Fraud Awareness

Take Precautions Against the Heightened Threat:

To address this heightened threat, please take the following precautions:

1. Make your password long - The longer, the better – at least 12 characters is recommended, if possible. Longer passwords are harder to crack.
2. Make your password a phrase - String some words together that might make it hard to crack - example is to make an acronym from a phrase such as 'My Favorite time Of The year is summer!' The password would be the first letter of each word: 'MFtOTyis!'
3. Include numbers, symbols and uppercase and lowercase letters - Consider a '$' instead of an 'S' or mix in some '%' or '!'.
4. Avoid using obvious personal information - Finding your daughter's name and birthday may only take a quick search on your Facebook page.
5. Use multi-factor authentication - Convenience should never trump security. An extra step in accessing your account is that much more secure. Multi-factor authentication adds another layer of security, supplementing the username and password model with a code that only a specific user has access to (typically sent to something they have immediately to hand, like your mobile phone).
6. Do not reuse passwords - If an account is compromised, hackers will use the successful login information in multiple places.
7. Use a password manager - There are programs and services that allow you to store strong passwords for each or your sites – but you only have to remember the one password to access the service. Password managers can also provide guidance on creating strong passwords and indicate when your strong passwords should be updated.
8. Keep your passwords under wraps - It might seem obvious, but scan your office to see how many people keep them on sticky notes attached to their monitor!