Also, be aware of what you share on social media. With fraudulent messages that appear to come from reputable sources, a scammer could be trying to get your personal information. This is known as phishing; is one of the biggest problems associated with cyber fraud and is usually carried out via email, text message or phone🇧🇷 Cybercriminals also use social media for targeted attacks. The personal information you reveal in your account (your identity, but also your place of work, birthday and interests) could increase the credibility of a phishing attack against you. This is called social engineering. To avoid this type of invasion, you should check your privacy settings (by default, your profile can be public) and beware of fake or unknown profiles. We mention ways below to Protect yourself from financial fraud🇧🇷
6 ways to protect yourself against financial fraud
Improve your password protection
“Double Factor Authentication” is a feature that many online stores, financial institutions and service providers provide. (When your name and password are entered correctly, they will text or email you a special code that you must enter to access your account.) As part of your account settings, enable it. It requires an additional step, but provides an incredible level of protection.
Protect your email
The US Postal Service offers a free service called Informed Delivery, in which the organization emails photos of letter-size mail that is likely to arrive soon. This is an excellent approach to ensuring identity thieves don’t steal anything from your mailbox.
Manage your emails
Start marking any objectionable or unwanted emails as spam so that similar emails are forwarded to the trash automatically. Try different email providers if the unwanted spam in your inbox won’t stop.
monitor your accounts
It is advised that you regularly access your account using online banking or a mobile banking application so that you can monitor your account balances and activity and ensure that you promptly identify fraudulent activity. You can also set up online bank notifications at Rockland Trust to be notified of transactions or account changes based on your preferences.
Shred confidential documents
Until you reconcile them with your monthly statement, retain financial documents, including ATM receipts, deposit slips, and checks deposited through mobile banking before crushing them. Until you file your taxes, safely hold onto your monthly savings and checking account statements. So unless you need them to support a deduction on your tax return, toss them in the trash. Better yet, subscribe up for statements so you can view your statements from anywhere at any time. Online extracts can be accessed at the Rockland Trust for a maximum of three years. Keep an eye out for our Shred Events, which take place at our branches throughout the year.
filter your phone calls
Enter each of your trusted contacts into your smartphone to help reduce the influx of spam calls. Your caller ID will let you know if you are one of them when the phone rings. If calls are unknown to you, do not answer; if they need something urgent, they will leave a message.
Final Words
So here we conclude our article on how to Protect yourself against Financial Fraud. Also, you can’t always stay abreast of emerging technology and scams that target seniors. Whether you’re pre-retired, semi-retired or fully retired, it’s crucial to stay vigilant when it comes to protecting your funds.
