In the age of hashtags, likes, tweets, shares and snaps, online privacy can seem almost non-existent. So, what’s all the fuss about?

Your personal and financial information is highly desirable to cyber criminals. After stealing your identity, they may be able to access your banking details, obtain credit cards or loans, and destroy your credit rating. 

Here’s how to stay safe online.

You'll help to protect your identity and personal privacy from theft

Your identity is extremely valuable. Being able to prove that you are you is important for most aspects of life — from applying for a home loan to getting a passport. If it’s stolen, it can compromise everyday activities and undermine your reputation, both privately and professionally. Here are some tips for you can help protect your identity online:

• Ensure computer privacy with virus protection software.
• Use strong and unique passphrases or two-factor authentication.
• Be aware of scams like phishing scams and email scams, which attempt to collect personal information like your account and passphrase details.
• Be cautious about online requests for personal information. If something seems dodgy then it probably is.
• Be careful who you hand your private payment details over to. Only use a reputable payment method like a credit card on a secure site, and never email your credit card details to anyone.

At Suncorp Bank, we’re committed to providing you with a safe banking environment. From our Online Protection Guarantee to delivering secure mobile banking, it is important to us to keep your personal information private.

How we protect your money online

You'll safeguard your business' online privacy against cyber crime

Online security breaches are disruptive and costly, so it's important for your business to maintain its online privacy through cyber attack prevention. Some simple preventative measures to protect your business online are:

• Consider a cyber security awareness program to keep you and your staff informed about good online privacy practices.
• Create and protect strong passphrases for all online business accounts. Only hand over these passphrases to senior members of your organisation. This helps to avoid business information accidentally falling into the wrong hands.
• Ensure virus protection software is installed and up to date on all networked computers to protect your files and business information, including employee and customer databases.

You’ll be social media savvy

Social media is a great way to share what’s going on in your life with friends and family. However, without the right precautions, cyber criminals can use social media to exploit you and your family’s privacy. Here are a few precautions you can take to protect your identity:

• Limit the amount of personal information you publish on social media. For example, never display your address or personal phone number.
• Have a chat with your children about the potential dangers of sharing personal information on social media platforms. Some important things to discuss are:
• Only share things with people you trust — ie, friends and family.
• Images can be saved and shared elsewhere, so be careful when sending pictures of yourself.
• Adjust your social media privacy settings so that you control what others can see on your profile. Most social media platforms have basic privacy settings and tools that can be easily configured.

Published 13 September 2022