What Is Identity Theft And How To Prevent It

As we continue to share information about National Cyber Security Awareness Month, Dakota West wants to make sure our members are recognizing ways to help prevent identity theft, such as implementing a three-layer security to our online and mobile account access.

Our partners at Kasasa want to share tips on how to help prevent identity theft. While it may make sense to think avoiding the use of the Internet would reduce identity theft, there are still a variety of ways information can be compromised. More importantly, accessing your accounts online on a regular basis is more likely to help you notice when a transaction occurs that you did not authorize. The first line of defense for many users is having a frequent and regular review of your accounts, which is much easier to do using an online or mobile platform.

Reviewing your credit on a regular basis also helps you be aware of lines of credit that may be drawn in your name. This scam can also happen to other family members, such as young children or seniors. Helping our family members be aware of their personal finances by requesting a free annual credit report is another way to maintain control of you and your family’s personal finances.

Ethan Kobos, who is currently studying Cyber Security at the University of North Dakota recently shared with us one of the easiest/most common ways individuals can protect themselves from identity theft.

“By changing your password just once or twice a year, it can greatly reduce the chance that someone could acquire it. This does not mean to add a number on the end and start counting, create a full password from scratch. There are softwares that manage all your passwords and will create something that is hard to break, but you will not be able to remember easily.” If you don’t know where to begin looking for password software, Kobos suggests applications such as LastPass.com.

Learn more about National Cyber Security Awareness Month and how to protect your family’s finances at the National Cyber Security Awareness website, or reach out to Dakota West to find out how we are providing additional security for your debit and credit cards or how we are securing your online identity. Be sure to access your online accounts on a regular basis to maintain an active involvement in your personal finances and spending. We want to make sure you have the tools you need to be safe and secure online.

National Cyber Security Month

It’s not uncommon in our highly technological day-to-day activities to hear stories about the risks associated with modern business and personal online interactions. From spam email to swiping our debit cards to fill our gas tanks, the best way to prevent those risks is to be aware and alert to them.

October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month, but in any month, the most important key to preventing risks is Awareness. Ethan Kobos, one of our 2020 Dakota West Scholarship recipients, is studying Cyber Security and we asked him about basic precautions he's learned during his studies.

“The easiest way to improve your security is twofold. One, make every password something different from other websites. If one of your passwords is somehow found, then whoever has that information could easily find any account associated with it and take that too.

“Two, make strong passwords. The best passwords are not a long list of numbers that you won't remember unless you write them down, it is a sentence, a movie quote, a saying, anything that you can remember while still being secure.”

Think about the ways you can enhance your prevention skills. Even Ethan, who studies cyber security preparations every day, recognizes the importance of staying aware of new risks.

“The biggest change in my awareness has been the realization that security is not simply software that can invade your computer, but the physical side of security. While finding the password to your wifi may be hard, it would be rather easy to walk up to a router and plug in, no need for a password. It is important to not just focus on one side of security, as they both can lead to an opportunity on the other.”

Dakota West always keeps your security top of mind, but taking an active role in your own security provides an important tool in your overall online safety. Commit time to learn more about how you can be more aware, and even more proactive, in protecting yourself at cisecurity.org or the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency website. Together, we will work with you and for you to keep your finances safe.