  4. Home sweet home network…
    • A VPN is not just available to you through where you work, but you can get one for your own private network.  VPNs, or virtual private networks, encrypt whatever information your device sends out until it reaches the intended destination. You can actually use these outside of the home, too, and are ideal for public wifi.
  5. Get a game plan.
    • Always be prepared should you become a victim as incidents of cybercrime have risen two-fold within the past year.  First, report the incident to the authorities of the compromised data. For example, if your bank account was compromised, you would call your financial institution. The next step would be to report this to the proper authorities. The local police can take a statement of the incident that occurred. Some states even have cybercrime victim units, which help you to contact the proper authorities and get you personal help as well. You should also contact the FBI and the FTC directly about the incident.

Unfortunately, the newest and latest technology can get cracked, but rest assured that cybercrime professionals are working just as hard to stop this before it starts. Keep abreast of the latest information and, if you have an account with a compromised company, you will want to keep an eye on your accounts and reach out to that entity. Remember, you know yourself best, so you are your best defense against fraud!

Here are some additional helpful resources if you are caught in the cybercrime web:

Authored by Cate Foradori Fraud Analyst and 2020 PR Committee Chair
filed under: Press Release

Tags: anti-fraud, cybercrime, fraud analyst, pittsburgh, protection

Posted in Uncategorized