Make it more difficult for fraudsters to crack your codes!
It seems that these days Australians have to remember a whole swathe of different passwords to get into various accounts and websites. However, there is a very good reason why we are asked to create passwords for accounts that contain sensitive data or information and this is to protect us against fraud and identity theft. Our passwords to accounts such as our bank accounts could be the only thing between unscrupulous fraudsters and full access to your bank account and details, which is why it is important to use a strong password.
More and more Australians are now using a variety of online accounts, such as online banking and shopping sites, which is why the number of passwords that we have to recall has increased. Some people try to get around this issue by having the same password for all of their accounts, but this can ultimately be their downfall, as it means that if someone gets a hold of their password they would potentially have access to all of their accounts rather than just one.
Over recent years we have seen the number of breaches of security increase, where the personal details of various consumers have inadvertently ended up in the wrong hands or have simply been lost. Once an unscrupulous person gets hold of these details they can easily steal someone’s identity and being able to access their accounts through an easy to crack password can be the final link in the chain.
Making your password unique
In order to minimise on the chances of someone cracking your password and being able to get into your accounts there are a number of things that you should consider. This includes:
• Do not choose the same password for all of your accounts. If you do this and someone gets hold of one of your password they can then access all of your accounts rather than just one of them. It is important to think of different passwords for your various accounts so that the chances of fraud against you can be reduced.
• Don’t choose an obvious password. Sophisticated technology makes it easier for fraudsters to crack simple passwords in next to no time. It is therefore important to try and come up with a password that is unique rather than using obvious ones that include dates or birth or names. Make sure that you password contains a range of different characters, such as upper and lower case characters and numbers rather than being just a plan password with no variations. Also, make sure that you never save your passwords to your computer or smart phone as otherwise they will be easily accessible if someone else uses your devices or they are stolen.
