GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – As we prepare to flip the calendar to a fresh new year, many people are setting goals and resolutions to improve their lives in 2020. The Better Business Bureau suggests adding a few resolutions to protect your wallet…and your identity.
There are a handful of simple resolutions people can make to avoid scammers in 2020. One recommendation is taking a fresh look at your everyday personal information.
“One thing that people overlook all the time is that they use the same password for every single online account. Now, this is 2020, you should really be getting away from that. Use a unique and complex password or even a passphrase,” says Susan Bach of the BBB, “Enable any kind of multi-factor authentication when it’s available because that really locks down any kind of account. It requires two forms of evidence to make sure that you are who you say you are.”
Review your permissions and privacy settings on social media too. If you’ve signed into an app or website using your social media credentials or taken a fun quiz on social media, you may have unwittingly given permission to third-party apps to access your personal information and contacts. On Facebook, go to “settings” and “apps and websites” to review.
When it comes to financial information, it’s a similar idea. It’s smart to use secure payment methods whenever possible. If anyone is asking you to pay via gift card or wire transfer, it’s likely a scam.
It’s also important to pay attention early on in the new year because all of the documents you need to file taxes should arrive by the end of January.
“As soon as possible in February, you can file those taxes early,” advises Bach, “File them right away because we would hate for any identity thief to file taxes on your behalf and then steal your return.”
Another way to protect financial information is implementing a credit freeze to restrict access to your information.
“That’s really the fastest, best way to protect yourself from any kind of financial identity theft. It really locks down your credit report so that nobody, no thief can open up a new account in your name,” Bach tells WTAQ News.
You can also use technology to block robocalls and other telemarketing calls. Nomorobo, a call blocking feature, can disconnect known telemarketers or scammers from your VoIP landline after one ring. It’s free for landlines; a nominal fee for cell phones. Go to www.nomorobo.com to begin. It’s also a good idea to make sure you’ve registered your phones with www.donotcall.gov.
If you happen to come across a scam, you can warn others and stop fraudsters by reporting scams to BBB’s Scamtracker. Scamtracker is a crowd-sourced website where you can report if you’ve been contacted by a scammer. Since reports are plotted on a map, you can also use Scamtracker to find out what’s happening in your area. Scamtracker reports also help BBB educate the public with more in-depth reports via our scam studies.
