By Edie Melson
With new reports of data breaches and suspicious messages popping up everywhere we look, scams have become a major concern today for everyone.
As we navigate this landscape of deception, it’s important to equip ourselves with knowledge and strategies to stay safe.
By being smart about our own security, we can also help protect those around us from falling victim to these scams.
Craft a Defense
We begin our defense on our knees. In these days of online attacks, a wise woman prays:
• before she opens her computer
• before she opens an email or a message
• before she responds Urgency is a trick every scammer uses.
If they cause us to react in haste, we are much more vulnerable. To combat this trick, slow down and take time to pray.
• Remember who the true enemy is. “For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens” (Ephesians 6:12 HCSB).
Not all those who send scam messages or make scam phone calls are doing it because they want to. Scam farms are full of trafficked men and women who are enslaved and forced to spend hours a day sending out scams.
They are punished if they don’t get results—another reason to begin our warfare with prayer.
• Remain aware. Every single time there is a security breach, there will be an uptick in scams. Pay attention to notices that warn of a breach that may contain your personal information.
Then go one step further.
Visit one of these two sites to see if your password/social security number/email address has been compromised. ⬇️
• Develop a healthy skepticism. Every time you get an email, begin by assuming it’s a lie. Skepticism can be a great defense to help us stay safe. Start with the assumption you’re being scammed and unfortunately, you won’t be far from wrong.
• Never use public wifi to sign into any website that uses a password. Public wifi is vulnerable to spoofing. Do your banking and anything that has a password on a private—secure—wifi.
• Sign up for two-factor authentication. Yes, it’s an inconvenience to sign in with extra steps. But that inconvenience is nothing compared to dealing with a scammer.
• Use the HIDE YOUR EMAIL option when you enter your email online. This is relatively new and it seems counterintuitive, but it is infinitely safer and can keep hackers from getting your email address in a breach.
• Use a different password for every single account. Don’t ever repeat a password; this makes you vulnerable to hackers. I use a password program to keep up with my passwords and help me remember when I need to change them. There are lots of good ones out there. Look for 32-bit encryption when you’re choosing one.
Bottom Line: Know the Warning Signs
• An email address that’s close to a legitimate email. Look for extra numbers and letters.
• Poor grammar. Even AI hasn’t perfected grammar in subject lines or in the body of messages.
• A ticking clock. Scams rely on making the recipient panic or worry about time running out.
• A request for personal information, like passwords, banking info, user names, etc. Legitimate companies would never ask for this information.
• A link to click. When you’re asked to click a link—even if you think it’s legitimate—go to the website on a separate browser and investigate.
With these steps we can all stay safe online.
