How to Avoid Being the Next Cybersecurity Horror Story

No one wants to be the protagonist of a horror story. And in the 21st century, that’s doubly true for cybersecurity horror stories. If you’re on the internet a lot – Who isn’t? – then you know that cybercriminals are the new boogeymen of the digital age. Candyman is nothing compared to a hacker with your credit card information. It’s not like Candyman can take out a loan in your name.

In the last decade, cybersecurity has become more crucial to our conversations around tech. However, even as recent technological advancements allow us to make one-click purchases and share data at the speed of light, making sure our sensitive information doesn’t land in the wrong hands has become its own challenge. So much so, there is a whole industry devoted to it. And for good reason: In the last three years, several Fortune 500 companies have been hacked and had user data compromised, including Yahoo, Morgan Stanley, and Marriott International. In 2021 alone, well over 20 firms and government agencies globally were subject to some sort of data breach. And it doesn’t look like hackers are letting up anytime soon. As new technology becomes easier and more convenient to use, the savvier tech scammers become, which means internet users need to be just as – if not more – savvy.

One, Two, Scammers Are Coming for You

Cybercriminals know that it is easier to hack a human than it is to hack a computer. For this reason, the biggest cybersecurity threats are spoofing and phishing scams. Criminals use them because they work! While most people know what phishing is, spoofing – the act of disguising a malicious email, text or website as legitimate – is what allows a phishing attempt to be successful. You’ve probably gotten it: that sketchy email in your inbox from Hulu. It looks legit, except for the fact that you don’t have a Hulu account. It goes without saying, never click on emails from senders you don’t recognize. But when it comes to emails from reputable businesses, even ones that you might deal with regularly, it can become trickier.

There’s a common misconception that scams only work on gullible people. But the reality is that everyone is susceptible, and these scams rely on people not paying attention or feeling like they have to respond quickly. The best thing you can do is SLOW DOWN. Take your time reading emails and text messages before responding or taking action. Always check the sender’s address. While scam emails may adopt the name of a legit business, a quick glance at the email address may reveal a string of incoherent numbers and letters at a basic Gmail account. If you’re not expecting the email – Say you get an Amazon email about an order you’ve recently placed, but you haven’t placed an order – don’t click any links inside. Your instinct may be to click immediately to investigate a potential case of credit card fraud, but don’t! Instead, log into your account and verify any suspicious activity from the safety of the company’s website. Lastly, when in doubt, just don’t click the link. Contact the company directly to investigate.

I See Hacked People

Unfortunately, an increasing number of cybersecurity failures are sometimes out of your hands. In recent years, massive corporations, agencies, and firms have been subject to attacks and ransoms, compromising client data. The most notable of the recent hacks involved the credit bureau Equifax, in which the private data of nearly 150 million Americans was breached over a period of three months in 2017. You can imagine the frustration of doing all that you can to protect yourself from security, only to lose it because of a hacking. In situations like those, it’s hard to know what could have been done. But there are some useful tips to help minimize the damage.

Oftentimes when your data gets stolen through a hack, it’s sold online, which leaves your credit card numbers and/or account passwords floating around on the web somewhere. To avoid waking up to a