Protecting your money from fraudsters by avoiding these expensive errors

ATM is modest in the back of the fuel station. and Unexpected text From your bank. A Back to the data. What do these things share? It is all of the ways that fraudsters can steal your personal data and money.

American consumers lost $ 12.5 billion for fraud last year, according to Jadid Federal Trade Committee a report. Fraud can take multiple forms, including fraud in which the victim sends money with money under false allegations, ID theft and An unauthorized bank Or credit card transactions.

Anyone can be a target of fraud, regardless of age or other population composition. It happened to me even in the past. While some behaviors can increase your risk, fraud can also occur due to factors outside your will.

How do fraudsters steal your information and your money

A lot of fraud occurs when thieves can access the victim’s bank account or credit card information and make purchases or unauthorized transfers. But how do they get this information in the first place?

Here is a group of the biggest threats to your financial accounts and how to protect yourself:

Data violations

When your data is stored through a third-party service-such as your utility company, internet provider or retail seller-this service is hacked, your information can fall into the hands of bad actors. Take the latest Ticketmaster Breach, which has been at risk about 560 million user information, including names, email messages and some card numbers.

“Violations of the database and other medium -term solutions are further than the most common reason for financial fraud,” he said. Aaron Walton, Senior analyst to threaten the cybersecurity company eviction.

How to protect yourself: Although you cannot prevent third -party service violations, you can reduce the effect of data breach on you. For beginners, do not store data using third -party services that exceed what is necessary. Walton recommends using a one -use use Credit cards For online purchases, even if the card number is leaked, the criminal cannot make additional purchases using the card.

🔐 Security Password Security

Truman Kane, chief researcher producer at the Cyber ​​Security Company, said Hunter. “This is the worst number one you can do if you want your accounts to remain protected.”

After data breach, attackers will try to use stolen credit data in major online accounts such as banks, retail dealers and email service providers. This process is called accreditation. Kain added that using weak, guessing or common passwords makes it easy for infiltrators to enter your accounts.

How to protect yourself: Use strong and unique passwords across all your accounts and change them regularly. Your passwords should be long (experts suggest 16 characters) and contain a mixture of small, capitalist letters, numbers and symbols. If this seems too much, consider getting a file Password Director. Kane also recommends empowerment Authentication multiple factors On your accounts whenever possible.

Credit card detectors

Cracks are devices connected to the mouth of the card reader that steals your credit card data when passing your card. The Kashton then sends this information directly to the card thief or save it to retrieve it later.

Skimmer settings may also include a hidden camera or a fake keyboard to pick up your pin. The cream can happen even on the Internet. If the attacker is able to waive the website, he can “reduce” information from any new transactions that occur.

How to protect yourself: Before using ATM or payment station, check this to get a loose card reader or any signs of tampering. Do not enter your card if you notice anything suspicious. Criminal criminals tend to fix the scraps in low -movement areas to reduce the chances of arrest, so adherence to the payment ends and ATMs in areas with high or advanced flowers.

If possible, Use the tap to pay – It is less likely to cream – instead of passing your card. If you are using the discount card, turn it as a credit card (if you can) to avoid entering your personal identification number and steal this information. To combat the scorpion online, use the apparent cards with a single use or limited use when online shopping.

🪝 Hunting attacks and other social engineering

Kane said that regardless of data violations, hunting attacks are the main way that attackers get your credentials.

The deception is when the target is related, and it is usually under the guise of a legitimate institution, To deceive you in Delivery of sensitive information, usually via a link they want to click on. Holding attacks can occur via phone, email or text.

How to protect yourself: “If you do not ask for the message, you should be skeptical about it,” Kane said. If you need to verify whether the message is legal, contact the institution directly through the contact information on its website.

Walton said that you should be skeptical if someone says online that you owe them money or have a due boost. “Take it slow and deal with caution,” he said. “Do not let the false sense of urgency attract you in a costly mistake.”

🛜 Data stolen on unsafe Wi-Fi networks

Visit web sites that do not cure traffic using “https” safety The general Wi-Fi network Internet criminals allow seeing anything you do online. Electronic criminals can also steal your data by preparing fake Wi -Fi Points.

After connecting to the free Wi-Fi, “the attacker can redirect you to the fake web sites that mimic closely the real thing, capture login recordings, passwords and sensitive data when inserted.”

How to protect yourself: Avoid the general Wi-Fi of sensitive transactions. It is smart to protect yourself with Virtual private network. VPN encrypts your browsing activity, so even if your data is intercepted, this is not readable.

Kane said: “The use of a good reputable VPN is like closing on the Internet inside a safe envelope,” said Kane.

Other proactive methods to prevent fraud

Despite the real and serious risks of fraud, 26 % of bank customers and 31 % of credit card customers did not take any recent steps to preserve Release November.

If you want to be more active in protecting yourself, here are the strategies that experts recommend:

Card control elements

Many banks and credit federations offer controls in cards that allow you to lock credit and deduction cards online or on the mobile phone application. Lock cards that you do not use regularly and to unlock them only when you need to make a purchase process can help prevent unauthorized transactions from passing.

Freeze your credit

Freezing Your credit It will prevent lenders from accessing your credit reports, preventing fraudsters and identity thieves from opening new credit accounts in your name. If you need to apply for a new loan or credit card, you can temporarily raise freezing and freely freeze.

Use a virtual card

Kane and Walton recommends using Virtual cards To protect your credit card information from theft. The virtual cards are randomly connected to your real card connected to your real card. You can set the limits of use on the virtual cards, such as being good only to buy one, which makes them useless even if the deception stole the card information.

Preparation account alerts

Criminals often put small purchases on stolen credit card to test the card before using it for larger purchases or selling card information on the dark web. If you can capture small fraudulent transactions as soon as they happen, you can hold the card before any large transactions occur. To do this, you can prepare alerts for all transactions or purchases under a certain amount.

How to report a credit card or bank fraud

If you think you are a victim of fraud, report your financial institution immediately. Most banks have a custom phone number for urgent help. You can then put a lock on your credit cards or debit to prevent new purchases from passing. Your bank may completely eliminate the card at risk and send you a new paper.

In some cases, such as if Social Security number Or other sensitive information has been hacked, you may also want to implement credit or subscription freezing Protect identity theft. The latter will help monitor your identity online and can inhale the signs of fraud. You may also want to change your password for your financial account and any other online account with the same login information.

Finally, it is always good to report fraud to FTC in Reportfraud.ftc.gov To help the federal government thwart fraud.

Walton said: “In many situations, some forms of help are available, whether it is a business owner, law enforcement, or anywhere else.” “It is wrong to believe that no one can help or should be ashamed of deception.”