Tips on Avoiding Cyber Scams

Create strong online passwords

• Make sure your online passwords are a minimum of eight characters.
• Use a combination of upper and lower case letters and at least one number.
• Include at least one character that isn’t a letter or number.
• Change some of the letters in words or phrases to numbers (e.g. use a “3” to replace an “e”).
• Never use your name, birthday, driver’s license or passport number. Don’t repeat numbers (5555) and letters (bbbb), include simple sequences (abcdefg or 56789) or use letters that appear in a row on your keyboard (qwerty).
• Commit your passwords to memory and don’t store them on your computer or in your mobile phone.
• Change your passwords often and use different passwords for different online accounts.

Be aware of what you open, download and share

• Stay away from phoney e-mails representing financial institutions. Many times, they end up being fakes. Typically, real banks don’t send mass e-mails to their customers offering new products or rates or asking for personal information.
• Don’t sign up for mailing lists unless you can be sure the business is not sharing your private information.
• Never reply to spam e-mail.
• Avoid posting your e-mail address in an open forum.
• Do not open, respond to or make purchases from e-mails you suspect are spam – delete them!
• When banking online look for the lock symbol on the website or “https://” at the beginning of the website address (the “s” in “https://” means “secure”) to be sure the site is encrypted.
• Always use antivirus software to scan files you download.

Protect your computer

• Install a firewall as well as anti-virus and anti-spam software.
• Never allow “auto fill” or “auto-remember” of your password or personal information. Do not allow a website or browser to keep you signed in.
• Never use public Wi-Fi or public computers when banking online.
• Clear your browsing history or cache and log out completely after online banking and shopping.
• Only use your personal e-mail address when dealing with friends and family; set up a separate account for all other online activity.
• When disposing of an old computer or other device, be sure to erase all personal data. Download software and erase the hard drive yourself or hire a professional to wipe the hard drive clean.

Know the risks

• The more you know about cyber scams, the better you can protect your identity, your money and your family. Learn more at getcybersafe.gc.ca.