By Staff
October 3rd, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Royal Bank of Canada has created a security Index – the results suggest far too many Canadians are being careless with the amount of information they make available to people when they are online.
Once you enter data when you are using the internet – that data becomes available to thieves who access the data and use it to steal from you. Strong passwords keep these thieves away from your information.
Despite awareness of cyber best practices, many Canadians are still putting themselves at risk online, according to a new RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) survey, which found that two-in-five Canadians (38%) qualify as moderate to high-risk potential for becoming victims of cyber-attacks.
RBC’s new Cyber Safety Index reviewed how often Canadians engage in certain behaviours online. While the majority practice at least some good cyber hygiene, less than half say they always use all of the recommended online safety behaviours, which include keeping their software and operating systems updated (71%), using two-factor authentication/verification on online banking accounts (67%), enabling privacy and security settings on all devices (65%) and limiting who follows them on social media (63%). Less than a third (30%) always or often use virtual private networks (VPN) when surfing public Wi-Fi; or password generators to create secure, random passwords for online accounts (28%), leaving considerable room to improve across the board.
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The responses to our Cyber Safety Index show that while many Canadians are aware of things they can do to be safer online, there’s still opportunities for them to change behaviours and close that risk gap,” said Adam Evans, chief information security officer at RBC. “At RBC, we’re focused on providing Canadians with the practical tips and education they need to take control of their online safety and mitigate risks in an ever-evolving digital world.”
On the flip side, many Canadians are also participating in risky online activities that could further increase the potential of exposure to cyber-attacks. Within the past year, over three-quarters (77%) have knowingly or accidentally engaged in at least one risky online behaviour, with the most commonly reported being using public Wi-Fi (49%). Others include consenting to share their personal information when asked (27%), clicking on pop-up ads (19%), visiting unsecure websites (18%) and ignoring privacy settings on social media platforms (13%).
Furthermore, over a third (35%) agree they have used the same password(s) across multiple platforms, and nearly as many are more concerned about missing out on exclusive events/activities than disclosing personal information online (32%), and/or have interacted with unsolicited texts or social media messages (31%).
The vast majority of Canadians said they are concerned about being victimized by online fraud (80%), identity theft (84%), corporate data breaches (79%), being hacked (84%), and/or experiencing unauthorized access to their online accounts (87%),
However, significantly fewer feel safe engaging in social media activities (69%; -7 pts) compared to 2023.
Fortunately, a growing proportion of Canadians (85%; +3 points) say they are comfortable learning new ways to protect their online information compared to last year, underscoring the importance of ongoing education and support to help them navigate the digital landscape safely and effectively.
RBC offers the following tips:
Limit the information you share on social platforms. Don’t accept friend requests from people you don’t know, and even if the privacy settings on your accounts are enabled, try to limit what you share online to avoid scams like spear-phishing.
Keep your financial information safe. Never log in to online banking using a link sent through email, text message, or social media. Instead, type the address into your browser. Clear your browser’s memory cache regularly to improve security.
Be vigilant when shopping online. Look for the little padlock icon to the left of the URL bar and ensure the website you’re visiting has an address that begins with “https.” Read reviews before you buy to ensure they’re legitimate and trustworthy businesses.
Create long, strong passwords. Always use the maximum password length allowed and aim for at least 16 characters. Longer is better, like “passphrases” made of randomly chosen words, that can be easy to remember and hard for someone else to guess.
There is a new scam now. I know because I was targeted.
First you get an email, the first time it was from a name of a person I didn’t know. The email included my name, my address and a photo of the street that my condo is on.
There is a pdf file when opened indicates that they have embarrassing information and photos that they are prepared to show to your neighbours and friends along with something “about my pathetic life”. It also asks for money and provides a dollar amount.
They also indicate not to answer the email because they will contact me directly.
I called the local police department who told me to block the caller on gmail. Which I did. I also called Apple to make certain that by opening the PDF it would not provide more information to the scammer. I was told no.
I have now received at least 3 different emails which I recognize by the scammer and they have started to use the names of people that I do email to. I simply block them from emailing me again.
There was a CTV news article about this scam.
The article indicated that should this be happening to you to call the fraud department or your local police station. Also never to pay as they will keep coming back for more.
Unfortunately, when I tried to report this the answering machine on the fraud department indicated that they are so busy dealing with scams that they no longer can accept telephone reports and to do so by emailing.
I continue to get phone calls on my land line which I ignore and it is my hope that they will just move on to the next potential victim.
People need to be very careful what emails they open. Also don’t answer phone calls from numbers you don’t recognize. If someone wants to speak to you they will leave a message.
With AI everything I have read indicates that the scams will become more frequent as this technology allows them access to much more information and can even imitate someone’s voice.
Interesting. But RBC suggests the onus is all on the public. I have over ,100 sites that requires passwords.
Why don’t Facebook , Google and RBC to more to help make the internet safer