5 Tips to Prevent Hacks and Stay Safe Online

When there’s a cyberattack, it makes the news—but most of the time it doesn’t do anything to makes us as aware, worried or alert as we should be. That’s what bothers many cybersecurity experts. In their opinion, most of us are not taking aggressive-enough steps and actions to protect our credit and bank accounts. Their warning is worth listening to. Here’s why: Maybe that doesn’t sound like a big number. Maybe you feel safe because you’ve escaped the hackers so far. But consider this: If there are 100 people you know, five of them are susceptible to a security breach that affects their money or credit. None of us should believe that our financial information is safe anymore. The reality of cyber-attacks should make you more concerned. The fact is, security experts will come right out and tell you that everyone is at risk of having their data compromised. And here’s the kind of advice they’d give you…and the steps they take to protect their own accounts: Maybe you’ve seen a few articles like this in the past—but what did you do after you read one? Did change your passwords Go online and check your bank accounts? Request a new PIN on your debit card? No? You should think about doing all of those. After all, hackers are going to continue attacking financial institutions and retail stores in pursuit of account numbers, passwords, Social Security numbers…and there’s not much you can do about that . But that doesn’t mean you have to wait for it to happen. By taking a few proactive steps, you can increase your awareness and take steps that will make it harder for hackers to do their dirty work.