Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Veterans are high value targets for phishers

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month (CSAM), and it’s time to remember that cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility. While you may think that you practice proper cyber hygiene, there are many threats that you may not recognize. Following a few tips will show you that it’s easy to stay safe online.

CSAM is an awareness campaign coordinated by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency and the National Cybersecurity Alliance to “help citizens protect themselves online as our technology, and threats to that technology, become more sophisticated and interwoven in our daily lives.”

The Federal Trade Commission estimated that, in 2021 alone, military personnel, Veterans and their families were defrauded of approximately $267 million (this number only represents the fraud that has been detected).

Here are some tips that make it easy to stay safe online:

1. Beware of suspicious emails. Check the sender’s email address to ensure it is legitimate. When in doubt, do not click on any links or share your information—and then delete the suspicious email.
2. Enable multi-factor authentication to your accounts, which is a second step to logging in, which often means entering in a code you receive via text or email, to verify your identity. Adding this additional layer of security makes it much more challenging for a hacker to crack your password and gain access to your account.
3. Create unique, complex passwords for all your accounts. To keep track of all your passwords, you can research password manager options through your browser or third-party applications.
4. Keep software up to date with the latest security features on all your devices and set up automatic updates directly from the source. Be careful of any pop-up windows prompting you to update your software or account.

We will continue to share information throughout the month that will help keep Veterans and your loved ones safe online.

*This post was edited on 10/4/22, reflecting a change to the title, and adding pertinent FTC information.