How to Protect Yourself from a Data Breach
As technology becomes more ingrained in our day-to-day lives, so does our risk of being exposed to possible hacks and breaches of the data we put online. Thankfully, there are several steps you can take to increase your online protection and guard yourself against future breaches or if you have been targeted in the past. Your security online is a priority for us, and it’s much easier to protect your information when we work together. Here are some ways you can help us protect your accounts:
Review Your Free Credit Report
You are entitled to one free credit report every year from Annual Credit Report. Carefully review your report for any unauthorized uses of your information. If you notice that your information has been used without your permission or any other suspicious activity, contact the credit bureaus and report the errors to have them removed.
Freeze Your Credit
If you have suspicions that your personal information may have been compromised, freezing your credit may be the best way you can protect yourself. Placing a freeze on your credit restricts access to your credit report, thus making it more difficult for identity thieves to open new credit accounts or loans in your name. You are able to temporarily lift or remove a credit freeze at any point in time if you need access. Visit the Federal Trade Commission website to learn more about freezing your credit.
Update Your Passwords
Don’t use the same password for all of your different accounts. When you repeat the same password across multiple accounts, it makes it that much easier for someone else to access any of your other accounts with that one password. The last thing you want is for someone to determine your digital banking account login because you use the same password for another online account that was compromised. Your digital banking password should always be different from any other password you use anywhere else.
Security requirements seem to become more and more complex, but rest assured, this is only for your safety. Make sure all of your current accounts meet the security standards for password complexity. Security experts recommend creating a unique password of at least 12 characters that includes uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. Don’t use identifying information in your password, especially details that can be easily found online or on social media like your name or birthday, the name and birthday of your family members or pets, or parts of any current or past addresses or phone numbers. Never include any portion of your Social Security Number, credit card number, or account number in your passwords, as these are the most commonly stolen data. You don’t want to make it any easier for someone trying to access your information. If you have difficulty meeting password security requirements, try using a random password generator to help you create strong, unique passwords. And remember to change your passwords regularly, as this makes it even more difficult for someone else to gain access to your accounts. You can change your Robins Financial Digital Banking passwords anytime using our Forgot Password self-serve form.
Strengthen Your Security Questions
Security questions are used to help you recover your password in case you forget. Make sure the questions and answers you select can’t easily be found online. Even when you don’t think you’re sharing personal information, you still could be. Posts frequently circulate on social media asking for you to share the name of the street you grew up on, your children or pets names, your mother’s maiden name, etc. While these “getting to know you” posts may seem harmless, it’s not just fun and games when this information falls into the wrong hands. These details are commonly used for security questions. Avoid sharing these types of posts or information online. Change your security questions and answers if possible to something not as easily accessible, thus harder to guess for criminals attempting to access your accounts.
Enable Multi-Factor Authentication
Multi-factor or two-factor authentication adds an extra step in the verification process to confirm your identity if there’s an attempt to access your account from a different device than what you normally use. Typically, a code will be sent to your phone that you will need to enter before proceeding in the login process. This added level of security makes it far more difficult for someone else to access your account, making this feature incredibly beneficial, not just for your Robins Financial digital banking account, but for any other accounts you access online. We recommend enabling this feature on every account possible to take your protection as far as possible.
Utilize Biometrics
Most smart devices and even apps now have the ability for you to set up touch authentication that scans your fingerprint before allowing access to the device or app. Facial recognition technology has also become a more common security feature on our smart devices. Fingerprint scanning and face scanning technology prevent anyone else from accessing your device and the information that may be stored on it, such as your login credentials or other sensitive data. No matter how strong you make your password, there remains the possibility that someone else could hack it. But your face and fingerprints are entirely unique to you, and impossible to replicate. Take advantage of biometric security features wherever possible.
Robins Financial Credit Union is committed to protecting the safety and security of our members. Our protections go even farther when we have your help. Review our Security and Fraud information online for more tips, and watch our Scams and Fraud playlist on YouTube. To learn more about how we protect our members every day and how you can protect yourself, give us a call or stop by any of our branch locations.