Last night, I was making the evening rounds, locking my doors and turning off the lights, room by room. I looked across the road at my neighbors’ darkened homes and imagined that they had done the same.
My little nighttime routine sometimes makes me chuckle because it’s pretty quiet at our place, and our area has an almost non-existent crime rate. Nonetheless, I find myself running the evening routine diligently, and I bet you do, too. There are so many things I value inside the walls of my home. There is no way I’d chance harm coming to any of the people or things.
I wonder how many of you show the same level of diligence in your digital life? Our virtual “homes” are filled with “valuables,” too, like our financial data, personal information, and even our digital photos. When we fail to lock our digital doors, we risk a lot. Cybercrime is no longer a distant threat; it’s a booming industry. Global damages from cybercrime were projected to hit $1.2 trillion by 2025. 1 In the U.S. alone, reported losses exceeded $16 billion in 2024, a 33% increase from the previous year. While the greatest impact happened to those age 60 and older, none of us are immune to cybercrime.2
Routine Steps to Secure Your Digital Door
When it comes to securing your “valuables” from cybercrime, there are a number of things you can do to be diligent:
Lock the Doors: Strong passwords and multi-factor authentication (MFA) are your deadbolts. MFA alone can block over 99% of account compromise attacks.3
Secure the Windows: Firewalls and antivirus software act like window locks, keeping intruders from sneaking in through less obvious entry points.
Fix any latches or locks that aren’t working right. Make sure that you’re installing software updates and patches. Always hover over the links to help ensure the legitimacy of the source for the update.
Don’t Leave Spare Keys Outside: Avoid reusing passwords or sharing credentials. Doing so is like hiding a key for the garage sitting in the lock of the front door. I’d go so far as even comparing it to leaving the key in the lock with a list and location of every other lock it might fit.
Install an Alarm System: If you’ve been a known target of fraud or cybercrime, utilize tools like an identity monitoring service and a credit lock to help alert you to unwanted activities.
Being Smart When You Answer the Door
One of the things that you can do is be savvy, and a little skeptical, when your doorbell rings and someone you don’t know is on your doorstep. We talked about being wary of scams in our webinar last year. We hear daily from our clients about scams. Fraudsters get better every day, and they’re not slowing down. And just like I think that my neighborhood will always be crime free, it’s simply not the truth. Fraudsters and cyber criminals are targeting people just like us every day.
“Knocks” on your digital door that are likely NOT legitimate;
- Giving anyone from “Microsoft” or “Apple” your password when they call or text you
- Social ads that are too good to be true, like discounted USPS stamps
- Purchasing gift cards as payment or proof of identity for anyone on the phone
- Your financial institution calling you to open a new financial account so they can help you transfer your funds to the new account
- Callers asking you to verbally verify your account password
- Unknown digital “visitors” with a sense of urgency
Just as I don’t want you to lie in bed at night, flinching at every little creak and click in your home, I also don’t want cybersecurity causing you to live in fear. The tools and habits that you use to protect your physical home translate nicely to your digital house. I would encourage you to make “locking your digital doors” part of your daily routine. Just as you might spend a few hours going to the store and looking at new deadbolts and door hardware after a crime spree in your city, spend a few hours ensuring that you have MFA enabled on every possible account. If you’d spend a Sunday afternoon checking the locks on all the windows in your house and adjusting where needed after that same crime spree, you may find that the same amount of time could enable you to install a password manager so you can use more unique and secure passwords.
I hope that you never find an unwanted digital visitor on your digital doorstep. I hope that you never find an unwanted visitor on your actual doorstep, too. It’s just uncomfortable to think about. That’s why I make the rounds at night. There is simply too much that I value inside both my homes to skip the security routine that’s simple and ingrained. My hope is that you take some time in the new year to double check the security of your digital house. I think you’ll find that a few simple steps, consistent behavior, and a healthy level of education can help you develop a sense of security that has you sleeping well at night.
