Now more than ever, identity thieves and hackers are chipping away at your personal information and trying to access to your online accounts. If they succeed, the consequences for an online user are devastating. Here are a few reasons identity thieves want to break into your accounts:
- To sell your email account on the dark web
- To use your banking information to make fraudulent purchases
- To sell your banking information and card numbers on the dark web
Learn about ReliaShield’s comprehensive identity theft protection now!
So, what’s the best line of defense against these hackers? An unbreakable password, of course.
Follow these tips to create the perfect password and keep your accounts safe . . .
How to Create the Perfect Password
#1: The longer and more complicated, the better.
A lengthy, incomprehensible string of characters is nearly impossible to crack by both humans and computers. This is far more powerful than any “random” words you come up with. Make sure your password is at least 12 characters long.
#2: Always use special characters.
Special characters like $, @, ., *, &, etc. are very useful in creating strong passwords. Just don’t use them in place of an obvious letter in a word. For example, il0v3myd0g$ might seem clever and be easy to remember for you, but it wouldn’t take very long for a hacker to crack, either.
#3: Sprinkle in some capital letters.
Having capital letters throughout your password, not just at the front or end, throws in another unpredictable variable.
#4: Don’t get sentimental.
Never use personally meaningful passwords. When a human—particularly someone familiar with you—tries to guess your password, they can quickly guess your mom’s birthday or your favorite Bible verse.
#5: Test your password.
Use an online password checker to see how your password holds up. This one over at How Secure Is My Password? even tells you how long it would take a computer to crack your password and gives instant suggestions for how to make it stronger.
What If My Password Was Already Hacked?
If you know someone has already stolen your password, it’s not too late to limit the damage! Here are three things to do immediately if someone hacks into your online account—banking, email or otherwise:
#1: Change your password.
This is the number one thing you want to do so that the hacker can’t log back into your account. Use the steps above to create your new, complex password. And if the hacker has locked you out of your account by changing your password, reset your password to by clicking “Forgot My Password.”
#2: Change your security questions.
Change each and every security question attached to the compromised account. Back in 2014, Yahoo was hacked and over 500 million email accounts were stolen—giving the hackers access to passwords, birth dates and security questions. That meant that even if you changed your password, the hackers would be able to get back into the account because they could easily bypass the questions, which act as safeguards.
And consider being “dishonest” with your answers. Get creative and come up with an answer that’s totally unrelated to the question! That way, even if an identity thief has pieces of your personal information, they won’t be able answer your security questions.
#3: Get comprehensive identity theft protection.
Identity theft is costly, but protection shouldn’t be. ReliaShield can help you completely recover and restore your identity if it is stolen—but we also provide total personal information monitoring for you and your entire family to prevent that from ever happening in the first place.
With ReliaShield’s Identity Theft Protection, you’ll get:
- Our 100% recovery success rate
- 24/7/365 Customer Support and Recovery Services
- Personal Information Monitoring
- Social Media Monitoring
- . . . and so much more!
Protect yourself with ReliaShield’s identity theft protection today!
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