Robert Siciliano from McAfee shares five ways to protect yourself after the Target breach: lock your phone, stop oversharing on social media, check credit cards daily, use credit instead of debit for better fraud protection, and create strong passwords instead of "123456."
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All right, that Target data breach, major wake-up call for all of us, right? Now more than ever, we're aware of potential threat hacking into our information, stealing our stuff. In fact, cybercrime costs Americans tens of billions of dollars every year and maybe, uh, $1 trillion. You talk about a global problem. That's just— that— those are big numbers. I know you're thinking, okay, got it, how does it affect me and how do I make myself safe. That's why we have an expert with us right now, Robert Siciliano. He's a McAfee online security expert. Good to have you back, my friend. Uh, timely to have you back. You got 5 ways we can hack-proof our life. And number 1, and I'll admit it, this is something I don't do: lock the cell phone.
Yeah, yeah, you know, it's such a simple thing. You know, you add a passcode, usually 4 numbers, uh, or a phrase, and if it's lost or if it's stolen, then you don't have a problem. You know, it's amazing how many people contact me and say, "Hey, I lost my mobile device or somebody stole it, and now someone's messing with my Facebook page. What do I do?" Well, you're a little too late, you know, to the game, my friend.
Yeah. All right, I'm convicted. I'll get a passcode on there as soon as we wrap up here. This is the second time you convicted me. Well done though, we're learning here. Hey, number 2, think before you post on the social media sites. Tell us about that.
Well, you know, what we post, first of all, lives with us forever. You know, you're— Yeah. Managing your online reputation is a big deal. You know, what you say and do and post lasts forever. But also keep in mind that the information that you post can also allow the bad guy to crack the code of a password reset. Think about that. Like, mother's maiden name, kids' names, birthdates, favorite foods. These are all often the answers to the knowledge-based questions when you are resetting a password.
Got it. Hey, number 3 on your list, check credit card accounts daily. Again, that's one many of us do not do. We just take for granted everything's fine.
But yeah, you know, it's pretty simple actually. You know, 9 out of 10 people don't even check their paper statements at all every month. You know, 9 out of 10. I check my statements at least weekly online, and during a major breach like we're having right now, daily on an application on my mobile device. So whether it's American Express, the Bank of America, or Citibank, or whoever, they all have an application for your mobile. You can check it every single day.
Yeah, and some of the hackers, they won't just drain everything, they'll nickel and dime you and just do it for over a long period of time, right? If they do that to enough people, you'll never know, and they can, uh, really, uh, clean up in that way as well. Hey, here's a good one. You and I talked about it. Explain to the folks why you make that purchase, let's say at a grocery store, and they ask you credit or debit. Why is credit safer than the debit?
Yeah, I prefer credit cards versus debit cards, and the reason is there are many more protections in a credit card versus a debit card. When a credit card is compromised, you have up to 60 days to refute unauthorized charges. Worst case scenario, it might cost you $50. Whereas with a debit card, the money is linked to your bank account, right? So money that's taken out, that's your cash. You only have 2 days to refute unauthorized charges and you may be held responsible for up to $500 in losses.
Got it. That's a good one there. Hey, last one, time. Is of the essence here, but it speaks for itself. Be a little more creative, right, with the passwords. You get more and more people just using 123456 or just the word password. So, uh, we'll wrap up there. Again, just be more creative with that. It's so easy when you're just doing that. Uh, how hard is that to crack? Robert, always good seeing you, my friend. Uh, stay close here as we continue to battle, uh, and try and really make our life hack-proof. And you can check out more on that article and more tips from Robert, hln.tv.com. Stay with us.
