Cybersecurity remains a menacing threat with more than 2,300 cyberattacks affecting 343 million victims in 2023. According to the FBI, the US lost a record $12.5 billion to cybercrime in 2023, a 21% increase from 2022. With that much to gain, cybercriminals are laser-focused on finding ways to scam you out of your hard-earned money.
Although the elderly are often the target of fraudsters, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) cautions that everyone is at risk.
According the FBI, the sharpest rise in cybercrime focused on the following themes:
- Romance scams
- Phishing, vishing, and smishing (requests by imposters for your personal information)-
- Cryptocurrency
- Tech-support fraud
- Scams targeting seniors
Protect yourself, by:
- Never responding to an unknown caller, email or text with sensitive account information, passwords, PIN, or Social Security number
- Never clicking on a link from an unknown source
- Installing antivirus and anti-malware programs and schedule regular scans
- Setting your spam to stop phishing emails from reaching your inbox
- Keeping your software up to date
- Requiring multi-factor authentication