Make a PACT to protect yourself online

Estimated reading time
 5 min

Key points

• Cybercrime can affect anyone, so it’s important that you know the cyber safety basics to be safe.
  
  
• Pausing to think before sharing information or acting on a request could save you, and reporting any suspicious activity may help save others.
  
  
• Keep your devices and accounts secure with MFA and automatic updates.

We always lock and protect our valuables – our home, car, even the snack drawer at work.

Protecting your accounts, money, and personal information when you’re online should be no different. You’re the first line of defence to stop cybercriminals in their tracks after all.

With around 94,000 reports of cybercrime to the Australian Signals Directorate’s (ASD) Australian Cyber Security Centre in 2023,¹ being vigilant and prepared to identify and act on suspicious activity is becoming increasingly important.

That’s why we’re sharing a few helpful tips to get started – no matter if you use the internet once in a while or if you're chronically online. It all starts with making a PACT:

• Pause
• Activate
• Call out
• Turn on

These are the four simple steps you can take to be safe online.

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Pause before you share personal information or act on a request

Most of us have things we’re more than happy to share – photos of your adult child’s wedding, the location of your overseas holiday, or a video of your dog doing something cute.

But if a stranger or website asks you to share your personal information or do something for them, the first thing you can do is pause. Take a moment to work out if you really need to share personal details with a third party or act on their request. Chances are you don’t.

When cybercriminals have your personal information, the world is their oyster. They can do many harmful things with this information, like access your banking information, send phishing emails, or convince you they’re someone you trust and get you to make payments to fraudulent accounts.

Activate multiple layers of security

Nowadays, having a single password just doesn’t cut it. Activating multiple layers of security is one of the essential steps you can take to ensure you’re being safe online.

“With the arrival of the latest hacking technologies, cybercriminals can now test many password combinations in a matter of seconds,” says Sushma Bhandary, ANZ’s Journey Expert in Security Operations, Intel and Influence. “That’s why it’s so important to activate multiple layers of security wherever possible – it’s one of the easiest ways to protect yourself online.”

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of security by confirming it’s really you when you log into your account. When you activate MFA, you’ll need to provide two or more pieces of evidence to verify your identity. For example, this might be a password (layer one), a one-time passcode sent to your phone (layer two), and an answer to a security question (layer three).

Activating MFA can make it challenging for anyone trying to get into your accounts and access your information. A cybercriminal might get through the first layer of protection, but without a fingerprint scan or a one-time code, they can’t access your account.

Call out and report any suspicious messages or scams

Be it planning a milestone birthday or running a business, we’re spending more time on our devices to manage the busy lives we lead. As a result of that, we’re receiving more messages than ever before.

This makes sending suspicious messages and conducting scams easier for cybercriminals because nowadays, scams don’t just happen through phone calls and emails alone.

“There’s been a surge in recent years in social media and text message scams,” Sushma explains, “It’s all with the goal of trying to get you to hand over private information and your money.”

Some of these messages can be quite convincing, but here’s a quick list of some red flags to help you spot any suspicious activity:

• There are spelling mistakes, unusual links or attachments in the message.
  
  
• The message is putting pressure on you to do something for them, such as paying them straight away. Or they might threaten you with repercussions if you don’t comply with their request, such as saying they will lock your account or send you a fine if you don’t do what they say quickly.
  
  
• You’re asked to make payment using a highly specific or unconventional method, such as paying through cryptocurrency.
  
  
• The opportunity sounds too good to be true.

The earlier you report a scam, the better it is for you and others. And remember, if you’re ever in doubt about a message, call it out and report it. Here’s how:

• Contact the Australian Cyber Security hotline, 24 hours a day, seven days a week on 1300 CYBER1 (or 1300 292 371).
  
  
• Report the scam to Scamwatch or to the Australian Signals Directorate’s Australian Cyber Security Centre’s ReportCyber.
  
  
• Contact the Services Australia scams and identity helpdesk on 1800 941 126 or visit their website for support with phishing or identity theft related to government accounts. 
  
  
• Contact your bank immediately if you shared personal or financial information.
  
  
• If you’re an ANZ customer, you can report fraud or suspicious activity in multiple ways, such as through the ANZ app or by calling us

Turn on automatic software updates

Updating the software on your devices can feel like a chore. We might not want to do it, or we just don’t know how. But did you know that you can set up automatic protection on your devices and let it do the work for you? Automatic software updates can address weaknesses in your device’s software. This creates an extra safety net from threats like malware.

One of the great things about automatic software updates is that it’s quite easy to set up:

• Go to your device’s settings
  
  
• Click on ‘general settings’ or ‘security and privacy’ – this will depend on the type of device you have
  
  
• Turn on the automatic updates

Alternatively, you can go to your device’s settings and type ‘automatic updates’ in the search bar. This can take you right where you need to go.

“New vulnerabilities are always going to emerge,” Sushma says, “and the best defence against attackers exploiting these vulnerabilities is simple: keep your device’s software up to date.”