To raise awareness of government imposter scams spreading across the country, the Social Security Administration鈥檚 Office of the Inspector General has designated Thursday, March 7, as . 听In conjunction with the consumer protection effort, two University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) cybersecurity experts have released their Top 10 Tips for detecting and defeating online fraud.
Patrick Appiah-Kubi, program director of Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity & Computer Networking, and James Robertson, program director of Cyber DevOps, pooled their advice to keep consumers keep cyber safe against all imposters. Their top tips:
- Do not open emails from people you don't know, and always verify the source of the email before you open it, especially If there is an attachment.
- In addition to emails, don't trust text messages or phone calls unless you have absolutely verified the source and you are expecting the message or call.
- Use the hover technique (letting your cursor hover over a link without clicking) to preview the destination of a link before you click.
- Correspondence that appears to be urgent and suggests a credential is required from you quickly is a red flag. Don鈥檛 click on that link or download that attachment.
- Be careful with links and new website addresses. If possible, turn on your virtual private network (VPN) and website filter.
- Secure the personal information you keep on your computer. Put security codes on files that contain sensitive information.
- Stay informed about the latest cyber scams. Consider subscribing to news updates on cyber threats.
- Use strong passwords that are difficult to guess. Don鈥檛 repeat passwords for multiple accounts and don鈥檛 use passwords that contain words related to you.
- Keep your software up to date and maintain preventative software programs. Ensure you have updated anti-virus software [MD1]听on your PC.
- Offers that sound too good to be true probably are. Avoid them.
Slam the Scam is part of , which runs from March 3 to 9.
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