Cybersecurity Awareness: Detecting Scams and Protecting Personal and Financial Assets

Scam artists are constantly trying new methods to steal personal and financial assets. Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) are making it even easier for cyber criminals to create realistic and personalized scams. To stay protected, consider the following strategies for safeguarding your personal data and avoiding fraud.

Use Strong Security Practices

• Periodically change your account passwords, especially if you think your identity has been compromised. Use random combinations of letters, numbers, and special characters, and do not use the same password on all of your accounts. Leverage a password manager to securely store credentials.
• Leverage multi-factor authentication (MFA) if offered.
• Keep your computers, tablets, and mobile devices up to date with the latest operating systems and software by promptly applying updates when they are issued.
• Avoid public Wi-Fi and consider using a separate device for financial transactions.
• Verify unusual requests that appear to come from someone you know.
• Review your bank and financial accounts regularly and report any unauthorized transactions immediately. Also notify financial institutions if your information was exposed in a data breach.
• Order and review your credit reports at www.annualcreditreport.com. You may order a free copy of your credit report once every 12 months from each of the three major reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
• Place a credit freeze on your credit file or add a fraud alert.
  • A credit freeze prevents third parties from accessing your credit report. You may place or lift a credit freeze at any time free of charge. However, it may take several days to lift a freeze. Freezes must be placed individually with each of the three credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. A credit freeze does not hurt your credit score.
  • A fraud alert adds a notice to new lenders to take extra precautions when verifying credit applications. A fraud alert typically lasts for one year. If you place a fraud alert with TransUnion, they will automatically notify Equifax and Experian.
• Proactively opt out of prescreened or preapproved credit card and insurance offers at OptOutPrescreen.com.
• Monitor your Social Security account. Set up an account at https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/.

How to Identify Scams

Recognizing common scam tactics can help you identify and avoid fraud:

• Never click on links or attachments in an unexpected email even if it looks like it is from a legitimate source.
• Be wary of unsolicited calls and text messages and do not share personal information such as social security, Medicare, or account numbers.
• Do not give your personal information to anyone who says they are from the government and want to help you collect your benefits.
• Do not be pressured by fundraising calls or emails to make immediate donations. Take your time to research the organizations or call us for assistance.

Understanding how cybercriminals use trust, fear, urgency, and confusion to exploit human behavior can help you spot scams. For example:

• Wire transfer and payment change scams – emails or texts with urgent messages telling you to wire money, update wire instructions, or send payments to a new account. These messages appear to come from a trusted source such as an attorney, accountant, property manager, or other service provider. Always verbally verify instructions by calling a known number.
• Emergency requests from family members asking for money – fraudsters can track your social media and online presence to identify family members, vacation plans, birthdays, community activities, etc. and use the information to develop a realistic scam. Using AI, they can impersonate a family member and call, email, text, or even use fake video messages to ask you for money immediately. Consider establishing a secret code word or phrase with your family members to help verify their identity.
• Pop-ups alerts and verification code requests – to acquire your personal information and gain access to your computer or financial accounts, scammers may try to trick you with pop-up alerts about a technical issue or claim to be a fraud representative and ask you to share verification codes. These are attempts to steal your credentials or infect your computer with a virus. They may try to confuse you with multiple requests and a sense of urgency. Pause before acting and independently verify the request with the organization. It’s also a good idea to change your passwords.

Steps to Take if You Suspect Identity Theft

Time is of the essence. Act quickly to take the following steps:

1. Change your passwords.
2. Notify your bank and financial institutions.
3. Place a credit freeze on your credit file or add a fraud alert, as detailed above.
4. Create a recovery plan on the Federal Trade Commission’s website at www.identitytheft.gov.

A Shared Commitment to Security

We have built a culture of cyber awareness at Hemenway & Barnes and require everyone to complete regular cybersecurity training. By recognizing common scams and using strong security practices, you can help protect your personal and financial assets. Together, we can help identify and avoid scams.