No matter who you are or what you do, experts say there's a very good chance some - if not most - of your personal information is already on the Dark Web and available to scammers.
"It is very scary and the biggest thing is making sure you're aware of what's going on and constantly try to protect yourself. You can lean on your banker and IT professionals to help keep you up to date with what's going on. The most important thing is, don't ever think it can't happen to you because it can."
That's Susan Aarons, a vice president at the Tallahassee branch of TC Federal Bank. She and her colleague Ryan Poole have been giving seminars to local businesspeople as part of Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Aarons says the online threats aren't limited to major web presences, such as businesses, hospitals, educational institutions and not-for-profit organizations. Individuals are also at risk if they don't take some simple but effective precautions.
"Having strong passwords, multi-factor authentication, making sure that you get text alerts, looking at your accounts, protecting your credit online and signing up for services that
watch your social security number and your kids' social security numbers. That's huge! That way keeps you in control and not live in fear."
The F-B-I reported a 33% rise in cybercrime last year. And experts estimate the cost will hit ten-and-a-half TRILLION dollars this year.
