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You’re sipping your coffee at your local Starbucks, browsing the internet, deciding whether or not to purchase that killer deal on Amazon. But before you enter in your credit card information, think twice. Is that free Wifi safe? Identity theft is one of the largest emerging issues in the nation. With free wifi popping up at every coffee shop and local restaurant, hackers are learning how to take advantage of the system.

How can you protect your information?

Follow the tips below to be a smart and savvy free wifi user:

1. Use different and complex passwords: If your Facebook password is the same as your email, banking, or any other website you access with a password, you should change it. If a hacker gets a hold of that one password, you could lose all of your personal information. Try using a different password for every login. And no – 123456 is not recommended.
2. Turn off sharing on your devices: This is an easy way to protect your device, but you can easily forget that you have the feature activated. When you leave file sharing on, you are allowing anyone free access into what you have stored on your computer. When connecting to a public network, make sure to turn off your file sharing.
3. Beware of “shoulder surfing”: This is an old school method of hacking, but is still a risk. With so many internet users distracted by music or other forms of media, you may not notice the person lingering for a second too long behind you. Remember to make sure no one is looking at your screen to steal usernames and passwords.
4. Know where you are actually connecting: Hackers can set up fake wifi access points known as “rouge access points” to entice users to connect to them. These fake connections often show up with standard names, such as “free wifi” or “best wifi”. Before connecting to any type of wifi, ask the business owner or an employee which network you should connect to.
5. Try to visit only “https” sites: Sites beginning with “https” offer more security than “http” because they have a secured socket layer. This security layer verifies that it is a legitimate site and encrypts your data while you’re using that site. The encryption blocks hackers from seeing what you send to the website and what the website sends back. Make sure to use “https” sites when accessing mobile banking or doing online shopping to make your personal information as safe as possible.

While none of these tips are foolproof, they are a great start towards internet security. AmeriChoice takes identity theft and other types of fraud very seriously. Our members can count on us to look out for them. If you ever notice issues with your AmeriChoice account contact us at 717-697-3474 so we can take immediate action.