How to Perform a Privacy Checkup to Protect Against Fraud in the New Year

The end of one year and start of another can be an excellent time to evaluate your personal security and take proactive steps to protect yourself from fraud.

With technology rapidly advancing and fraudsters developing increasingly sophisticated tactics, including leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), consumers must stay vigilant.

Here’s how you can perform a privacy checkup to safeguard your information and devices from fraud.

Secure Your Personal Information

Performing consistent privacy maintenance is crucial for safeguarding your data. Key things to keep in mind:

1. Guard Your Sensitive Information: Never share personal information like Social Security numbers, bank details or account access codes, or passwords. If you’re asked for this information, ensure you’re interacting with a verified source.
2. Monitor Your Accounts: Regularly review bank and credit card statements for unusual activity. Using online and mobile banking and setting up real-time transaction alerts can help you detect fraudulent activity early.
3. Don’t Overshare Online: Whether you’re using social media or a dating website, be cautious with how much information you share publicly online. Fraudsters leverage this information to learn about their victims to make their scam seem more legitimate through social engineering.

Protect Your Devices

Your devices are treasure troves of personal information that you want to keep from falling into the wrong hands. Some ways to protect them include:

1. Use Strong, Unique Passwords: Ensure all your devices are protected with strong passwords, PINs or biometric login features. Use unique passwords for each account to limit exposure if one is compromised. Use a mix of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and special characters. Password managers can securely store and generate complex passwords for you while limiting the need to remember multiple complex logins.
2. Enable Auto-Lock: Activate the auto-lock feature on your devices to prevent unauthorized access if they are left unattended or stolen.
3. Encrypt Sensitive Data: Use encryption settings on laptops and phones to safeguard your data. Encryption can help ensure your information isn’t accessible even if the device falls into the wrong hands.
4. Avoid Public Wi-Fi: These networks can be easily compromised. If you must use public Wi-Fi, use a virtual private network (VPN) to encrypt your data.
5. Backup Devices Regularly: Schedule regular backups of your devices’ data to preserve important files and recover quickly after a potential breach or malfunction.
6. Use Device Tracking Features: Enable tracking options like “Find My iPhone” or “Find My Device” for Android – particularly when traveling. These tools can help you locate lost devices or remotely wipe them to prevent data misuse.

If You’ve Been a Victim

Time is of the essence to minimize the damage if you’ve been the victim of fraud. Here are steps to take immediately:

• Have your bank freeze your accounts, get new account numbers and debit/credit cards, and monitor your account statements for fraudulent charges.
• Have any compromised devices professionally cleaned from viruses and malware.
• Update all your online usernames and passwords.
• File a report with the police, Federal Trade Commission (reportfraud.ftc.gov) and Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3.gov).
• Put a fraud alert on your credit report with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

By learning the warning signs of common scams, securing your devices, and consistently reviewing your privacy practices, you can help reduce the risk of fraud. Take the new year as an opportunity to fortify your online defenses and ensure you and your information remain safe from fraudsters.