What To Do If You Get Hacked, And How to Avoid It

Cybercrime is on the rise and hackers have many ways of breaking into your accounts or tricking you into giving them access. Let’s take a look at how cybercriminals work, how to protect yourself, and what to do if you get hacked.

What Does It Mean to Be “Hacked?”

Hacking is when someone breaks into a computer or a digital network. Hackers use a variety of methods, such as:

• Brute force: They use a computer program that tries numerous passwords until it finds one that works.
• Social engineering: Hackers look at social media profiles to guess at what someone’s password might be, or to initiate a password change. Your pet’s name or your mother’s maiden name could be useful information to hackers.
• Phishing emails: A hacker sends an email that tricks you into clicking on a link or opening an attachment that results in malicious software being installed on your computer. A hacker might also direct you to a fraudulent website, hoping you’ll enter valuable information such as your passwords or credit card numbers.

Once hackers have access to your computer or personal data, they can use this in a variety of ways. Your passwords, bank account or credit card numbers could be used to place bogus orders on your credit card or transfer funds into a scammer’s account.

A hacker might use the data they’ve stolen to commit identity theft, such as opening new credit cards or taking out loans in your name.

 

Who Is Vulnerable to Hacking?

Pretty much anyone who is online is at risk of being hacked by criminals. This includes individuals and businesses of all sizes.

Think about the number of online accounts you and your business have. This may include email, social media profiles, online shopping, banking, credit cards, and more.
Of course, hackers don’t just target individuals. They target businesses as well. Any business that doesn’t protect its computers and data systems is at risk of a cyberattack—and a loss of customer data could result in heavy fines and fees for any business.

What Can You Do to Prevent Hacking?

Protecting yourself from getting hacked requires using the right passwords, keeping your computers and other devices secure, and maintaining a constant vigilance.

Have Multiple Passwords

Don’t use the same password for multiple accounts. Using the same password means that if a hacker gains access to one of your accounts, they would instantly have access to all of them.

Use Strong Passwords

Every password should have some combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. You can also capitalize some letters, while leaving others lowercased. Avoid using personal information, such as the names of pets or family members, your favorite team, birthdays or anniversary dates.

Consider a Password Manager

A password manager can create complicated passwords and store them in a secured account. This way, you would only need to remember one password (to open the password manager) and it would fill in your logon information for your other accounts. Just make sure that your one password is strong enough to avoid being hacked.

Use Multi-factor Authentication

With multi-factor authentication (MFA) you link your email, banking, and other accounts to an authentication app on your phone. This way, the only way someone could access a linked account is if you grant your approval using the app. MFA is especially important if you use a password manager, as you’ll want this account to be as secure as possible.

Double-check before clicking on links

That email from your boss, your bank, or credit card could be legitimate—or it could be a hacker trying to trick you into clicking on a fraudulent link or opening an attachment. Look closely at who sent the email and make sure it’s legitimate. If there’s a button or a link for you to click on, you can hover your cursor over it, without clicking, to see the web address.
Something else to watch out for are emails that don’t address you directly. An email that addresses you with your actual name has better odds of being legitimate than one that starts as “dear customer” or “dear account holder.”

Be Suspicious

If you receive an email, a text, or a phone call from someone claiming to have a relationship with you, it never hurts to double check before you reveal any information or do what they ask.
This is especially true if someone insists that you act immediately, if they threaten you with repercussions, or they demand access to your computer or your online accounts. This is a common tactic with scammers. They want you to act in a hurry so you don’t have time to think.

If you’re contacted by anyone who claims to be from your favorite online merchant, your bank, your credit card, or the government (IRS, FBI, etc.) you can always write down their information, look up the phone number yourself, and call to verify that they’re legitimate before you act.
For example, if you receive a call or email from someone claiming to be from your credit card company, you could hang up and call the credit card company directly, using the number on the back of your card.

Delete Your Old Accounts

Think about all the online accounts you’ve had over the years. Are there any of them that you don’t really use? Consider deactivating any accounts that you don’t really need, as doing so reduces the odds that a hacker could break into one of them.

Don’t Disclose Personal Information on Social Media

For hackers, social media profiles offer a bonanza of useful information. They might use it to guess your passwords, or the password reset questions you used when setting up the account. Your pet’s name or your mother’s maiden name could be used by hackers to gain access to your accounts.

Hackers might also pay attention to when you’re traveling, as it could be harder for you to respond to a hacking attempt if you’re out of town, or out of the country.

Keep Your Devices Up-To-Date

Software companies routinely issue updates to keep their programs running smoothly and to fix any bugs or security issues as they’re discovered. The operating systems of your computer, smart phone, tablet, etc. need to be kept up-to-date, along with your web browsers and other programs.

What Steps Can You Take If Your Account Has Been Hacked?

If you get hacked, you’ll need to act as swiftly as possible to secure your accounts.

1. Change Your Passwords

You’ll have to change your passwords for every hacked account. When you have time, it could also be worthwhile to update all your other passwords as well.

2. Set up Multi-factor Authentication

If you’re not using MFA already, it’ll be a good idea to set this up immediately for any hacked accounts. It adds a level of security that reduces your chances of getting hacked again.

3. Review and Take Action

Take a close look at your hacked accounts, to see what the cyber thieves have been up to:

• For social media: Look at what’s been posted in your name.
• For online retailers: Check your order history, to see if something has been ordered using your account and if anything was sent to someone else’s address. See if you can cancel any fraudulent orders.
• For financial accounts: Take a close look at your bank or credit card statements to see if any transfers or suspicious orders have been made—and notify your bank or credit card company immediately.

4. Contact the Support Team

If you’re having trouble accessing any of your accounts, contact their customer relations or tech support team immediately. They can help you secure your account and change your passwords.

5. Set up Credit Freezes

If any of your personally identifiable information (PII) has been exposed, hackers could use this to set up fraudulent accounts in your name. PII includes your Social Security number, home address, phone number, etc.

There are three credit reporting bureaus in the U.S. and you’ll have to contact each of them if you want to set up a credit freeze or a credit lock. You can do this online or over the phone.

A credit freeze stops anyone from accessing your credit report or credit score, so they can’t open a bank account or credit card using your name and Social Security number. You can unfreeze your credit at any time, if you need to apply for a loan or open a new account. You can refreeze it afterwards, or ask that your credit is automatically refrozen after a set period of time.

A credit lock is similar to a credit freeze, but requires a paid subscription and comes with extra features such as identity theft protection and credit activity alerts.

The three credit bureaus are:

• Experian: 888-EXPERIAN
• TransUnion: 800-916-8800
• Equifax: 888-298-0045

6. Monitor Your Accounts

Hackers might use your information right away, they might try to hack you again after you change your passwords, or they could wait to use your information at a later date.
You’ll need to monitor all of your accounts for several months. Check your financial accounts for signs of suspicious activity and investigate any transfers or orders that look suspicious.
If you frequently order from the same online retailers, you could check your past orders against your credit card statement to look for signs of fraud. You should also check the security profile of your email and other accounts, to see if anyone else has been logging on without your permission.

Stay Secure with The First

No one is completely immune from hacking, but at The First National Bank & Trust Company of Newtown we take extra steps to keep your information secure. Check out our Security Center for more information on how we can work together to protect your accounts.

You can also contact us online, by phone, or visit us in person to discuss your financial security. We have 12 Bucks County bank locations to choose from. Our banks in Bucks County are: Warminster, Richboro, Jamison, Langhorne, Levittown, Doylestown, Newtown, Fairless Hills, Wrightstown, Washington Crossing, and New Hope.