Utah Money Moms
  • HOME
  • RESOURCES
  • About
  • Contact
  • Online Course

Internet safety day

2/11/2020

0 Comments

 
GUEST BLOGGER: TASHA KILLIAN
Picture
Picture
February 11th is internet safety day. So let's talk about what we can do! Recently, I received a few text messages from coworkers and my boss asking me if I sent them a text asking for money. I was very confused because the texts they were forwarding to me were from a number in a different state, with my name signed at the end. 

Apparently, I’m not the only one to have identity theft issues. According to the Federal Trade Commission, about 20% of all complaints they receive have to do with identity theft. Luckily, the Federal Trade Commission also tell us how to avoid falling victim to these scams. Here’s what they have to say:

First, check and double-check your bank, credit card statements as well as your health insurance claims. It’s easy to tell when something isn’t right, but you must be checking to know if that is correct or not.

Next, practice safety online. With the number of websites that save information, use your email, or ask to link to your contacts, you can never be one- hundred percent sure what is happening with your information. Each month perform a “safety audit” of your accounts to make sure you don’t have any information stored or shared somewhere where it shouldn’t be. For me, this looks like going to my settings and seeing what passwords are saved where, and if I need to change or delete any accounts that might be storing my information. It can also look like deleting cookies (tracking your online habits) which have been unknowingly saved to your devices.  

Lastly, shred any documents that contain sensitive information or go paperless. With the way technology has advanced, we don’t always think about how much information can be put into documents we print out and keep. It is important that we go through the documents we have and make sure we properly get rid of those that have information we don’t want to be taken.
​
Having someone else pretend to be you for not so nice purposes is never fun, but hopefully with these tips, you’ll be able to avoid falling prey to identity theft.

References:
Federal Trade Commission (n.d.) Five Ways to Protect Your Identity. Retrieved from: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0005-identity-theft

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    TAKE A FREE CLASS!

    Sign Up

    Host a Class

    Click Here!

    Picture

    amanda

    Sharing real-life money smarts to help you stay on track with financial goals while still enjoying life!
    Blog editor,  Accredited Financial Counselor &
    Extension Professor
    Utah State University 


    Follow the fun on Instagram


    AS SEEN ON

    Picture

    awards

    Picture
    Best of State 2022: Personal Finance Education
    Picture
    1st Place National Award in Social Media Education from the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences
    Picture
    Gold Award in Blog Site category at the 7th a​nnual Education Digital Marketing Awards.
    Picture
    Platinum Award in Digital Media, Web Design category at the International Marketing and Communication Awards.

      stay updated!

    Subscribe

    Picture

    Categories

    All
    2020 Census
    Allowance
    America Saves Week
    Book Review
    Budgeting
    Car Insurance
    Charity Fraud
    College
    Consumer Protection
    Couples And Money
    COVID 19
    COVID-19
    Credit
    Credit Cards
    Data Breach
    Debt
    Earth Day
    Education Expense Planning
    Emergency Savings
    Entrepreneurship
    Estate Planning
    Events
    Financial Binder
    Financial Education
    Financial Emergency Prep
    Financial Freedom
    Financial Goals
    Financial Health
    Financial Literacy Month
    Financial Paperwork
    Financial Peer Pressure
    Financial Security
    Financial Vision Board
    Flexible Spending Account
    Food Budget
    Gift Giving
    Holiday
    Holiday Budgeting
    Home Maintenance
    Homeownership
    Identity Theft
    Inexpensive Fun
    Inflation
    Insurance
    Investing
    Kids And Money
    Money Mindfulness
    Money Monday
    Money Personality
    Money Tip
    Mortgage
    Mutual Funds
    My529
    Net Worth
    Panic Buying
    Personal Allowance
    Personal Property Inventory
    PowerPay
    Renting
    Retirement
    Review
    Revolving Savings
    Roth IRA
    Saving
    Scams
    Singles And Money
    Spending
    Student Loans
    Taxes
    Tax Freedom Day
    Teens And Money
    Tracking Spending
    Travel
    Unemployment
    Utah Saves Week
    Vacation
    Women And Money

OTHER RESOURCES

finance.usu.edu
livewellutah.org
extension.usu.edu
powerpay.org

    STAY UPDATED!

Subscribe

FOLLOW US

  • HOME
  • RESOURCES
  • About
  • Contact
  • Online Course