What would happen if cybercriminals took control of your email account? They would have access to all the services and people you communicate with.
These criminals will be able to impersonate you, drain your financial nest egg and ruin your life!
To protect yourself, I encourage you to have more than one email account.
Before I go any further, take the time to look at your email’s inbox. Note who you are communicating with: Family members, financial institutions, physicians, Social Security Administration, social groups, Medicare, etc.
Do you have secure, strong passwords for your email account? I talked about this in the last issue of Generations Magazine (October/November 2017).
As important as it is to have strong passwords, you have to have more than one email account to avoid putting your eggs in one basket.
Having separate email accounts for different purposes will prevent you from losing everything if your email account has been compromised.
I strongly recommend at least one separate email account for the following tasks:
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To communicate with family and close friends.
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As a member of professional groups, civic and business organizations (Rotary clubs, etc.)
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Online banking, transferring funds, automatic deposits and payments.
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Online shopping and credit card purchases (PayPal, CitiCard, VISA, MasterCard and
Amazon, etc.)
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Social media (Facebook and
Instagram).
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A public email account that you don’t mind sharing with others. Use this when visiting websites that require an email account.
Don’t be tempted to use your online banking email account for online shopping, as shopping accounts tend to receive more spam (unsolicited email) and are targeted by online scammers. Your biggest challenge is to strictly adhere to one email account for its designated use.
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