October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month
When it comes to your identity and your money, you want to make sure you have the right tools and knowledge to keep them secure. Unfortunately, there often seems to be new (and old) ways to try to swindle people.
“Phone scams, text scams, email scams – there are a lot of ways the bad guys are trying to trick you,” said Brian Minick, chief information security officer at Fifth Third Bank. “From data protection to identity alerts and beyond, Fifth Third works diligently to keep accounts and information secure but it is also important for our customers to put safeguards in place.”
Fifth Third offers the following tips to help keep you safe:
- Avoid phishing emails, texts and phone calls from fraudsters: Urgent-sounding messages that ask for personal information and request immediate action should be an instant red flag. Other telltale signs include typos, unexpected attachments, email aliases and links to unknown websites.
- Protect yourself: Use a strong, unique password for each of your online accounts. Avoid using common words in your passwords, such as your name, your pet’s name, birthdates, cities, or states. Use a trusted password management service to track your passwords
- Protect your devices: Keep all software, browsers and apps up to date with latest releases. Only download trusted apps and browse safely by disabling pop-up windows, avoiding risky sites, and disabling plugins.
- Backup your data: Make digital copies of important files and safely store them.
- Use Secure Communications: Avoid public Wi-Fi and never enter personal information into a public computer.
Fifth Third or other banks will never ask its customers for online account username or password via email, text message or phone call. If a customer ever feels unsure about a communication received, contact the Fifth Third team to investigate.
Learn more about how to protect yourself on Fifth Third’s stay secure page. The Bank offers Identity Alert and provides articles on fraud and cybersecurity for businesses.
