It is National Cybersecurity Month. Now more than ever it is necessary to #BeCyberSmart.
Did You Know?
• 45% of Americans have had their personal information compromised by a data breach in the last five years. (1) • 70% of Americans feel that their personal information is less secure than it was five years ago (2) , up from 49% just two years ago. (3) • 72% of Americans believe that most of what they’re doing while online is being tracked by advertisers, technology firms and other companies. (2) • Over half of Americans (52%) say they have decided not to use a product or service because they were worried about how much personal information was being collected about them. (2)
It is always important to do your due diligence when providing personal information over the internet. Only use sites that begin with “https://” when online shopping or banking. When you see the “s” included in the “https” that means it is a secure site.
Passwords should be dynamic and never include personal information, such as date of birth, name, or any other information that would make it easy for a cyber predator to guess. When available, enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) to ensure that you are the only person who has access to your accounts.
Be aware that criminals are spoofing Credit Union phone numbers to obtain personal information. As a reminder, PSCU will never call and ask you for personal information. We will never ask members for PIN numbers or login credentials. We would also never ask to withdrawal funds and send them somewhere else. If you ever question whether a phone call is legitimate, hang up and call us directly at 734-641-8400.
1. “RSA Data Privacy & Security Survey 2019: The Growing Data Disconnect Between Consumers and Businesses. RSA. February 6, 2019. https://www.rsa.com/content/dam/en/misc/rsa-data-privacy-and-security-survey-2019.pdf
2. Auxier, Brooke, “How Americans see digital privacy issues amid the COVID-19 outbreak.” Pew Research Center: Fact Tank. May 4, 2020. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/05/04/how-americans-see-digital-privacy-issues-amid-the-covid-19-outbreak/
3. Smith, Aaron. “Americans and Cybersecurity.” Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. April 27, 2017. https://www.pewinternet.org/2017/01/26/americans-and-cybersecurity/. Ibid. Ibid.