Protect Yourself and Your Business Against New ID Theft Schemes

As technology continues to evolve, hackers are developing new techniques to gain access to your personal data. For a business, the stakes are especially high as security breaches can potentially give hackers access to the private information of thousands of customers at once. To confront the challenges of identity theft going forward, individuals and businesses both need to be aware of the tactics hackers use to steal a person’s identity along with ways to prevent identity theft from occurring in the first place. Learn more about how hackers gain access to your personal information and what you can do to protect yourself from privacy intrusions.

Phishing Scams

One of the most common ID theft schemes today comes in the form of phishing scams through emails or text messages. Phishing attacks often appear as legitimate emails or SMS messages from trustworthy companies that seek to obtain private information from the recipient. As a business, it’s essential to ensure your staff members are properly educated on how to avoid phishing email tactics and what red flags to look for in emails or messages. In addition, it’s essential to invest in adequate cyber security infrastructure to keep your network protected from spam mail or phishing attacks.

Vulnerable Devices

Hackers can exploit weaknesses on mobile devices to acquire the personal information of you or your employees. According to?Pew Research, over 60% of Americans today own a smartphone. While instant access to the internet from any location is a useful convenience, mobile devices are also susceptible to a variety of hacking attacks. To keep your data safe, avoid connecting your smartphone to unsecured Wi-Fi networks and ensure multi-factor identification is activated on the device at all times. In addition, it’s critical to verify that your device has received the most recent security and firmware updates available.

Hacked Passwords

Another way hackers can potentially steal your identity is by stealing the passwords to your email, banking, or credit card accounts. In a recent example, Google Chrome released?a warning to billions of users?regarding security vulnerabilities and encouraged users to download the latest version of the browser that includes essential updates. This most recent hack marks the 8th attack on Chrome by bad actors in the past year alone.

Along with keeping your devices and applications updated, it’s equally important to avoid allowing applications or websites to save your passwords when you log in so your password won’t be leaked in the event of a data breach. To further secure your information, be sure to select a password that contains at least 10 characters with a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols.

Compromised Payments

Since the beginning of the pandemic, more individuals around the globe began buying products over the internet instead of in brick-and-mortar stores. According to the?United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, e-commerce sales have increased to over $26 trillion between 2018 and 2019 alone. With more people shopping online than ever before, hackers are finding new ways to take advantage of this trend to access private credit card information.

Businesses can protect their customers by only working with trusted and secure payment processing providers. Meanwhile, customers should be wary of providing payment information to unfamiliar third-party websites and carefully review emails or attachments before opening them, even if they claim to be from PayPal or your bank.

Stolen Social Security Numbers

Hackers can also gain access to your social security number to steal your identity, allowing them to potentially open credit cards or take out loans in your name. Avoid providing your social security number to unsecured websites or through email messages that seem suspicious. If you receive an email from your bank or payment processor, take the time to contact them by phone first to verify that the message is legitimate before responding.

It’s a good idea to assume any information sent over the internet is vulnerable to interception from hackers, so always proceed with caution when providing private information online.

Ransomware Attacks

The increasing scale and sophistication of ransomware attacks leave few businesses safe from possible intrusion. In 2021, a string of high-profile ransomware attacks exposed the vulnerabilities of several U.S. companies like JBS foods, Brenntag, and others. In many cases, huge sums of money were sent to hackers to bring critical systems back online. Over the past 12 months, hacker groups like DarkSide or REvil have effectively extorted millions of dollars from companies, both in the U.S. and abroad.

Unfortunately, a press release from Sophos estimates that around 92% of companies who pay the ransom?do not regain access?to all of their data. Businesses seeking to protect themselves from ransomware attacks should back up all their essential data and explore advanced technologies that can insulate their systems from intrusion by hackers.

If you’d like to learn more about how to protect your business and customers from identity theft, contact our team at?Simplitfyor schedule a?virtual meeting?today. With our managed IT services, you can rest assured your essential systems are protected at all times so you can focus on growing your business. Rely on us to handle all the intricacies of securing your data and network infrastructure. Don’t wait for hackers to take advantage of your company’s vulnerabilities. Instead, take the initiative to protect yourself and your loyal customers from identity theft with the help of our friendly associates at Simplitfy. If you’re looking for reliable support to protect your small to mid-sized business, trust our team of professionals to keep your operations safe from disruption.

Erick Solms?is the Founder of?Simplitfy?in West Palm Beach, Florida. Simplitfy provides a myriad of professional IT Services for small and medium sized businesses.?To contact him personally or to inquire about information technology services, please email?[email protected]?or visit?www.simplitfy.com