Personal security has been a hot-topic in recent years. Going all the way back to the birth of cloud-based storage products, iCloud leaks used to be a pressing issue. Historically, Jennifer Lawerence’s iCloud was hacked and batches of nude photos and personally sensitive materials were released to the public. This was just one of many cases, and wasn’t even the most severe of them. Fast forward a few years, and the documentary “The Social Dilemma” aired on Netflix. This documentary highlighted a variety of ways in which organizations are collecting, using, and selling consumer data for any number of reasons.
Even personal security online has come into question as of late. With major reworks to the ways in which websites are allowed to utilize cookies and other tracking software, to organizations on the other end of it, like DuckDuckGo, trying their best to put a stop to consumer data-mining.
The fact of the matter is that consumer data-tracking isn’t going anywhere. However, how much data you allow to hit the internet, and how you’re able to protect your identity online are both very much within your control.
In considering email security best practices, the first piece of advice anyone will give is to not click on any foregin links. This includes opening emails from suspicious or unknown senders that are obvious phishing scams. It’s really important not to open links within an email that you don’t recognize, though. This is because by clicking that link, you can activate any associated virus or malware that may try to infest your computer.
By simply deleting any of these fishy emails that come through your inbox, you can avoid a huge headache dealing with the unraveling of an internet scam. An easy rule to follow is if you don’t recognize the sender or the subject line, just send the email straight to the trash.
Of course, there are times when emails come in from people we don’t know that we do want to open. Like, in the instance of being asked to interview for a job opening. However, by verifying the email address an unknown contact is using, you should be able to very quickly authenticate the legitimacy of the email itself.
Another important part of email safety and security is protecting malicious users from getting access to your email in the first place. A lot of damage can be done internally if a hacker or scammer is successful at infiltrating and taking over your email account. This is where two-factor-authentication can be extremely helpful. Two-factor-authentication is a security best-practice that helps individuals protect the credentials of their log-in information. Many organizations implement, or suggest implementing two-factor-authentication in order to protect the information and identity of users.
Banks, tax-programs, and other institutions that retain sensitive personal information all suggest the use of two-factor-authentication. While this can be enabled in a variety of ways, the most common is to input a password, and then have a randomly generated one-time code sent to an associated device selected by the user.
This assures the program that the user is who they claim to be, and can help prevent hackers from getting into sensitive accounts.
As the internet continues to grow in scale, capability, and usership, it continually offers new avenues for hackers, scammers, and malicious individuals to take advantage of users. As such, it’s important to be familiar with some of the mainstream scams that are persistent in today’s modern digital landscape.
Although it seems outdated, check-scams are actually making a comeback in the virtual economy. With many people looking for remote-work, scammers have found a way to use the promise of employment to deploy a check-scam, ripping off innocent consumers of thousands of dollars.
When it comes to paper-mail security, there are certainly fewer scammers out there in today’s day and age. This is because it’s simply easier to operate over a digital or virtual landscape. That being said, there are still plenty of scammers out there running paper-mail scams.
In the same way that it’s important to verify the sender of an email, you can also authenticate the sender of paper mail. Simply make a phone call to the sender listed, or research the return address if provided. This should give enough insight to clue you in on the legitimacy of the mail.
However, you can also look at products on the market. The ID Police reviews speak for themselves as a way to effectively protect your identity if you’re regularly mailing out sensitive information.
There are plenty of people out there who have bad or even malicious intentions. Learning how to protect yourself from common internet and paper mail scams can help you avoid falling victim to a scam and help you protect your identity as well.
