1. Email Fraud
If it seems too good to be true, it is probably fraud. Don’t believe that lottery awards staff or princes from a foreign country will contact you by email!

2. Fraudulent Payments
Be on guard against fraudulent checks, cashier’s checks, money orders or electronic fund transfers sent with a request for you to wire back part of the money.

3. Unsolicited Offers
Be wary of unsolicited offers that require you to “ACT FAST.”

4. Stay Up-To-Date
Make sure your device is up-to-date with the latest security updates for your operating system – Windows, Apple iOS, mobile phone iOS (Apple, Android, etc).

5. Warnings and Errors
Do not trust websites with certificate warnings or errors.

6. Beware of Email Attachments
It’s never a good idea to click on an email attachment or free software from unknown sources. You could end up exposing your system to online fraud and theft.

7. Sharing Online
Watch how much you share online. The more you post about yourself, on social networking sites, the easier it may be for someone to use that information to access your accounts, steal your identity and more. Protect your personal information by maximizing your privacy settings.

8. Be aware of disaster related financial scams.
Con artists take advantage of people after catastrophic events by claiming to be from legitimate charitable organizations when, in fact, they are attempting to steal money or valuable personal information.

Additional resources about being safe online:
Texas Department of Banking – www.dob.texas.gov
Texas Bankers Association – www.texasbankers.com/BankingSafely
Better Business Bureau – www.bbb.org/council/for-businesses/cybersecurity/