October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and we wanted to take this opportunity to share important information about protecting yourself online. We understand the importance privacy and cybersecurity play in this increasingly digital world, especially when it comes to your finances. Cybersecurity is about safeguarding your online presence, smart devices, and information in cyberspace, and keeping all of them out of the hands of the wrong people – and it starts with you. We’ll be offering a few tips about protecting your online and mobile security. Then, we’ll delve into the topic of phishing, and finally we’ll talk about ways you can protect yourself across your social media platforms.

Securing Your Privacy Online & Across Mobile Devices
One way you can safeguard yourself online is by keeping your computers and mobile devices up-to-date. Fraudsters often scour systems looking for vulnerabilities and known problems, and keeping your software up-to-date can help protect you against these attacks. Next, we highly recommend setting strong passwords that are long, difficult to guess, free from common words, and creative. Never share your passwords with anyone, and never reuse the same password for multiple accounts or devices. Another way you can better protect yourself online is by utilizing a firewall. A firewall monitors and controls what goes in and out of your computer, and may be able to stop malicious attacks before they enter your computer. It’s also a good idea to frequently check your bank account activity to verify accuracy and ensure that your information has not been compromised.

Protecting Yourself from Phishing Attacks
Phishing is the act of sending an email or text message to a user falsely claiming to be a legitimate business in an effort to illegally collect personal or sensitive information. The request will typically direct users to a website where they are prompted for personal information including their username, password, or possibly even social security number. These pages are counterfeit, and used as a deceitful way to capture your information for corrupt purposes such as identity theft. In order to protect yourself from phishing, we recommend ensuring that you are running an up-to-date, supported operating system. We also suggest utilizing anti-virus software on your computer, and never clicking on links or responding to emails that appear suspicious. Finally, never enter your username or password into a website you arrived at by clicking a link received via text message. As a reminder, DCCU will never ask a member to verify any account information via email or text message.

Be Wary of What you Share on Social Media
It may seem almost impossible to refrain from sharing highlights of your life with your circle on social media, but it’s important to remain mindful of who is viewing your content. When you share personal information on social media, people may use that information to figure out your usernames, passwords, and answers to commonly asked security questions. To help avoid having your information compromised, consider a few precautions. First, connect only with people that you actually know. If you are unfamiliar with who they are, don’t accept their requests. Also, consider changing your security setting on social media. Most platforms have the option of making your content viewable only to your friends or connections. That way, the only ones who will see your content are those that you have chosen. Finally, be skeptical online. If something seems suspicious, there is a reason to pause. It’s always best to be cautious when it comes to your online presence.

Being proactive about protecting your cybersecurity is vital in this progressively digital age. As technology continues to evolve, so will the efforts of those who wish to take advantage of any vulnerabilities they find online or in mobile devices. To learn more about the steps you can take to protect yourself against fraud, please visit the Fraud Prevention section of our website.