Protect yourself online

Turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA) to verify your identity. You already know this from our internet banking when you receive an SMS to confirm your login. 

MFA is one of the best ways to protect against someone breaking into your account. It makes it harder for cybercriminals to take over your account. Many online services and website enable or allow MFA through a PIN, password, fingerprint or other means. Our advice: protect yourself. Switch on MFA!

Keeping your device and applications up to date is vital for cybersecurity. Updates address weakness, bugs and vulnerabilities in your software, and stop hackers and scammers from using them to get into your system. It is important to enable automatic updates on your phone, computer and other devices, or regularly check for updates. How? Please visit https://www.cyber.gov.au/learn-basics/explore-basics/update-your-devices for a guide on automatic updates.

Did you know that the most used passwords globally are "123456," "password," and "qwerty"? They are easy to guess or break with software. Make sure you set a long password with letters, numbers and special characters or use a passphrase, a longer sentence of random words. You can also opt to use a password manager, a software that generates and remembers strong passwords for you. Together with multifactor authentication, it is the best way to keep unwanted visitors out of your device and online accounts!

Scammers use phishing as a way to trick you into giving them personal information, such as your login details. So, when you do get an email or SMS asking for (urgent) information, please don't click the link, but instead check the official source, contact your bank or service provider by phone, or simply delete it when you are sure it is a scam! You can also help others by reporting a scam to Scamwatch at https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam.