Simple Things You Need To Know To Avoid Being A Victim Of Retail Hacks And Cyber Attacks

There’s a lot of talk going around these days about retail store hackers. Just this past November, 2013, Target’s point-of-sale devices were hacked with a card-stealing malicious malware that collected card records from live customer transactions that breached approximately 40-million debit and credit card accounts over a 2-week period. There was also the upscale retailer Neiman Marcus, and several other retail stores that, including their millions of customers, fell prey to hackers.

Hackers are becoming more sophisticated at penetrating companies’ firewalls. Such security breaches and hacking activity will only become more prevalent and complex. In one report, the Target CFO, John J. Mulligan, warned US Congress that there will be more credit card breaches in the future. The problem is, most companies will not let the public know about a cyber-security breach until there is factual evidence that a breach had taken place.

Having a pocket-full of ever-updated strategies to protect yourself from cybercrime is a must.

Here’s a simple list of ways to protect yourself from cyber attack:

1.     Review your credit card statements one day per week. Make sure you recognize each of your purchases and notify your credit card company if you see a possible breach.

2.     Sign up for real-time alerts with your financial institution. You can easily set a purchase limit on your debit or credit cards, and choose to receive a real-time notification should there be a purchase attempt beyond that limit.

3.     Keep your private information private. Your personal data is perpetually threatened, whether its your cell phone or laptop, your wallet, or your PC and home phone. When you’re using new websites for purchases, always make sure this is a closed lock symbol at the bottom right of the screen. Web addresses that begin with “https” are generally secure, and if you click on the lock symbol on the bottom right, it will display the same “https” address.

4.     Create strong passwords and change them regularly. Studies have shown that 50% of internet users have weak passwords. If you use birthdates or social insurance numbers as your password and that information is taken through cyber-theft, all of your personal data suddenly becomes vulnerable. The best way is to use random letters and numbers that have no personal connection to you or your family.

5.     Consider subscribing to identity protection. There are many identity protection companies that will monitor your credit cards, social insurance number and other data for a fee. If you minimize your risks of security breach, this is one way of doing it.

6.     Cash is still king. This is one of the best ways to avoid such security breaches. In fact, becoming less digital may be, overall, something to give further consideration to.

As we’ve seen, there are security risks everywhere, with one of the prime targets being retail outlets the hackers of which take advantage of such outlets’ connections to financial institutions. Such precautions as those listed above will help you.