Stay one step ahead of cybercriminals
Your financial security is only as strong as your digital security. A single stolen password, convincing scam or fraudulent investment offer can lead to lost savings, damaged credit or hours spent recovering compromised accounts. As our financial lives move increasingly online, protecting your personal information is part of protecting your financial future.
Cybercriminals are getting smarter, and technology like AI is making their job easier. But fortunately, some consistent habits can help protect you from many of today’s common threats.
Watch out for phishing. Phishing is a common way criminals break into accounts and steal money. These attacks often arrive as emails, texts or phone calls that appear to come from your bank, employer or another trusted organization. Fake websites can trick you into typing in your password or financial details.
To protect yourself, verify unexpected requests through a separate channel, such as calling a company directly using a number from its official website rather than one provided in a suspicious message. Avoid clicking unexpected links and consider using a password manager which auto-fills your login information only on legitimate websites.
Strengthen your accounts. Stolen passwords give criminals easy access to your email, banking and social media accounts. Try using a unique password for every account and enable multifactor authentication whenever it’s offered. When possible, choose phishing-resistant options like passkeys or security keys; they’re harder for scammers to bypass than basic text message codes.
Be skeptical of urgency. Scammers increasingly use deepfakes, which leverage AI-generated voices, videos and images to convincingly impersonate trusted people, including company executives, advisors and even family members. These messages often create pressure to send money or share sensitive information immediately.
