With so much of our lives being spent online these days, knowing how to protect your privacy and financial data has become a necessity.
The threat of unscrupulous persons like hackers, scammers, and even online predators poses an ever-present danger to all web users.
Even if you’ve never been a victim, it’s always good to maintain some good online habits to protect yourself at all times.
Whether you’re into gaming, online shopping, social media, or online gambling, your financial data and privacy can be compromised through virtually any online activity if you aren’t careful.
With this in mind, here are some handy tips to protect yourself online.
Popular activities online
The internet has been around for a long time, but with the huge growth in smartphone technology, it’s only in the 21st century that so much of our lives are now spent online.
Things like social media and streaming services now dominate our attention and keep us online more than ever.
The list of things that can be enjoyed online has grown substantially, too. Here are some that require extra care to keep your financial data secure:
Online gambling
The iGaming industry has grown exponentially with the rise of smartphones.
However, it entails inherent risks due to the use of real money, but choosing the right platform will ensure you are well protected against scams or other issues.
To help people spend less time gambling, the CRUKS (Centraal Register Uitsluiting Kansspelen) database was formed, allowing players to voluntarily register their details on it. It helps people self-exclude from gambling sites but is only applicable to sites licenced and registered in the Netherlands.
Fortunately, for anyone who wishes to start playing again, there’s a large selection of casinos without CRUKS to choose from, with Joren Verdoes from techopedia.com noting that the sites without CRUKS offer good protection of personal and financial data for players.
For the most part, all reputable online casinos offer great internal protections for your financial data and privacy. Even casinos without CRUKS, despite not falling under Dutch legislation, still provide these protections for customers.
They often utilise third-party companies to provide additional security measures and associated security certificates.
They will usually also regularly submit to independent security audits, and licenses should be visible for players to view.
Mobile banking
Mobile banking has become infinitely more convenient as smartphone technology has evolved.
With all major banks now having apps, banking can be done from home. However, with that convenience come added cyber threats.
Most mobile banking apps come with excellent internal security measures and are difficult to bypass. However, fraud can still occur if you aren’t careful.
To ensure the safety and protection of your mobile banking apps, here are a few things you should do:
- If your device has the option, use fingerprint and facial recognition locks and always keep your devices locked when not in use.
- Keep your phone systems up to date and download software updates, as these usually include updates to security.
- Avoid opening emails or clicking on links in texts from unknown sources, as these can contain malware and other kinds of viruses.
Shopping online
In the same way that mobile banking apps have revolutionised banking, online shopping has made shopping something that can be done without ever needing to leave home.
Again, that convenience comes with risks, so it’s best to practice these habits to stay safe:
- Only use reputable online stores and secure sites.
- Never give out your ID or social security number to register on a site.
- Select unique passwords and usernames for your accounts that can’t easily be guessed.
- Set up alerts and regularly monitor your bank cards and account statements for unauthorised charges.
Good password habits
From a personal point of view, it’s good to always maintain good password habits to ensure your data is always safe from unauthorised access.
This entails choosing a strong password (at least 12 characters long and containing a mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters).
Passwords should also never be something easily linked to you, like a birthday or pet’s name.
You can also set up things like two or multi-factor authentication. This will require other steps to be taken after the correct password is punched in, which makes it harder for hackers to get into your account.
Lastly, if available, you should also add facial recognition and fingerprint access or use a password manager to help protect all of your devices to make it harder to get into them.
Online casinos and other popular entertainment sites may have the best security features there are, but as a player, your personal online security is only as strong as your own digital habits are.
Avoid using public WiFi
Using public WiFi wherever it’s available can be a great way to save costs on data.
However, this also comes with security risks, especially if you’re using it to do online banking transactions.
The reason is that public WiFi servers aren’t as secure, and once you’re connected to them, your device is at greater risk of being intruded on or accessed by hackers.
Places like public airports are popular spaces for people to connect to public WiFi, and doing online payments while you’re waiting seems like a great way to kill time.
However, there are many types of cyber attacks that use these servers to infiltrate devices.
Things like malware distribution and network snooping can all be done over public WiFi while you’re connected to it.
Choose wisely
While internet banking, e-wallets, online shopping, and online payments have become vastly more popular with smartphones, not every retailer or financial institution offers the same level of protection.
Your financial records and personal information will inevitably be needed when you sign up for any of these services. However, even if you’re travelling, it’s always good to research the best banks to use.
To ensure that information will be stored safely and protected, it’s important to do some research on the service providers you choose.
Data breaches are usually big deals, so it shouldn’t be hard to find out if the intended provider has been hit before or is failing to provide adequate protection.
Choosing wisely in this sense usually means selecting a reputable and accredited service provider.
Minimise your digital fingerprint
The convenience that online services provide also creates a temptation to use most of them for things we could ordinarily do in person.
Between this and things like social media, most of us unwittingly have a massive digital fingerprint left all over the internet.
Basically, every time we access a site or use an online service, app, or social media, we leave behind a digital fingerprint.
To reduce our digital fingerprints and the information we put out there, we should avoid posting too much personal information on social media.
Letting people know our locations, our favourite places to go to, or taking selfies with our vehicle registration number visible are all examples of unsafe sharing.
When it comes to our financial information, since we use our banking details often, it’s tempting to have them stored digitally.
Unfortunately, in the case of data breaches, this can lead to that information being stolen and used against us. To avoid this, it’s a good idea to only use one-time options for payment, meaning you only enter the information per transaction.
Be wary of contact with your bank
No bank or reputable financial institution will ever ask you for things like your PIN or password.
If you receive any email, text, or telephonic communication from your bank, be wary that it’s not a scammer posing as a bank representative.
This is a common way for scammers to commit fraud, and they can be extremely convincing to people who are not aware of these methods.
The threat may come from something attractive like a money-saving offer that might seem very appealing.
It’s also a good idea to lock your credit scores so no one can take out credit in your name and to turn on ‘failed login’ notifications so you’ll be notified if anyone tries to access your accounts.
Are you taking the right precautions? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
