Stay ahead of fraudsters with these six tips to keep your financial information safe:
- Secure physical financial documents. Keep important documents in a safe location and make sure your credit and debit cards can’t be easily taken. Shred unwanted documents that contain personal information.
- Monitor and freeze your credit. Use credit-monitoring tools such as Credit Karma to monitor your accounts and identify possible security breaches. If your information has been compromised, you can authorize a credit freeze through Experian, Equifax, and Transunion to ensure someone who has stolen your data can’t open a line of credit in your name.
- Set up a password manager. There’s no need to use the same password over and over again. A password manager can automatically create unique and tough-to-crack passwords for you.
- Stay alert for phone scams and phishing attempts. Never share personal or financial information on the phone, unless you initiated contact. Don’t click on email or text links asking for personal information.
- Lock your computer and phone. Don’t ever leave your computer or phone unattended where others can view your personal data.
- Watch out for public WiFi. The WiFi at the airport or your favorite shop isn’t likely to have the same security level as a private, secure connection. Wait until you’re able to log on to a more secure connection.