The Illinois Association of REALTORS® will be taking part in National Cyber Security Awareness Month in October. And while we may be a few months early to the party, we’re sharing some quick tips that will give you a baseline of protection against scam artists.

The month-long focus on cyber-security is an effort by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Throughout October expect to learn more about how you can protect yourself – and your business – from fraud.

These tips can be used any time to keep you, your identity and your information safe online:

  • Set strong passwords with eight or more characters and a combination of numbers, letters and symbols;
  • Don’t share passwords with anyone;
  • Keep your operating system, browser and other critical software optimized by installing updates;
  • Limit the amount of personal  for protecting online information;
  • Use privacy settings to avoid sharing information widely; and
  • Be cautious about what you receive or read online.