Have you ever wondered how long your car would run without proper servicing? Just like your car, your digital tools and technology require routine maintenance to stay secure.
With the increasing number of security breaches and malware attacks causing financial losses in the billions for Australians, it's essential to take proactive steps to protect yourself. One powerful solution is two-factor authentication (2FA). In this article, we'll explore what 2FA is, why it's crucial, and how it can safeguard you from cyber threats.
It isn’t a case of if you’ll be impacted, it’s a case of when? When you are attacked, will you be prepared? Will your scammers be successful? Educate yourself and do the work or find someone credible that you trust to do it for you. We highly encourage you to take your cyber security seriously and protect yourself.
According to US based company, Javelin Strategy & Research, who advise banking, digital security and wealth management sectors, Account Takeover (ATO) grew significantly in 2018, it tripled and reached a four year high. The report states that ATO victims paid an average of US$290 out-of-pocket and spent an average of 15 hours resolving fraud.
Three years on from that report and The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is echoing the call stating in 2021 that, “Computer takeover scams were on the rise, stealing more than $7.2 million from Australians by gaining access to home computers, an increase of 184 per cent compared to the same period the previous year.”
Scamwatch.org.au: Scam methods in April 2023
Older Australians have been the most vulnerable group, with people aged 65 and older losing more money than any other age group and accounting for more than a third of total losses. However, they also made the most scam reports -- go boomers!
Gen X, people 55+, lost the most money to remote access scams, and more frequently than other age groups to this type of scam.
Multiple industry reports over the last 18 months indicate that many younger people (under 35) do not report fraud because they are embarrassed.
The most commonly impersonated organisations in 2021 were:
Telstra with 1730 reports and reported losses of $1.95 million, and
NBN Co with 1023 reports and reported losses of $477,980.
Even with these targeted statistics, scams target people of all backgrounds, ages and income levels across Australia.
There's no one group of people who are more likely to become a victim of a scam, all of us may be vulnerable to a scam at some time.
The April 2023 Scamwatch statistics show that the predominant path for scammers is through text messages (32.4%), then email (26.9%) followed by phone calls at (21.5%). The first two exploits make up 60% of the path scammers take and it’s digital!
How to protect yourself from scams?
Scamwatch is run by the ACCC and it provides information to consumers and small businesses about how to recognise, avoid and report scams.
On their website they list common scams targeting small business and list 11 key areas to protect yourself against being scammed:
Be alert to the fact that scams exist.
Know who you're dealing with.
Do not open suspicious texts, pop-up windows or click on links or attachments in emails – delete them!
Don't respond to phone calls about your computer asking for remote access – hang up!
Keep your personal details secure.
Keep your mobile devices and computers secure.
Choose your passwords carefully.
Review your privacy and security settings on social media.
Beware of any requests for your details or money.
Be wary of unusual payment requests.
Be careful when shopping online.
Addressing items 2, 6 and 7, Online is Easy are an Australian web design and digital strategy consultancy business based in Gippsland, Victoria. As a Domain Name reseller, a Google Partner and Google Workspace Reseller, we offer best practices to safeguard clients online. To that end we have now implemented new security options for our client domain management accounts, but you must turn them on.
Two-Factor Authentication.
One powerful solution to proactively protect yourself is two-factor authentication (2FA), also called Two Step Verification.
2FA is an extra layer of protection used to ensure the security of online accounts beyond just a username and password. Using it protects against phishing, social engineering and password brute-force attacks and secures your logins from attackers exploiting weak or stolen credentials. If you’d like to understand 2FA in more detail, here is a 2 minute video from Boston University that explains it simply (Why us 2FA?).
We suggest that you use 2FA with ALL your important online services and subscriptions, especially with your email accounts or any service that holds your personal or financial data.
You may find 2FA cumbersome or annoying but it is way less annoying than identity fraud and major financial theft - be proactive and save yourself 15 hours plus resolving fraud!
Online is Easy offers best practices to safeguard you and have implemented 2FA options in your domain management account, but you must turn them on.
Secure Domain Management.
To activate 2FA, please login to your Domain Console and follow the below steps:
Login to your account
Navigate to Account > Scroll down to the bottom of the page
Enable Two Factor Authentication either with
Two Factor Authentication (2FA) with email
If you haven’t addressed email security yet, after you turn on 2FA, secure your email accounts and reduce the possibility of scams, fraud and theft.
If you are an Online is Easy Google Workspace client, we sent you a notice in December last year about Email Hacking: is your business protected?
Digital tools are fantastic when they work. Technology streamlines our lives, allows us to automate tasks and organise our time so we can efficiently go about our business.
Remember the car analogy? You service your car or it breaks down! Don’t live with the regret and stress of cyber crime, take a moment to service your digital workspaces and secure your digital assets now.
Support in recovering from these scams including how to check if your identity and computer is secure is available through IDCARE on 1800 595 160 or www.idcare.org
Speak up! Report scams!
People can make a report on the Scamwatch website. They can also follow @scamwatch_gov on Twitter and subscribe to Scamwatch radar alerts.
From the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner you can learn more about Ways to protect your privacy. For more information about identity fraud, visit IDCARE, cyber.gov.au and the Australian Federal Police.
We are here to help…
If you need more information or assistance, you can contact Sofian on 0429 119 221 or Anthony on 0417 047 632 or Schedule 1:1 screen support online
