Are you concerned about the extent companies harvest our information, especially over the internet? Often we are unaware and the first indication we may notice is an advert for a product we’ve just bought or have been searching for or an event ‘at a place near you’, how did they know where we were?! All very Big Brother is watching you! Our finances being hacked is a sinister possibility, as more and more of us manage our banking online.
Companies need to hold information on their customers, contact details that enable them to stay in touch, maintaining their customer database means they might indeed have sales in the future. You have probably seen and heard the GDPR popping up all over the place. What is it, what does it mean, what benefits will it bring? The letters stand for General Data Protection Regulation, it covers the entire European Union.
The new act has been designed to govern HOW the information is used, is it passed on to 3rd parties even sold on for profit? In other words companies have to change the way they handle personal information given to them. More importantly it gives us the control, the power to decide. This includes financial facts – such as where we bank, our account numbers and sort codes. It also encompasses other personal information including our shopping habits, email addresses and info that tracks our location. Some companies like Facebook are still making it difficult to keep info private instead asking users to opt out, which is a sneaky way of keeping the details they want as most of us still want to use Facebook. They are not the only ones to do this, some apps will only let you use them if you agree to sharing your details.
As a company you will be pleased to know Perfect Choice is GDPR compliant. We take your privacy very seriously, you can read our website privacy policy here.
Act Now
In order to become GDPR compliant many companies are emailing their customers encouraging them to go over the data settings, to tick or untick the relevant boxes. This is your opportunity to review any previous permissions you have given and to think about those you may want to change. Personal data includes everything from names and addresses to medical records, religious beliefs and political opinions. We can insist that information held is deleted if that’s what we wish.
Action: To keep your information private, do not tick any box allowing your details to be shared unless you agree with its use.
Be Aware
Identity theft – What does a cyber criminal need? A few details can often be enough. Your name, date of birth and address to steal your ID and take out a loan or a credit card in your name. Other sneaky routes thieves take can be through social media. Simple to find a birthdate or when you’re on holiday and the house is empty. Another successful way for some hackers is the telephone, claiming to be from your bank and wanting to confirm your details.
Who of us hasn’t had phishing emails? Will we innocently click through to our PayPal accounts or our bank accounts giving the cyber thieves our passwords?
Being aware of the ways criminals are using the internet will enable us to be more careful in the information we give out.
Action: Refuse to share bank information to cold callers. Do not share personal details on social media websites.
Take Time
Knowledge of the ways unscrupulous people try to deceive us is a key to keeping our data private. Forewarned is forearmed. So take the time to familiarise yourself with some of the tricks used.
Be suspicious of anyone who contacts you out of the blue especially when they ask for personal information. Never give out passwords or transfer money
Keep your devices virus free by using a reliable anti-virus software.
And from what I’ve just read don’t buy one of the latest toasters! Apparently they can be hacked to gain your Wi-Fi password. :-O
Have a great day and keep safe!
