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How To Prevent Shoulder Surfing: If you are worried about having your identity stolen or being hacked, you can take a number of steps to avoid these problems. You should be careful about what sites you visit and what emails you open.
One thing that people often forget to do, though, is to be aware of their surroundings when entering personal information. This is a mistake because it lets people do something called “shoulder surfing” on you.
Shoulder surfing is when you watch someone talk about private things while you listen in. It usually happens when the victim uses something electronic, like an ATM, a computer, or a phone.
How To Prevent Shoulder Surfing
Don’t use public Wi-Fi networks to log into accounts
Attacks by a “man in the middle” use the fact that public Wi-Fi security isn’t very good to watch you enter your information. If you need to sign into an account while using public Wi-Fi, log out and use the hotspot on your phone instead.
This will keep people from being able to see your login information. A virtual private network could give you more security. (VPN). This will make sure that scammers and hackers can’t get into your network and see what you’re doing.
Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) – but not SMS
Two-factor authentication is a security measure that requires you to use both your password and a one-time code from an app or text message to get into an account. It gives you more protection in case someone finds out your passwords.
Use biometric authentication like fingerprints or facial recognition
Scammers will have a harder time getting into your accounts if they can’t use your fingerprints or recognize your face. But fingerprint identity theft is always a possibility. For the best protection, make sure to use both biometric authentication and a strong password.
Set up fraud alerts to automatically monitor your credit
Getting caught committing any kind of financial fraud is one of the quickest ways to stop a successful shoulder surfer. A fraud monitoring system keeps an eye on all of your accounts and sends you an alert if something looks fishy.
With Aura’s credit monitoring, you don’t have to keep an eye on your own credit report for signs of fraud. We’ll look at your SSN, bank accounts, and personal accounts to see if anything strange is going on and let you know.
What Will These Hackers See?
You don’t have to go too far back in time to figure this out—just to school. Remember when someone looked over your shoulder and you yelled, “Teacher, they’re copying me!” What your classmate did is exactly what people who want to find out private information about you will do if they are in the same coffee shop, airport, train, or any other public place as you.
By looking over your shoulder, these people will be able to see the login information for your online account. Yes, that also includes your access password, which can be easily stolen as you type it into your laptop, tablet, or phone. Hackers don’t care how they get the information they want, whether they break into computers, steal laptops, or watch you at a bus stop.
What Are Some Examples of Shoulder Surfing?
- When you get to the airport to wait for your flight, you find out that it has been delayed. You open your laptop and start doing “life admin” tasks, like paying some bills. Be careful, because someone could be looking over your shoulder and getting your username, password, and other account information.
- You’re waiting for your order at a coffee shop when your kid calls and asks if he can sign up for an upcoming event. As soon as your name is called for your drink, you give him your credit card information.
- You are waiting in line at an ATM on a busy afternoon to get money for the weekend. You’re on the phone and not paying attention, so you hurry off without pressing all those extra buttons to finish the deal. Be careful, because the person behind you could be looking over your shoulder and stealing your financial information or taking more money out of your account without your permission.