16 clear signs you’re about to be hacked

Know what to look out for so you’re not vulnerable to being cyber hacked.

We take a lot of preventative measures to make sure we don’t get hacked, but it can still happen. Keep reading to learn about the signs that you’re about to get hacked so you can stop the problem before it gets out of hand.

“Don’t respond with personal information (credit/debit card info, banking info, address, phone number) to contests, raffles and other web forms that you didn’t explicitly sign up for. Don’t click on links in text messages from numbers you do not recognise.” – Rene Kolga, senior director of product management at cybersecurity tech company Nyotron.

“Today’s hackers often use a coordinated hybrid approach that includes the computer, phone and other means. For example, a person will call you on the phone, claim to be from your bank, and ask you to update your credentials because they’ve just updated the system. If you say you’d prefer to do so via a website rather than over the phone, they’ll give you the URL to a site that looks exactly like your bank’s site, but isn’t.” – Mark Gazit, CEO of ThetaRay, a provider of big data analytics solutions.

Adults aren’t the only targets of online scams, talk to your kids about being safe online.

“When we recycle passwords, we increase the chances that hackers gain access to not one, but many of our online accounts. Instead of repeating an easy-to-remember password across multiple sites, a user should choose a unique password for each site. Or use a password manager.” – Ashley Boyd, vice president of advocacy at Mozilla.

“When presented with unexpected offers, ask yourself whether it’s too good to be true. Would I trust this person/situation if it were to happen in the physical world (e.g. offline)? Ask for a second opinion from a technically savvy friend, colleague or a family member.” – Rene Kolga, senior director of product management at cybersecurity tech company Nyotron.

“If you receive a suspicious email from a friend’s email address, don’t reply, ‘Is it really you?’ because the fraudster will answer ‘Yes.’ If a suspicious email from your bank contains a phone number, don’t call it. Instead, look up the bank’s phone number in the Yellow Pages or Google it.” – Mark Gazit, CEO of ThetaRay, a provider of big data analytics solutions.

Keep reading for alarming things a hacker can do when they have your email address.

“Most people are afraid of forgetting login information, or they simply don’t feel their password use is a security risk. When someone is apathetic towards passwords, they resort to weak password behaviour leaving themselves open to risks. People create short, easy to remember passwords and then reuse those passwords across accounts. In addition, most individuals haven’t changed a password in the last year even after hearing of a breach in the news. That same research found that 15 per cent of consumers would rather do a household chore and another 11 per cent would prefer to sit in traffic than actively change their passwords.” – Rachael Stockton, director of product marketing for LastPass.

A weak password will leave you vulnerable to hacking, here are some ways your computer password will get you hacked.

Assume you will be hacked, because one day you will. You can’t assume that because you live a quiet, low-profile life that you will not be a target.” – Mark Gazit, CEO of ThetaRay, a provider of big data analytics solutions.

“Software updates are like oil changes – they may seem bothersome at the moment, but they prevent major problems down the line. By neglecting updates and running older versions of software, you could be operating programs with known vulnerabilities.” – Ashley Boyd, vice president of advocacy at Mozilla.