Protect Yourself from Digital Disaster
/We live in a dangerous world, but not necessarily in the physical. Nearly every week, I hear of the latest online scam or digital attack, some of which impacts my customers’ real estate transactions. It’s sad when it happens and I wish I could rewind the clock to educate. This article is that education.
Passwords
By now, we all know that we should use unique passwords for every site we visit, but how practical is that? It is called digital hygiene and so few of us are 100% clean. Sure, you should certainly have unique username/password combinations for every site that deals with your money, but how can you remember all those passwords?
While we all keep soldiering on with passwords to the best of our ability, be aware there are password manager sites/applications that can auto-create and auto-fill your passwords for you. If you are forgetful, I highly recommend BitWarden. It is free and fabulous. It works cross-platform and helped my parents from calling me every five minutes.
Make Way for Passkeys
If you are still suffering from password management syndrome (PMS!), be happy that the industry is listening. Apple, Google and Microsoft teamed up last year to expand support for a password-free sign-in standard from the FIDO Alliance and World Wide Web Consortium. In short, your fingerprint or visual face scan will unlock the sites you want to visit automatically. Hidden from you, the site and your device create a passcode (a very complex encoded handshake) so that the human (you) never has to worry about that stuff.
This technology is rolling out slowly and I highly suggest you implement it as soon as you can. For Apple users, iOS 17 and MacOS Sonoma (both being released in the Fall) will support passkeys. If you are a Windows user, the tech is already available across Windows and Edge. Google is working on bringing it to developers inside Android soon too.
I, for one, can’t wait to never have to remember another password again. I think by late 2024, virtually all “logins” will be done silently via passkeys.
Phone and Text Scams
This really gets under my skin. As a real estate agent, I get about 25 of these per day! Yes, digital thieves are attempting to do things ranging from stealing your credit card numbers to draining your bank accounts to even full identity theft. Older people are typically more susceptible to these scams, but anyone can fall prey.
You must condition your mind to do the following:
Hang up! If it is real, the caller will find a way to call back or contact you otherwise.
If you aren’t sure, ask them what the business name is and tell them you will call them back. Then, hang up and independently research the main number for the business and call to see if it is real.
If anyone is asking you, by call or text, to reply immediately, it is likely a scam. They prey on your belief that it is dire that you act with them immediately. Never reply blindly.
The most recent digital development in these scams is using A.I. to mimic the voice or writing style of a family member. Yes, the call can actually sound like your son, daughter, mom or dad in distress. If this happens, keep calm and text your loved one in parallel to see if the call is real or not.
Lock and Freeze your Credit
Even with the most basic of information, criminals can attempt to apply for a credit card or loan in your name… unless you proactively protect yourself.
Locking or freezing your credit stops these criminal attempts cold. In the United States, there are three main credit reporting agencies (TransUnion, Equifax and Experian), with Innovis is coming up strong. And thankfully, doing so is free and only take a few steps.
With TransUnion, go to <transunion.com/product/trueidentity-free-identity-protection> and sign up for a free TrueIdentity account. Input the requested information and click on the CREDIT LOCK option. Once your credit is locked (or frozen), any person, vendor or business who requests to view your credit report from TransUnion will be rejected.
Equifax has a similar free process. Go to <equifax.com/personal/products/credit/credit-lock-alert> and input the requested information and click on the CREDIT LOCK option. Now would-be bad guys will be locked out of your Equifax information.
Although Experian hypes and promotes their paid credit lock service, just go to <experian.com/freeze/center.html> and create your account.
You should also lock your credit at Innovis as well. Go to <innovis.com/securityFreeze/index>
It took me less than 30 minutes to lock/freeze at all four of them. If I ever want a new credit card or loan, I quickly jump online and temporarily unlock the appropriate credit bureau.
Hide Your Credit Card and Still Make PurchaseS
Have you ever found something online that you want to buy from a new website, but you are skeptical about the company? Maybe you are worried that their site is insecure or that they may do bad things with your credit card info. Have you experienced a company charging an old credit card number and the charge being applied to your new number. Here’s how you make all that stuff end.
I discovered a freemium service at privacy.com. This service allows you to create virtual credit card that draws directly from a specified bank account. At first blush, this may sound more like a debit card, but when you realize what you are really getting is complete privacy, it quickly becomes your invaluable online superhero.
As an example, you sign up for a gym membership online and they tell you they will bill you monthly until you cancel the membership. (We all know gyms are notorious for not allowing you to ever quit). So, you create a virtual credit card that only allows that card to exist for 6 months and set a maximum charge amount of $40/month. Now, if the gym tries to charge you a penny over $40, the charge will be denied. And, on month seven the card is no longer valid. Period. You retain complete control! And remember, the card doesn’t even have your name on it, so there is complete privacy.
Another great example is you find something unique and secure you want to buy online, but it is from a website you aren’t sure you can trust. Will they steal your credit card info? Will they charge more than the advertised amount? Simply create a one-use credit card that is specific to that website. Yes, you can create a “burner card”!
Not only do you gain private control of your online spending with privacy.com, you also get some pretty great tools! The website shows you all your online spending and subsequent charges, broken down by vendor or virtual card. Also, privacy.com has plug-ins for your browser so you can quickly auto-fill any cart checkout boxes with your appropriate credit card by just clicking on the P icon that appears in the credit card number box.
The best part of privacy.com is that for most users, it is completely free! On top of that, if you use this code <privacy.com/join/CP8HV> you will get $5 back on your first use of a virtual credit card. I’ve been using this service for years now and it has been flawless.
Conclusion
This world is filled with bad actors. A clear mind and proactivity can save you. I hope this primer helped. If you need assistance with a real estate goal, let me be your guide there too.
