Chapter 6

The first part of Chapter 6 mainly focuses on identity theft and the different ways thieves can steal your identity. It outlines the importance of security in both the real world and the digital world. It also explains the need for countermeasures to protect yourself, both physically and digitally, from outside threats. One of the most relevant security threats covered in this chapter is phishing which is something I’ve personally experienced. I regularly receive emails from my bank warning account holders about the dangers of phishing scams and telling customers to never give out personal information to anyone who calls or emails claiming to be the bank. They also recommend never clicking on links in financial emails and instead going directly to the bank’s website or app yourself to make any account changes. This helps safeguard against phishing and spoofing scams.
While the first part of the chapter focuses more on the types of scams themselves, the second half of the chapter focuses more on how to safeguard against these attacks in an increasingly online world. I was already aware of many of the social engineering methods hackers use to steal your identity, or rob you, but I was not aware of the full scope of how widespread and how often these attacks occur. As more of our lives move online, we must make sure we take every reasonable step to protect ourselves from security vulnerabilities and identity theft, as well as hold companies who haphazardly “secure” our data accountable.

Every time I see a video on my YouTube feed about an elderly person or couple who had their retirement savings stolen because they were victims of phishing or spoofing attacks and were not informed enough to stop it from happening, it breaks my heart. The importance of internet security, identity theft protection, and financial security should be taught in schools everywhere from a very young age, which could help prevent situations like that from happening in the first place.

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