Why is cyber security important?
Modern life is fundamentally intertwined with the internet. Nearly every daily task now has an opportunity for online integration, and most everyone owns multiple devices, including laptops, phones, tablets, smart watches, smart TVs and more. The more accounts and devices you have online, the greater the potential is for criminals to access your personal information and take advantage of you. Online safety is important no matter your age or life stage, but there are concerns for certain vulnerable groups like children, teenagers and senior citizens.
Please note: Harbour Trust will never call, email, or text message you to ask for your online login credentials or other personal information. If in doubt about any communications from Harbour Trust, please don’t hesitate to contact your advisor or call us at 219-877-3500.
To protect yourself from hackers, scammers, and identity thieves, always proceed with caution and confirm requests are legitimate before responding.
Common Internet / Texting / Phone Fraud Types
Text Message Fraud
Be advised of text messages attempting to make you click ANY links. These messages will often state that your account is restricted, or a package is unable to be delivered. These links will try to obtain sensitive information. These text messages may look like they’re from a company you know or trust, and you may not realize the message is fake until it is too late.
What to do: Delete any text messages that ask you to confirm or provide personal information. Call Harbour Trust with any questions.
Email Fraud
Email Fraud is the criminal attempt to steal your personal information through fraudulent emails or smartphone texts. They are often very believable, luring the victim to a site that asks them to provide (or “verify”) personal financial details such as account numbers and social security numbers. A variation is called Spear Phishing, which are electronic messages that appear to come especially to victims from their employer, usually a large corporation.
What to do: Delete any emails that ask you to click suspicious links or provide any personal information. Call Harbour Trust with any questions.
Voice / Phone Fraud
Be cautious of answering phone numbers you do not recognize. Be cautious of numbers which appear to be IRS or other Government agencies. These numbers can be 'spoofed' or faked to appear as legitimate numbers. These callers will often request money be sent, or they need to access your computer. Do not send them money or let them access your computer.
What to do: If a caller is requesting personal information or wanting you to send money, hang up immediately and contact Harbour Trust.
Below is a list of commonly used tactics by scammers:
- Asking for any amount of money to be sent in any capacity.
- Asking for gift cards to be sent in any capacity.
- Asking for Bitcoin or any other electronic methods of sending funds.
- Asking you to navigate to any "remote support" website.
- Emails or Text Messages claiming you have a "withheld" package.
- Emails or Text Messages from any banking institution wanting you to "verify" any transaction.
- Emails or Text Messages claiming a "product or service" has been renewed which you do not own.
- Emails or Text Messages claiming you have "won" any amount of money.
- Emails or Text Messages claiming you have "inherited" any amount of money.
- Emails or Text Messages asking for any personal information such as your
- Name, Social Security #, Driver's License #, Account #, Date of birth, Address, Phone Number
- Phone calls claiming to be from any government agency.
- Phone calls claiming to be a "relative, spouse, or child" in danger.
- Phone calls claiming you won any amount of money.
- Phone calls where you recognize the number, but not the caller on the phone.
- Scanning random QR codes and navigating to the link they are tied to.
- Navigating to "shortened" links (such as Bitly, TinyURL, Short.io)
- Online dating scams: romance scammers will manipulate victims by forming an intimate, personal, connection and then using the relationship to try and gain access to personal and financial information.
- Social Media Scams: fake profiles, catfishing, gossip clickbait, job offer scams, and financial incentive "programs".
Cyber Security Resources
Guidelines for staying safe on the Internet:
- Do NOT: enter any financial of personal information into a website that is not secure / you are unsure of!
- Do NOT: use the same password for every site!
- Do NOT: store your passwords in easy to find/visible areas!
- Do NOT: share your passwords with anyone else!
- Do NOT: use common or easily guessable passwords!
- Do NOT: connect to "open", "free", or "public" Wi-Fi to browse any sensitive information!
- Do NOT: put sensitive or personal information into ChatGPT or any other AI applications!
- Do: hover your mouse over links to show the URL destination. If you do not recognize the destination, do NOT click the link!
- Do: rotate your passwords often!
- Do: try and keep passwords "longer" (12+ characters) rather than more "complex" passwords!
- Do: use Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) where applicable! Especially on banking websites or health record information websites!
- Do: secure all devices connected to your Wi-Fi, including computers, phones, tablets, smart TV's, smart watches, cameras, and even devices like refrigerators which can connect to the internet!
- Do: monitor your credit report to ensure your financial data hasn't been leaked to the internet!
"Why should my passwords be longer than 12 characters?"
Hackers use high-powered computers and tools to "brute force" their way into your accounts. By having a lengthy password, the time it takes to hack into your account exponentially increases. A 'long, non-complex' password such as "123investments456ilovegolf" is far more secure than a short, complex password such as "G4p%4c#6". The chart below shows how long it would take to brute force into your account based on password length and complexity.
