Tips for safeguarding yourself online
Cyberattacks in health care are on the rise, with data breaches affecting the protected health information of more than 45 million consumers in the first half of 2024 alone, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office for Civil Rights.
In this increasingly digital world, safeguarding your online presence is essential. As cyber threats evolve, so must our strategies to protect ourselves.
Fake websites are a prominent type of online scam and rank high among the various methods cybercriminals use to steal personal information and money. These websites may have a similar URL (web address) or look nearly identical to real websites making it hard to tell the difference.
Protect yourself with the following tips:
1. Pay attention to domains and subdomains. Fake websites often trick people by using a domain name (a unique name that identifies a website) that is extremely close to a real business or organization domain name. For example, two letters are swapped making it slightly misspelled. If you find a spelling error in the domain name, you are not on the official site, and it is best to close the tab.
Sometimes scammers hope you will confuse a “subdomain” with the real website domain. Subdomains appear before the domain name. For example, a scammer might use the domain name netflix.com.movies.com hoping you won’t notice the real domain name is movies.com.
2. Be cautious of unsolicited messages. One of the most common ways that scammers trick people into falling for fake accounts is by sending unsolicited messages. These messages may appear to be from a friend or a business you trust, but they often contain suspicious links or requests for personal information. To avoid falling for these scams, be cautious of unsolicited messages and never click on links or provide personal information unless you are certain that the message is legitimate.
3. Use multifactor authentication. Multifactor authentication (MFA) is a multi-step login process that requires users to provide more than just a password to access an account, for example a code sent to your phone. This extra layer of security makes it significantly more difficult for unauthorized users to access an account or system.
To avoid fraud, it’s important to stay vigilant and regularly monitor your accounts for suspicious activities. Additionally, timely reporting of suspected fraud to the relevant authorities or companies can help prevent further harm and facilitate investigation and remediation efforts.
For more tips, visit the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Shields Up! page.