Best Practices For Personal Cybersecurity

We have a username and a password for practically everything; mobile apps, email, websites, online banking, everything! That is why it is so important to have strong login credentials and use the latest best practices for securing your personal information. Even the accounts you don’t think are that important. Because to a criminal, every bit of data they can gather is one step close to cracking your code.

Here are some best practices for protecting your username and passwords:

• Use a unique username for each online account. That way if one becomes compromised the others are safe. The same goes for your passwords.
• Usernames should be at least 10 characters long.
• Use complex passwords or passphrases that are difficult to guess. Use special characters, numbers, a combination of lower and upper-case letters, and make it random and unrelated to anything in your life.
• Passwords or passphrases should be at least 12-14 characters long.
• Use multifactor authentication (MFA) whenever possible. This makes it more difficult to gain access to an account with a  single password or passphrase. Make sure to deselect "remember this device" for highly secure access. When you remember a device you bypass the MFA that you setup making it easier for someone to access your account if they have stolen your device.
• Do not play social media quizzes or reply to memes asking you questions like: What was your first car? What was the name of the street you grew up on? Etc. This is a clever tactic for social engineering where the fraudster obtains as much personal information from you as possible in order to create a profile and attempt to crack your passwords.
• Use a password manager so that you do not need to write down all of your passwords or passphrases. The manager keeps them for you and you only need to remember one login and setup MFA.

Take caution and follow these tips to help protect yourself from fraud. Remember, Workers Credit Union will never request personal information or login credentials by contacting you through email, phone, or text. Reach out to our Member Contact Center at 800-221-4020 if you feel that you have been a victim.