Protecting yourself from data leakage

Dear all residents, 

The Smethwick Police station alongside with the retail Crime team have conducted a police surgery, informing the public of scams and ways to protect themselves. 

I believe it will beneficial to share few tips and thoughts that were addressed during the police surgery. 

HAVE STRONG PASSWORDS 

Make strong password as long as possible, the more characters it has the harder is to crack. 

Use different types of characters including numbers, symbols and punctuation marks. 

Try not to include dictionary words your password as this makes them easier to crack. If you are going to use words for ease of remembering, replace a letter with a similar symbol such as an ‘a’ with an @. 

Consider using a pass phrase with three random words together or maybe lyrics from your favourite song. 

Use different passwords for different accounts. If one password is compromised then at least only one account can be hacked. 

Try to avoid using personal information such as birthdays, favourite sports teams or children/pet names. These can often be discovered by cyber criminals from information you have posted online, so should not be used.