Cybersecurity threats are on the rise: Here’s what you need to know

Cybercrime continues to gain momentum in Canada. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre reported 2021 as a historic year for financial losses due to cybercrime with Canadians losing more than $380 million from scams and fraud – a 130% increase compared to dollars lost in 2020. With the majority of us increasingly sharing our personal information through online tools and platforms, how can we safely navigate the online world amidst increased cybersecurity risks?

We had Leigh Tynan, Director of TELUS Online Security and trusted cybersecurity expert, sit down with Jessica Moorhouse, millennial money expert, to provide insights on cybercrime in Canada and offer tips on how you can protect your personal identity and information online.

Here are three key takeaways from Leigh and Jessica’s discussion:

Monitor your online data and where it’s being stored

Many of us would be surprised to learn that we have unknowingly been a victim of cybercrime, with our personal information likely for sale on the Dark Web. If you’re not familiar with the Dark Web, it's an anonymous and encrypted part of the internet that's intentionally hidden and often associated with criminal or fraudulent activity, like buying and selling people's personal information.

Find out if your information has been compromised using TELUS’ free Dark Web at telus.com/DarkWeb. If you’ve been impacted, it’s wise to immediately change your passwords, ensuring they are unique for each of your accounts.

Stay informed through educational resources

Be aware of ongoing and top scams from the previous years to help you know what to look for and how to spot them. Staying up to date on the threats that exist and how you can protect against them is a great first line of defense. By understanding your vulnerabilities, incorporating safe digital habits into you and your family’s day–to-day, and leveraging resources and tips offered by TELUS Wise, you can better stay safe in our digital world.

Take steps to protect your information and identity

Protecting your personal information in our digital world should be something you proactively do daily. We’re quick to lock up and secure our homes, bikes and other tangible items, but we forget to take the same measures to protect one of our most valuable possessions: our identity.

One of the most common ways that hackers and fraudsters gain access to personal information is through weak and reused passwords. We use passwords daily to access everything we do online, and over 70% of us are guilty of re-using the same password across multiple sites, which greatly increases our risk. It may seem daunting, but your best line of defense is setting unique and strong passwords for each account - you can use password manager to make it easier to store and manage your login credentials safely and securely.

Check out the full conversation here. For more tips on how to protect yourself from common cyber scams and frauds, check out these TELUS Wise privacy and security resources.