Keeping your private information and documents safe isn’t always easy. Internet fraud and data breaches have trended upward over the last five years; in 2023, the received more than 880,000 submissions, estimating about $12.5 billion in losses.
This makes it more important than ever to keep your personal information secure — and that starts with creating a strong password for your financial accounts. Here’s how you can create a strong password for your credit cards, banking info, and other sensitive data.
1. The longer, the better
While longer passwords are more challenging to manage, hackers have a harder time cracking them. Aim to make your passwords at least 16 characters. Using a random phrase can help make your password easier to remember.
2. Don’t recycle log-in credentials
It gets tiresome creating unique, strong passwords for every site you register with, and no one wants to memorize dozens of passwords for all the websites and apps you frequent. But hackers know this and use it against you.
If you use one password for a credit card account, there’s a chance you may use it on other sites too. That gives scammers the chance to steal not only your credit card information but also potentially other data such as your bank or email details.
Make sure you use different passwords for every login you have so that even if one account gets compromised, you aren’t putting all of your important data at risk.
3. Use a password manager
Keeping track of your passwords is nearly impossible, especially since almost every site or app you visit requires a login. Managing your log-in info can feel like a part-time job, but a password manager can simplify things.
A password manager can be added to your web browser or phone, and there are free and paid options available. These programs store your passwords and can autofill your log-in info when you visit a saved site. Most also include a password generator, which creates radomized, unique passwords for you. You may also get alerts when your existing passwords are weak or appear on other sites.
You’ll simply need to remember one master passcode to log into your password manager. While it can take some time to set up a program like this, it will make it much easier to navigate your accounts in the future.
4. Make it difficult to crack
Rather than using your first pet’s name and adding your birthday behind it, make sure your password is original. You can do this by:
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Including both upper and lowercase letters
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Using numbers throughout the password, not just at the beginning or end
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Adding special characters, like @$!_ and others
A long string of letters, numbers, and special characters is extremely difficult for scammers to decode. The harder it is to type out, the more secure it is for you.
5. Avoid personal details
Using names, places, or dates related to you or your family is risky. Using details that others can guess makes it easier for folks to log into your accounts.
In addition, don’t post personal details on your social media accounts that may appear in your passwords. Otherwise, there’s a chance hackers could use those details to correctly guess your log-in information.
6. Be creative in the challenge
A password generator can help you create long, difficult passwords. But if you don’t want to use one, think about how to create long passwords yourself.
For instance, abbreviate song lyrics with letters, numbers, and symbols. Here’s an example using lyrics from TLC’s “No Scrubs.”
A scrub is a guy that thinks he’s fly,
And is also known as a busta
This can turn into:
a3!@GtThFA!@KaA_B
It has a mix of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols. Be creative and make something that only you will understand. You can use book or movie titles, lines from your favorite TV show, or a short poem as a jumping-off point.
7. Avoid common passwords
According to password management company , the most common password is “123456,” followed by “admin,” both with more than 4 million uses. While these passwords are easy to remember, it takes hackers less than a second to crack into your accounts when you use them.
Using common words and number sequences makes you more vulnerable to identity theft. Stay away from very common passwords and variations of them. For instance, “password” has more than 700,000 uses and takes hackers less than a second to crack it. The variation “P@ssw0rd” isn’t much better, with more than 130,000 uses. It also takes hackers less than a second to crack it.
Even with secure passwords, a determined hacker can find a way into your accounts. Whenever possible, use two-factor authentication or multi-factor authentication (MFA). You’ll get a text or email with a unique, one-time code to input before you can log into your account.
These additional layers of protection make sure that even if someone has your login info, they can’t access your account without the unique MFA code. Some password managers offer MFA or you can use Google Authenticator or other authentication apps for this step.
While security questions can be helpful, your answers may be easily guessed. For instance, your mother’s maiden name might also be your name, which means scammers can get into your account without much work. Consider treating your security questions like passwords and abbreviating a long string of words, numbers, and characters.
9. Update when necessary
Unfortunately, security breaches and large-scale hacks are inevitable. If a company notifies you of a breach and there’s a chance your details have been leaked, update your password information immediately. Make sure your new password is added to your password manager, if applicable, so you won’t have trouble logging in later.
This article was edited by Alicia Hahn
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