Battling Fraud, and Winning!

Fraud is rife at the moment! You need to be more cautious than ever before when it comes to your personal information. However, with fraudsters getting more sophisticated all the time, it is hard to know where they are going to target you from and what tactics they are going to use. But fear not, as here are some tips to help you protect yourself…

Be sceptical about free trial offers – Free trial offers can be very tempting, but then you have to hand over your payment details. Why? Well, this can be to lure you into joining the subscription – hopefully, you will forget to cancel the payment on the following month! Or, the reason could be more sinister, i.e. to lock you into a long contract. Make sure you research the company carefully, know the terms and conditions, and that they are easy to get in touch with.

Purchase from companies that care about your personal data security as much as you do – Security should be a priority for all businesses today, but unfortunately, some companies do not take it as seriously as they should. Whenever you make a purchase, you are handing over your sensitive information. You should only make a purchase from companies you trust. Find out what efforts they are using to protect your identity. Products like Jumio’s Netverify and other cyber security and fraud prevention tools should be used to keep hackers at bay.

Be wise to fake calls and emails – Fake calls and emails are rife at the moment. A lot of fraudsters will create emails that look like they have come from your bank or another high authority company. They will even use an email address that looks similar, for example, they may put sanntander@customerservices.com. On first glance, this looks genuine doesn’t it? Especially for someone who is in a rush! But, on further inspection, you will see that the company’s name is wrong. You should always call your bank directly if you receive an email you are unsure about. You also need to be mindful of phone scams. You should never give out full passwords over the phone – genuine firms will not ask you to do so. Plus, be wary of computer scams whereby an ‘advisor’ will claim there is an issue with your computer and they need remote access to resolve it. This is simply a ploy to get into your network and steal your information.

Change your passwords regularly – You should change your passwords every three months. You should also make sure that every password is different from one and other. After all, if someone guesses the password to your Facebook account, and you use this for everything, they now have access to everything from your bank to your health insurance.

If you follow the advice that has been provided, you can give yourself the best chance of being protected from fraud. This is something that everyone needs to be concerned with today. However, while you may be a target, you do not have to be a victim. Protect your finances and your personal information at all costs.