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5 Tips for staying safe online during and after the holiday season

During the holiday season, your favorite retail businesses tend to increase the volume of electronic communications being sent out. This makes it ideal for cybercriminals to disguise themselves as brands you know and trust to steal your financial and personal information. OTS’ Office of Information Security reminds the campus to be extra diligent during and immediately after holiday breaks.

When shopping online from your personal device, protect yourself with these tips

• Question unexpected attachments before opening, and use caution when clicking on links in an email. Instead of clicking, type in the website address or use a search engine.
• Verify the URL is the actual website before entering any financial or personal information.
• Consider enabling text alerts through your financial institution to assist with monitoring your accounts for unexpected transactions.
• Install all security patches and updates on your personal devices, as made available by your provider.
• Forward any phishing emails in your personal email accounts to reportphishing@apwg.org. If you receive a phishing text message, forward it to SPAM (7726) and follow the steps.

For more information on recognizing online scams visit www.towson.edu/phishing. If you would like an OIS team member to give an interactive virtual security awareness or phishing presentation to your group or department, submit a Tech Help service request or email securityawareness@towson.edu .

Categorised in: General

This post was written by Weldon, Jennifer