Check your residential property policies to see if you have any cyber coverage. If you don’t have any, consider adding cyber coverage to your homeowners, condo, or renters policy. Some coverages are:
Identity theft – pays to recover your stolen identity and repair your credit.
Data restoration – pays for the cost to restore your data and get your computer working.
Cyber extortion – pays for the cost of restoring your data that a hacker is holding hostage, or may even pay for the ransom itself.
Cyberbullying – pays for costs such as relocating your child to another school and counseling.
You can also take these steps to lower your risk:
- Keep your devices such as computers, smartphones, and even your other internet connected items, such as thermostats and doorbells up to date.
- Add site blockers and install anti-virus software.
- Watch out for scams in emails, text messages, phone calls, and social media accounts. Don’t: click on links you do not know, download anything from sites you don’t know, or allow apps access that is not needed.
- Use different passwords and change them often. Type your passwords in each time you log on instead of saving them.
- If you use password hints, don’t use ones that are based on info that is easy to find, such as your parent’s names or where you were born.
- Consider a password manager that requires only one password, yet will create and remember long and difficult passwords for you.
- Be wary of public wi-fi, especially if the network isn’t password protected.
*️⃣ To learn more about homeowners insurance, visit The Basics, Shopping Guide, and Know Your Rights sections of our website.