5 ways to protect your personal info

Remember: it's better to be safe than sorry!

It’s not uncommon these days to hear news reports of major data breaches or terrible tales from victims of the latest scam.

It seems like it’s getting harder to protect our personal information from these types of attacks, especially when we’re online more and more and scammers are coming up with new ways to take advantage of the most vulnerable.

So, what should you do? It might seem pointless, but there are things you can do. From being aware of the risks, to doing some simple things to protect yourself, here are 5 tips on how to keep your personal data safe:

1. Don’t share your personal info online. Sounds pretty obvious but you shouldn’t have any expectations of privacy when it comes to posting content and information stored on social media or on other online accounts. Even if you think your information is private by setting your security settings to the highest level, it may unintentionally be seen by anyone.
2. Keep your login details safe. Create strong passwords and then don’t share these or your usernames with friends or family. They may not deliberately share this info with anyone else but the less people who know your personal logins the better.
3. Let’s talk cold callers. Firstly, if someone is ringing you from a number you don’t recognise you don’t have to answer it. If you must answer a cold call, don’t give any personal details over the phone. If you think the call might be from a reputable organisation, you can always ring back on a number you find on their official website.
4. When was the last time you updated your antivirus software? Hopefully it wasn’t back in 2010. You may have to fork out a few dollars for software, but it will give you peace of mind and possibly save you heartache in the long run.
5. Have you ever received a call from someone wanting to remote access your PC? No, well it’s an actual thing and unless it’s someone you know then DO NOT let it happen. Again, if you think it’s a real person from a real and reputable organisation, hang up and ring back on an officially listed number. For more tips, check out our blog all about Remote access scams.

So, there you have it, some really simple ways you can take back some of the control of your personal information. You can find some more helpful tips for keeping your personal info safe on our website.

And remember the golden rule when it comes to giving out your personal information … trust your instincts. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. 

Please note this information is general in nature and does not take into account your personal circumstances or objectives. You should consider this before acting on any of the information contained.

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