This week’s theme on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast is: How To Protect Yourself From Cyber Theft

Today, I’m talking about the number 1 way that criminals steal your info and your money: phishing. Obviously, it’s not the only way scammers can steal your information, but since it is far and away the most common method scammers use, let’s focus on this one in today’s episode. 

In 2022, the most common type of cyber crime reported to the United States Internet Crime Complaint Center was phishing, affecting approximately 300,000 people in the US. #2 was personal data breaches - which mostly happen when your account information is exposed and scammers gain access to your accounts. 

Obviously it’s important to be aware of the multitude of ways cyber theives can scam you, but since phishing is far and away the most common - more popular than most other tactics combined - let’s focus on that in today’s episode.

Phishing is the fraudulent practice of sending emails or other messages purporting to be from reputable companies in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.

The first thing to look for is an unsolicited email or text message. You’ve probably seen these and hopefully recognize them by now.

Phishing emails and text messages often tell a story to trick you into clicking on a link or opening an attachment. You might get an unexpected email or text message that looks like it’s from a company you know or trust, like a bank or a credit card or utility company. Or even a co-worker or someone else you know. The scary part is that they’re really good at making their emails look legit. They include the actual branding and logos of real companies you actually do business with. 

Or maybe it’s from an online payment website or app. The message could be from a scammer, who might 

• say they’ve noticed some suspicious activity or log-in attempts

• claim there’s a problem with your account or your payment information

• say you need to confirm some personal or financial information

• include an invoice you don’t recognize

• want you to click on a link to make a payment

• say you’re eligible to register for a government refund

• offer a coupon for free stuff

It’s important to recognize that while real companies might communicate with you by email, legitimate companies won’t email or text with a link to update your payment or login information. And always be cautious about clicking on links and attachments in any emails, even if they appear to be from legitimate sources. 

And never provide any personal sensitive information via email. It’s always best to assume that any information you send via email can and will be seen by others, so that assumption will help you be more careful about what you send via email. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the Retirement Quick Tips podcast.   

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance