Be On Guard Against Cybercrime!

Published: October 25, 2024

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. This is a good opportunity to ensure that  you are taking the necessary steps to protect yourself, your family, and your business against cyber thieves and their increasingly sophisticated attempts to steal your assets and personal information. To support your efforts, Klingenstein Fields Advisors has prepared a guide, preventing fraud: steps to safeguard your assets, with useful tips to help build awareness and prevent cybercrime.

Remember to:

  • Create strong, unique passwords that are difficult to uncover, store them safely, and change them frequently
  • Use the internet safely, be alert for unsafe websites, and exercise caution online and transacting on a public unsecured network
  • Do not initiate any financial transaction on public unsecured websites
  • Protect your assets through vigilance in your phone, email, and text interactions, review of monthly statements, due diligence in transactions, caution in sharing personal information, and monitoring of passwords
  • Use good judgement and common sense when creating your on-line profile
  • Exercise caution when posting information and sharing on social media platforms
  • Examine incoming emails carefully, especially when encountering links, attachments, requests for money or personal information
  • Employ equipment safely while storing information, keep your devices free of viruses or hacks with regular system updates, and maintain privacy

Please download and read our tips for recognizing and preventing scams, providing information and guidance on dealing with the following types of popular scams:

Romance/marriage/sweetheart – the scammer develops a strong emotional relationship with the target, then asks for temporary financial assistance to help them out of an unexpected legal, medical, or other troubling situation.

Sweepstakes/lottery – you are notified of a lottery or contest prize and asked to send in a small fee and/or provide personal information to collect your winnings.

Government impersonators – in most cases, you receive a phone call (but it may also be an email, text, or social media message) telling you that you owe a fine or penalty to the IRS, Social Security Administration, or other agency; and the consequences will be harsh if you do not pay immediately.

Investment “opportunity” – an individual who purportedly knows you or knows someone you know contacts you about a “once in a lifetime, sure thing” opportunity in which they are only letting a select group of investors participate.

Tech or fraud support – fraudsters contact you through a pop up on your device or a phone call, posing as tech experts, often from reputable companies such as Apple, Microsoft, or one of the software security companies. They claim you have a security or virus threat and need you to pay for repairs.

Business email compromise (BEC) – you receive an email message that appears to come from a recognized source, such as a vendor, asking you to pay an invoice or make a purchase, but with different mailing or wiring instructions than normal.

In addition to our guides, we encourage you to explore our Your Cybersecurity Questions Answered and More Cybersecurity Questions Answered, and webinars we have held with cyber experts, for more tips on staying cyber safe.

Important Disclosures

This material is provided for informational or educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment, accounting, tax or legal advice. Always consult a financial, tax and/or legal professional regarding your specific situation. This communication is not intended as a recommendation or as investment advice of any kind. It is not provided in a fiduciary capacity and may not be relied upon for or in connection with the making of investment decisions. Nothing herein constitutes or should be construed as an offering of advisory services or an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy any securities or a recommendation to invest in any specific investment strategy. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative of future returns. The views expressed herein are as of a particular point in time and are subject to change without notice. The information and opinions presented herein are general in nature and have been obtained from, or are based on, sources believed by Klingenstein Fields Advisors (“KF Advisors’) to be reliable, but KF Advisors makes no representation as to their accuracy or completeness. Although the information provided is carefully reviewed, KF Advisors cannot be held responsible for any direct or incidental loss resulting from applying any of the information provided. KF Advisors represents two investment advisers registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission: Klingenstein, Fields & Co., L.P. ® and KF Group, LP. If you are a KF Advisors client, please remember that it remains your responsibility to advise KF Advisors, in writing, if there are any changes in your personal/financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing/evaluating/revising our previous recommendations and/or services, or if you would like to impose, add, or to modify any reasonable restrictions to our investment advisory services.