(NAPSI)—It seems as though data breaches affecting millions of
Americans are constantly in the news these days. If this makes you anxious
about the safety of your personal information, that’s understandable.
You can protect your data by using
secure internet connections rather than public Wi-Fi when you’re
providing sensitive information such as financial account numbers online; sending
bill payments from public mailboxes and collecting your mail promptly; shredding
documents that contain your personal information when they’re no
longer needed; keeping
your computer and mobile device safe against malware that may be lurking
in email attachments, pop-ups and banner ads; downloading
apps and other programs only from trusted sources; and being wary of anyone
who contacts you unexpectedly asking for it. You can also use
the security settings on social media sites to restrict who can see your
posts. But when businesses have your data, you can’t control how well
it’s safeguarded.
According to Consumer
Federation of America, there are some easy steps that you can take to
make it harder for fraudsters to use your personal information.
• Create
separate passwords for your most sensitive accounts. While it’s
convenient to use the same password for everything, crooks know that, so if
they get your password for one account, they’ll try it to log into
accounts on other websites. Any account that has your financial information,
Social Security number or other sensitive data should have a unique, strong
password to keep would-be intruders guessing.
• Beef up
your authentication. If your user name, which is often your email
address, and a password is all it takes to access your accounts, your
defenses are relatively weak. Two-factor authentication—your password
plus something that only you have, such as a one-time code that is sent to
you as part of the log-in process—provides much stronger protection.
• Freeze
your credit file. This prevents identity thieves from opening new
credit accounts in your name because the lenders won’t be able to
access your credit record. Since some landlords and employers also check
applicants’ credit records, freezes can also stop fraudulent attempts
to get jobs or rent apartments using your identity. Contact the three major
credit-reporting agencies—Equifax, Experian and TransUnion—to
request a security freeze. You can lift the freeze anytime you need to and
reset it. In some situations, you may be able to do this free; otherwise,
there will be a small fee.
On the Net:North American Precis Syndicate, Inc.(NAPSI)