Your cute, cuddly pet dog or cat might be unwittingly helping online hackers gain access to your personal data.
Pet owners love to post images of their pets on social media. Cybercriminals know this, too.
They also know that many pet owners include their pets’ names in passwords.
Hackers often use phishing, smishing, vishing and other social engineering techniques to con victims into revealing information like pet names. The information is later used to decipher passwords and security questions in order to gained unauthorized access to personal and business accounts.
To protect yourself, the CyberSafe at USPS team recommends the following:
• Limit. Be careful sharing information online about your family, occupation or other personal details.
• Verify. If you receive a request for information, make sure the person or company is legitimate. Never send information if you have any doubts.
• Report. If you suspect you are being targeted on your USPS-issued device, immediately call the Cybersecurity Operations Center at 866-877-7247 or send an email to CyberSafe@usps.gov.
The CyberSafe at USPS Blue and LiteBlue pages have additional information.
