It is one thing to lose your credit card but having information stolen from your electronic devise is worse.
Stolen personal information can be used for financial fraud, identity theft, and cause privacy issues.
If you suspect that your payment card details have been stolen, these are the recommended actions:
Measures to protect your devices
- Regularly check account and card statements on a daily basis.
- Check the ATM you are withdrawing cash from. Sometimes a skimmer can be placed which can fool anyone thinking it is normal.
- Set up fraud alerts with your bank or payment card provider.
- Change the password and enable multi-factor authentication if possible.
- Freeze your credit so nobody can open any new accounts in your name.
- Lock your devices with a strong passcode if possible.
If you don’t want to become a victim of these cybercriminals:
- Don’t get phished. Be aware of the signs and don’t respond to unsolicited emails and texts.
- The IRS, Social Security, Banks do not send emails requesting your internal information.
- Shy away from sites making too-good-to-be-true offers.
- Use web protection like Malwarebytes or Norton AntiVirus software applications.
- Make sure your AV software is up to date.
- Change your password about every 30 to 45 days.
- Devices should have all content erase when donating, selling or throwing out.
Turn off IPhone contact sharing
One final step to protect Iphone users is to turn off Namedrop.
This will disallow another iphone user come within a short distance to grab all your contact information
Here’s how to do it:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone and go to the General section.
- Then, tap on AirDrop.
- Here, turn off the Bringing Devices Together toggle.
Stay alert and be smart with your personal information during the holiday season and do not belong a crime statistic!