How much time and effort do you put into protecting your family?
One of the keys areas of protection these days (and for the foreseeable future) comes in the way of cybersecurity.
With millions of family jumping on their computers and mobile devices daily, the prospects of being victims of cyber crimes certainly goes up.
That said you do not have to be the family that falls victim to such crimes, crimes that can have a major impact on your financial well-being when all is said and done.
So, how will you go about keeping cyber-criminals as far away as possible from your family?
Be Pro-Active in Protecting Loved Ones
Even though there is no security that can be rightfully deemed 100 percent effective, there are a number of options on the table for you and your loved ones.
One such option is turning to an identity theft protection service.
Such a service will keep watch over critical areas like financial data, public records etc. In doing so, you will be alerted if anything looks amiss.
With that in mind, your financial well-being is but one important facet in staying safe.
Also keep in mind that cyber-criminals will look to exploit you and your loved ones in myriad of ways.
These include:
- Phony emails – How many times have you come across emails from individuals and/or companies you’ve never heard of? As it turns out, countless emails are sent out 365 days a year from cyber-criminals, the hope being that you will open them up and expose your computer to virus malware. When that happens, the criminal can enter your personal and financial world, potentially causing havoc for a long time to come. Always be sure to avoid opening up any emails that look suspicious, especially those wanting you to download an attachment;
- Cyber-bullying – One of the worst online activities out there, cyber-bullying can have irrevocable damages, especially to younger individuals (see more below). As all too many stories on the news have shown in recent years, cyber-bullying is a problem that unfortunately doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon. That said don’t let any such actions go unreported. In many cases, they involve other kids harassing those around their own age. Such harassment can lead your child to feel bad about their life, feel like they’re not important, perhaps even to take drastic actions and harm themselves. By stepping up and reporting such incidents, you and your child will be better off.
Your Children Can Be Especially at Risk
- Targeting young minds – Cyber-criminals know all too well that millions of kids are on their family computers at any given time of the day. That being the case, children are especially susceptible to being targeted. Be sure your child doesn’t slip up and give out any personal information (where they live or go to school, where their parents work at, where their folks bank etc.). With any of that kind of information at their disposal, cyber-criminals can create all kinds of chaos, some of which can prove quite harmful to your entire family;
- Report any suspicious activities – Finally, don’t simply overlook any suspicious activities involving you or your family online. While some incidents may be quite innocent, others can have far-reaching consequences. If you think your computer has been compromised, get it checked out immediately. Not only can a computer virus open you up to possible cyber-crimes, but it could lead to irreversible damage to your machine. This is yet another reason why having both a computer anti-virus program running regularly and an identity theft monitoring plan in action are both so important.
You have enough to do in protecting your family from things offline.
Don’t settle into complacency online and become the next cybercrime victims.