Keeping safe online

In today’s world, where most of our personal and professional lives have moved online, it is more important than ever to protect our digital identities. Here are some tips to keep you safe online.  

Strong passwords 

Creating a strong password is crucial to securing your online accounts. A strong password is likely to include a mixture of letters (including capitals), numbers and special characters. Instead of using words that are personal to you, such as your name, date of birth, or pet’s name, use a combination of three random words, mixed with numbers and symbols.

For example, Water54Table!zebra%

This will make it harder for hackers to guess your password.  

Do not reuse passwords 

Reusing the same password for multiple accounts can be risky. If a hacker gains access to one of your accounts, they can use that password to break into your other accounts as well.

To protect yourself, it is best to use a different password for each online account.  

Use a password manager 

A password manager securely stores all your passwords and can even fill them in automatically when you need to log in. Most password managers also recommend really strong passwords for each of your online accounts.

This makes it simpler to manage multiple passwords without having to remember them all. With a password manager, you can use strong passwords for all your accounts without needing to reset them every time.  

You will only need to remember one long and strong password to access your password manager. There are many free password managers available, so you do not need to worry about paying for one.

Hacked email accounts 

If you suspect that your email account has been hacked or compromised: 

• change your password immediately. If you use the same password for multiple accounts, change it for all of them.  
• check your account settings to make sure there are no unauthorised changes.  
• enable two-factor authentication for your email account if it is not already on
• once you have secured your email account we advise that you seriously consider the password and security questions used for accessing MyPension and update them to something new

More information

Here are some great trustworthy resources available from organisations who can provide information about protecting yourself, your family, and your devices online.

Get Safe Online - Sponsored by City of London Police and Barclays Bank

National Cyber Security Centre - Top Tips for staying secure online

Crimestoppers - Online Safety

Age UK - How to stay safe online

Take Five - To Stop Fraud

Please note: Merseyside Pension Fund is not responsible for the content on external websites.