December is Identity Theft Prevention and Awareness month. Amidst all the bells-a-ringing and people singing that also come around this time of year, it can be easy to ignore the more sober reality of this important topic.
Are You Aware?
A great place to start on the “awareness” side of all this is with Norton Security’s 2011 cybercrime report: a sleek, user-friendly chart with surveys, maps, and even animations breaking down everything you need to know about the current state of cybercrime in the U.S. Some of the statistics are pretty grim, but eye-opening. Here are some numbers you really need to see:
- Last year, in 24 countries, 14 people suffered from cybercrime every second
- Altogether cybercrime cost victims (in those same countries) $113,882,054,117
- The odds an online adult will become a victim of cybercrime this year is almost 1 in 2
- 10% of all online adults have experienced cybercrime on their mobile phones
Are You Protected?
So what can you do to protect yourself from cybercrime? That’s where the “prevention” part comes in, and there are steps you can take. Your online identity is the sum total of your vulnerable personal information, including credit card numbers, social security number, usernames, email addresses and passwords. This data can and must be protected.
A secure password manager like Keeper is essential to make sure your passwords are strong and encrypted, and to ensure that private data stays exactly that: private. Keeper for your computer, your smartphone, or your tablet is the solution to the scary threat of cyber attacks.