Safeguarding Your Digital Identity from Being Taken Over by Another Account
Guarding your identity while you are online is more important than it has ever been. When fraudsters acquire illegal access to your online accounts, this is known as account takeover. Account takeover may result in serious repercussions, including financial loss, harm to your reputation, and psychological suffering.
Account Takeover Fraud: What Does It Mean?
In the event that a hostile actor is able to get illegal access to a victim’s online account, such as an email account, banking account, e-commerce account, or social networking account, this is known as account takeover fraud. Once the fraudster has acquired access to the account, they are able to use it for a variety of objectives, including the following:
stealing information that is either personal or financial
Conducting transactions or making purchases without authorization.
Changing the credentials of an account in order to prevent the legitimate owner from accessing it
The use of the account to perform more fraudulent activities or scams (such as phishing)
The Fundamentals of Account Takeover Protection: Recommendations to Safeguard Your Digital Identity
MFA, or multi-factor authentication, should be enabled.
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a security measure that requires the use of two or more verification methods. Something that you know (a password), something that you have (a smartphone), or something that you may be (a fingerprint) could be included in this category.
Employ Secure and Unrepeatable Passwords
Take care not to use passwords that are simple to figure out, such as “password123” or “123456.” Make use of a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters to generate passwords that are more difficult to crack. When you sign in to each account, use a separate password.
Steer clear of any attempts at phishing.
Verify the sender’s email address at all times and keep an eye out for any indications of phishing, such as misspellings or links that seem to be suspicious. When dealing with unknown sources, you should never download files or click on links.
Consistently keep an eye on your accounts.
Always keep a close check on your internet accounts, credit reports, and bank statements to identify any strange behavior that may occur. The early discovery of account takeover may assist reduce the amount of harm that is caused by it.
Software and hardware should be kept up to date.
Take the necessary precautions to ensure that all of your devices, apps, and operating systems have the most recent security updates installed. It is common for cybercriminals to take advantage of weaknesses in obsolete software.
Make use of a password manager.
It is possible to develop and save secure, one-of-a-kind passwords for all of your accounts with the assistance of a password manager. The danger of employing passwords that are either weak or repetitive is decreased as a result of this.
Protect the Network in Your Home
In addition to enabling WPA3 encryption, you need change the default login credentials for your router. This makes it easier to prevent unwanted users from accessing your home network.
Restriction on the Sharing of Personal Information
Keep in mind that the material you publish online, particularly on social media, should be viewed with caution. In order to guess passwords or answer security questions, cybercriminals might exploit personal information to their advantage.
