Cyber Safety

Criminals are inventive and adapt their methods in order to identify potential victims and access their personal information. Most online criminals are scammers trying to trick people into giving them money or account access. 

To help citizens, the Brantford Police Service are providing some easy tips and steps you can take to protect yourself, and your information, while online.

Identity Theft

Online identity theft occurs when a cyber criminal steals your personal information. This could include your banking information, social insurance number, and other sensitive details. Securing your devices and your accounts are important steps to protect your identity. 

Use a secure network

Computers, phones and other devices share a Wi-Fi network. Make sure your network is secure to protect all your devices from getting compromised. Private networks, Virtual Private Networks (VPN's) and firewalls are important to utilize to safeguard your information. 

Secure your devices by updating apps and backing up your information regularly

Protect your accounts

Your online accounts contain a great deal of your personal information and securing them should be a priority. Here are a few quick and easy things you can do to make sure you are protected:

• Make strong and unique passwords that are unique
• Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA)
• Be careful and selective about what you share on your social accounts 

Get Cyber Safe is a national public awareness campaign created to inform Canadians about cyber security and the simple steps they can take to protect themselves online. Be sure to visit this site for more information.