Post Theft Advice
How can I stop this from happening again?
Theft is a complicated threat to guard against, and criminals are continually thinking of new ways to steal from normal people. However, you can make yourself a much harder target through some general online security principles:
1Sign up for a Data Breach Monitoring Service
Most of the time, criminals identify their targets using data that has been stolen from compromised websites. While we expect a high level of security from our financial services, for example, often databases for supermarket or restaurant loyalty schemes aren’t as well protected. This data is bought and sold in underground marketplaces and often contains email addresses, passwords, addresses, and phone numbers. They will use this information to contact you. There are free services, such as haveibeenpwned.com, which allow you add your email address and receive notifications if it has been found in a data breach. Some paid for password management services and antivirus tools provide this an added benefit.
My Email is in a breach! What should I do?
A password manager allows you to create unique, distinct passwords for every website that you login to. This means that if one of the websites is compromised, the criminals only get the password you used there. A useful comparison to this is having different locks for all the doors on your house; it is more convenient to have one key for all of them, but it means if you lose the key or it is stolen someone gets access to everything. A password manager allows you create many different keys, secured by one very strong password.
2Use a Password Manager
A password manager allows you to create unique, distinct passwords for every website that you login to. This means that if one of the websites is compromised, the criminals only get the password you used there. A useful comparison to this is having different locks for all the doors on your house; it is more convenient to have one key for all of them, but it means if you lose the key or it is stolen someone gets access to everything. A password manager allows you create many different keys, secured by one very strong password.
3Consider installing an Ad Blocker or Anti Virus Screening Tool on your Browser
A password manager allows you to create unique, distinct passwords for every website that you login to. This means that if one of the websites is compromised, the criminals only get the password you used there. A useful comparison to this is having different locks for all the doors on your house; it is more convenient to have one key for all of them, but it means if you lose the key or it is stolen someone gets access to everything. A password manager allows you create many different keys, secured by one very strong password.
4Feeling Technical? Try a Web Firewall
If you are so technically inclined, you can set up and use a service like NextDNS or even a “PiHole”, which blocks malicious sites on a deeper level. If you have less technical family members at home, this can be a really useful way to help protect them without having to teach them how to install or configure devices.
In this case, it doesn't matter what browser you are using, it will be checked by the service against customisable blocklists. There are some excellent, easy to use guides on how to use NextDNS or set up a PiHole, but you will need an intermediate level of technical understanding to do so. Another big advantage of these services is that they can also block malicious software from communicating with their operators - so even if you have installed something by mistake, it may be able to alert you and also block your data from being stolen.