Chargebacks911® COO & 17 Other Experts Offer Secrets to Avoid Getting Hacked
Monica Eaton, Co-Founder and COO of Chargebacks911®, was asked for her advice about how best to avoid being hacked in a recent Readers’ Digest piece.
Reader’s Digest is America’s fourth-largest magazine brand by circulation. After nearly a century in publication, RD stands out more than ever in today’s cultural landscape due to its themes of optimism, faith, heroism, trust, humor, and wellness.
Cybercrime is a massive problem that doesn’t look like it’s going to get better anytime soon. Readers’ Digest cites Cybersecurity Ventures’ latest annual report to estimate that cybercrime will cost the world $10.5 trillion annually by 2025. This shocking statistic includes theft of money, impacts to time and productivity, and the collateral damage of compromised systems.
There are many ways to prevent becoming a victim of cyberattacks, though. Some of the most pertinent are always being aware of your browser, knowing the difference between secured and unsecured sites, and limiting data that can be accessed via wifi and mobile apps.
Monica agrees that there are many things you can do to prevent being hacked, but one of the most important is watching where you browse. “Only transmit personal data on websites that are https,” she says.
“The ‘s’ indicates a higher level of security. Nowadays, all the reputable eCommerce sites are https—including Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Google, plus the major airlines, banks, car rentals, hospitals, social services, and hotel chains. Most scam sites, however, are http (no ‘s’ at the end), because http sites are cheaper than https sites. So, if you receive an email solicitation to use at a website that’s http, be extra careful. It could be a fraud attempt.”
