Is your email account secure?

How To Secure Your Email To Avoid Cyber Risks?

The UK General Insurance and Cyber Aware launched a public awareness warning to help people identify the risks of not using a strong and unique password for separate email accounts. 

The survey by the firm found people were storing sensitive information in their email accounts, where 34 per cent store their pictures and private emails in their inboxes. 

In one such case, emails were sent from the inbox of an individual, and it led to a great deal of embarrassment for the person who got multiple calls from unknown people who received the mail. He had to explain the situation to them to sort it out. 

The police and authorities found the common use of simple identifiable passwords can lead to crimes where someone poses as you to your friends and family and seeks favour or sends unscrupulous mail to people in your contact name. 

The cyber awareness campaign wants people to understand the value of their emails and inboxes, treat them as possessions, and secure them with strong passwords to avoid loss of information. People are advised to integrate a two-step password protection to restrict unreliable access. 

How To Identify A Threat?

• Criminals seek certain information to use to commit crimes like phishing and impersonation. Therefore, one should always look for the bank and credit card statements to track anything suspicious and ensure the transactions are billed appropriately.  

• Suppose you get mail to confirm your details after suspicious activity in your email, for example, if you get a mail stating there are problems with your payments, and if it asks you to confirm your details to confirm the payment. 

• If the credit card company notices that your payment is overdue and unusual charges have been imposed on your account. 

• Some Amazon customers received emails where they got confirmation messages regarding a purchase they did not make, and they were asked to click on a link to contact. 

• The link redirected the customer to a counterfeit website that wanted them to fill in details. They wanted the user to fill in details to gain access to the credentials related to their account. 

Criminals send SMS text messages in an attempt to gain access to the account details of victims. All the old email addresses, social media profiles or firms you have worked for withhold the records and leave a trail of information, often given up for sale on the public database. To avoid it, it is necessary to have proper personal hygiene and real-time protection against emerging online phishing and ransomware threats.  

How To Protect Yourself?

Observe the site address if you are asked to fill in sensitive information related to a bank or credit card for reasons like claiming a refund or discount. Such links will often contain typos or grammar errors. Use a strong separate password for email. 

The best way to create a strong password is to use random words and integrate numbers and symbols between the words. Use words you can remember later but are not easy for others to guess. 

Do not use your name or the name of family members or people in your contact in passwords. Install the two-stage authentication where passwords and the login device can secure the mail account. 

• Please do not click on emails from the unknown person who wants to get paid for their services or products through wire transfer or crypto options.  

• Install software apps to get real-time protection against cyber threats. 

• Do not use Wi-Fi to transfer sensitive information like the information of banks or credit cards. If you have been scammed, report to the helpline numbers and report the scam to the relevant authorities. If you have paid with a credit or debit card, ask for the option "chargeback" to help get your money back.