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February 11, 2025

Cyber Safety: Navigating the Digital World on Safer Internet Day

Empowering individuals and families to navigate the digital landscape safely.

Summary

  • Cyber scams are common and part of a multi-billion-dollar industry that continues to grow each year.
  • Strong privacy settings, multi-factor authentication, and awareness of cybercrimes can help protect you and your family.
  • If you are impacted by a cybercrime, immediate reporting is key to potentially recovering financial losses.
  • We can work with you to set up cyber risk coverage in advance of a cybercrime event occuring. We can help you with recovery after a covered cyber event.

February 11 is Safer Internet Day, a global initiative aimed at promoting safer and more responsible use of online technology, especially among vulnerable populations like kids, teens, and seniors. The harsh reality is that while the internet exists to create, learn, and explore, it can also be a hotspot for cyberbullying, identity theft, fraud, and other malicious activities. However, with the right knowledge and resources, you can maintain your freedom to navigate online while avoiding many pitfalls in online and other common scams.

Common cyber scams

Cyber scams are a significant threat, costing individuals and businesses billions of dollars each year. In 2023, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received a record number of complaints, with reported losses totaling $12.5 billion. This problem isn’t going away, but awareness of common cyber scams can help protect you. Here are some common scams to be aware of:

AI – Deepfakes: 

Scammers use advanced technology to create realistic audio or visual content that impersonates individuals, often to manipulate or deceive victims. This can lead to financial fraud or reputational damage.

Charitable fraud: 

Scammers pose as charitable organizations, especially during times of crisis or disaster. They may solicit donations for real tragedies, such as relief efforts for New Orleans after a hurricane hit or organizations to help those impacted by the Southern California wildfires, but the charity will be fake.

  • An example of how effective and devastating these scams can be is the 2021 telefunding operation that contacted 67 million consumers with 1.3 million robocalls falsely seeking donations for veterans, children, and firefighters. This scam collected more than $110 million.

Investment scams:

Be cautious of unsolicited investment opportunities, especially those that pressure you to act quickly or seem too good to be true. Investment fraud losses rose by 38%, from $3.31 billion in 2022 to $4.57 billion in 2023.

Online shopping scams: 

With the rise of e-commerce, fake websites offering products at unbelievable prices have become prevalent. Always shop from reputable sites and look at reviews before making a purchase.

Phishing scams: 

These scams often come in the form of emails that, at first glance, appear to be from legitimate sources, tricking individuals into providing personal information. Always verify the sender's email address and avoid clicking on suspicious links.

Ransomware and extortion: 

In these attacks, malicious software encrypts a victim's files, rendering them inaccessible until a ransom is paid. Scammers may also threaten to release sensitive information unless a payment is made. Over 2,000 complaints  were identified as ransomware in 2023, with adjusted losses reaching almost $60 million.

Romance schemes: 

Scammers create fake online personas to establish romantic relationships that lead victims into giving away money or personal information.

Social engineering: 

This tactic involves manipulating individuals into divulging confidential information by exploiting psychological tricks. Scammers may pose as trusted figures or create a sense of urgency to prompt victims to act without thinking.

Spoofing, smishing, and vishing: 

Scammers use spoofing to impersonate legitimate companies, sending text messages (smishing) or making phone calls (vishing) that appear to be from trusted sources like FedEx. They often claim that a package is undeliverable, tricking victims into providing personal information or payment.

Tips to keep kids and teens safe online

When kids and teens use the internet, it’s crucial to equip them with the knowledge to do so safely. 

Here are some tips for parents to consider:

  • Privacy: Teach kids and teens the importance of keeping personal information private. They should never share their full name, address, school, or pertinent identifying features online. Parents should check that their kids’ social media accounts are set to private. This can be done by entering your kids’ names into the social media app, and if it automatically populates with their account, then their privacy settings need to be adjusted.
  • Set boundaries: Establish rules for internet use, including time limits and approved websites and apps. Use parental controls to monitor their online activities.
  • Social media: Monitor kids’ social media use and make sure they know not to accept friend requests from people they do not know and understand that their digital footprint lives forever. More than half of kids surveyed by the Cyberbullying Research Center said they had personally experienced cyberbullying online. This type of bullying is real and impactful. Parents can learn more about what they and schools can do to help build empathy and reduce cyberbullying here.
  • Open communication: Encourage your kids to come to you and talk about their online experiences and share any interactions, both positive and negative.
  • Lead by example: Model safe online behavior. Show your children how to recognize suspicious content and the importance of thinking critically about what they see online.

Tips to keep seniors safe online

As technology evolves, so do the tactics used by cybercriminals. 

It’s essential to help aging parents, grandparents, and seniors navigate the digital world safely. Here are some strategies:

  • Know common scams: Share scams targeting seniors, such as lottery scams or fake charity requests. Keep seniors informed.
  • Online security: Help them set up strong, unique passwords for their accounts and enable two-factor authentication. A password manager may help them simplify this process.
  • Financial accounts: Seniors should regularly check bank and credit card statements for unauthorized transactions. Setting up email or text alerts for unusual account purchases can be a way to do so automatically.
  • Social media: Set social media accounts to private rather than public where possible, be cautious about friend requests, and avoid sharing personal information online.
  • Strong Wi-Fi password: Protect seniors’ personal devices by ensuring they don’t automatically connect to free public Wi-Fi, which is often unsecured and can be breached by hackers. Additionally, only access HTTPS sites; the “s” stands for secure.

General tips for online safety

  • Create a family plan: Build a family online safety plan and continually update and review it.  Implement family safe words and hang up and call family members directly if you are suspicious about the validity of a message.
  • Support each other: Do not feel alone or embarrassed; reach out to trusted loved ones for support.
  • Do not give out personal information: Never give personally identifiable information to unknown persons and do not use debit cards online. Do not share credit cards or gift cards with unknown people.
  • Strong privacy settings: Internet safety starts with strong privacy settings. If you and your family do not have strong privacy settings on social media, apps, and devices, your information is not secure. Regularly check that your settings are private and stay up to date with changes in app security settings.
  • Implement a "no trust" policy: Vet all incoming calls from a place of zero trust. Hang up and call the institution, bank, family or friend back directly.  Do not answer calls from unknown numbers.

"Say yes" phone scam

  • This common scam aims to get victims to say "yes" on a recorded line. That "yes" can then be used by scammers to authorize major purchases. This is known as "cramming," and it's illegal. 
  • Common tactics to get you to say yes are asking, "Can you hear me?" or "Is this [your name]?"
  • Do not answer calls from unknown numberes. Use Caller ID to screen your calls. 
  • If you accidentally answer, hang up to end the call immediately. 
  • Join DoNotCall.gov to reduce unwanted calls. 

If you feel you are a victim of cybercrime, report it immediately to www.ic3.gov. They may be able to help you with recovery if the crime is reported swiftly. 

Our commitment to cybersecurity

At Marsh McLennan Agency, we understand the importance of cyber safety. Our Private Client Services team is here to support you with your cybersecurity concerns and to offer resources that provide an extra measure of safety as you navigate the digital world. If you have questions or need more information on how our services can help protect you from cyber threats, please reach out.

We make it simple to get the right cyber coverage. Schedule a personal risk management review today and learn about available cyber insurance solutions to meet your needs.  

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Contributor

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Tammy M Stephens

Cyber Risk Specialist and Client Relationship Management

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