Are your online habits putting you at risk of getting hacked?

There’s no doubt that our lives are becoming increasingly digital, from social media to email and online transactions. With eight in ten (76 per cent) Canadians worried about protecting their online privacy and seven in 10 (74 per cent) wanting more control over their online information now is to be proactive about safeguarding your data.

Hackers will often use what they can learn about you online to guess weak passwords and cyber security questions. They will also try to trick you into sharing sensitive information to break into your email and online accounts. Knowing what to watch out for is key to making this as hard for them as possible.

Keep yourself safe online. Watch this helpful video and read on for tips to avoid falling prey to digital fraud.

Protect your data from phishing scams and identity theft

Here are seven essential tips to help protect you and your information from email fraud and digital scams:

1. Always be careful of emails and websites that request your personal or financial information. Look closely at web addresses and never send passwords or sensitive personal financial information over email or text.
2. Trust your instincts and don’t let logos fool you. If anything feels suspicious, don’t click on any links. Remember, anyone can copy and paste a company logo.
3. If you receive a notification for a transfer or money request you weren’t expecting, contact the sender on a different channel to check if it’s real.
4. Create strong passwords and make sure you aren’t duplicating them across accounts. According to experts, it’s most secure to create a password that looks “ugly” — this means including a mix of special characters and using numbers in place of letters.
5. When receiving money online, consider using Interac e-Transfer Autodeposit, which deposits funds directly into your account – without the need for security questions and answers.
6. If you aren’t using Interac e-Transfer Autodeposit when sending or receiving a payment: choose security questions and answers that won’t be easy or obvious for a fraudster to guess.
7. Use Interac verification service to authenticate yourself and access services online. This is a secure and convenient way to verify your data and sign-in to online services without having to create and manage a new user ID and password.
8. Be conscious of the information you share online and how that can unintentionally help someone hack into your accounts. Hackers will try to guess or steal passwords and other sensitive personal data by using what they can learn about you online. This is why it’s wise to consider switching your social media settings to private.

Cyber security best practices: Your safety and data privacy always come first

Interac products are designed to protect you against digital fraud. Using them together with these cyber security best practices may just be the answer to a safer online experience.

Learn more ways to stay safe online.