Security in the Digital Age
Saving Emotional Wealthness
With more and more of the transactions and communications we take part in leaving a digital trail, one of the last things you want is an invasion of one of your accounts– whether financial, or otherwise– and the release of your personal information and accounts.
Protecting your personal information is essential to feeling secure and free to build a successful, simple financial plan so you're able to spend less time worrying or dealing with any uncomfortable bumps in the road, and more time living your best life.
IRC Wealth Investment Analysts, Tiffany Hedemark and Meghan Henderson, recommend following this list to stay secure and manage your personal information for worry-free privacy, and to minimize your chance of any issues:
- Never include complete personal information in an email if it’s unsecured.
- This can be anything from a social security number to banking information.
- Don’t share personal information or passwords with anyone.
- If you were not expecting a call from your bank or advisor, and they are asking for personal information, it is OK to tell them you will call them back and dial a number you are familiar with.
- With the rise in caller ID spoofing, it is more and more important to be 100% sure the person on the other end of the line is who they say they are.
- Double check your email addresses.
- It is easy to make an email look like it is coming from anyone. Check to make sure the email address you are responding to is the one you are used to.
- If your account is hacked, notify the provider or servicer and cease use of that account.
- Review all information before submitting documents or completing a transaction online.
- If there are red flags that cause you to pause, dig deeper and/or confirm information between parties.