Matthew

With the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020, many individuals may find themselves out of work or working remotely and from home during the time of restricted quarantine. If you are currently working from home or if you are the owner of a business that is responsible for remote employees, it is important to stay safe from potential scams and malware online by learning more about cyber security and why it matters. When you are aware of various scams, viruses, and malware issues online, it is much easier to protect yourself and the information you are sharing between employees, co-workers, or anyone else involved in your business and income.

How to Stay Safe Online

Staying safe online is possible by taking precautions and learning more about current scam rings and potential issues that may arise while attempting to make purchases and access highly sensitive information. If you are an individual who is using the internet to work from home, consider the following tips to enhance your own cyber security when you are working or using the internet during a time of crisis:

Choose strong passwords that are difficult to guess and that have no relation to your own personal life, your birthday, your children, or even your extended family
Install and update your current anti-virus software on your computer in addition to implementing a firewall whenever you browse online
Only use websites with SSL, or Secure Sockets Layer icons in the upper left hand corner of the URL bar, which appears as a locked icon to indicate a secure connection
Avoid shopping on websites that are not verified or well-known, especially if you are unfamiliar with browsing the web. Always use websites that are secured, safe, and trusted by others you know to minimize the risk of being hacked or becoming a target of online thieves.

If you are the owner of a business, there are a few additional steps and guidelines to keep in mind and consider to ensure the protection of your employees as well as the data and information you have stored for your business and customers, such as:

Install a new firewall and anti-virus program on all of your computers and the computers your employees use
Keep your firewall updated at all times, especially as new exploits and scams become more prevalent
Host training sessions with all of your employees to reinforce browsing guidelines and ways that they can protect themselves whenever they are online or using your company’s computers
Store, download, and backup user and customer data as often as possible to prevent deletion or hacking of the sensitive information you collect from users, employees, and customers of your own
Implement multi-factor authentication solutions to add an additional layer of security and protection to all of your electronic and internet devices along with all of your employees and remote workers. Multi-factor authentication will ensure even more security for those who are working from home, regardless of their position and the type of sensitive information they are responsible for even when they are not in the office.
Web and spam filters can also provide you with more control over the type of websites and content that can be accessed online with the use of your computers by employees and remote workers.

How to Identify if You’ve Already Fallen Victim to a Scam

Knowing how to identify if you have already fallen victim to a scam is extremely beneficial, especially when there is money or personal and sensitive information at risk. If you notice that your account is logged out or that changes to your name, email address, phone number, or other personal details have been changed with an online account of yours, your account may be compromised.

You may also find emails that request a change to your password or a password reset, which is an indicator that another individual, hacker, or bot is attempting to access your account and update the information with their own.

If any of your online accounts or bank accounts are used when you are working or whenever you are online, it is important to keep an eye on your bank account itself. Many hackers and online thieves today target both credit cards as well as bank account numbers to steal directly from an individual’s personal or business bank account.

What to Do If You Have Been Scammed or Hacked

If you have fallen victim to a cyber scam, it is important to avoid panicking and instead, begin gathering as much relevant information as possible as it pertains to the scam or scammer you have encountered yourself. Consider how you have been scammed before attempting to rectify the situation. If your bank account or credit card account has been hacked, contact your banking institution or card provider immediately and directly to freeze your card and to file an official fraud report. Most often, banks and credit card providers are willing to work with those who have been scammed to get your money and funds back into your account.

Update and change all of your passwords any time you have been hacked or breached, even if the account and password differ from the account entered. Always use passwords that contain special characters and passwords that have no relation to your everyday life. Update and install new firewalls and anti-virus software for your entire business or your personal computers. Always keep your virus software updated automatically to ensure that you are maximizing your protection any time you are browsing online.

Decreasing cyber liability as a business owner or even as an entrepreneur is essential to mitigate the risks of having your personal or financial data exposed to the world or a group fo online hackers. By taking the proper steps to increase your own cyber security online, drastically decrease your risk of cyber liability and falling victim to any form of scam, especially during a time of need with the Covid-19 outbreak.

Hurricane & Flood Losses

In the insurance world, a catastrophe refers to an event in which insurers anticipate claims of at least $25 million, and where thresholds are met on the number of claimants and insurers against whom claims are filed. The statistics below on losses from hurricanes and flooding reveal many catastrophic events within the last few years.

Hurricanes

Nearly 40 percent of catastrophic events come from hurricanes and tropical storms. These events bring devastation in the form of high winds, storm surges and torrential rains. While wind certainly contributes to damages, flooding can inflict an extremely heavy and overwhelming toll on property holders and communities. The flooding aspect of tropical systems place many communities well inland at risk of being part of the disaster.

The 2018 Hurricane season carried an estimated price tag, in terms of losses, of $33 billion. Between 1980 and 2018, hurricanes and other tropical systems have inflicted damage totaling approximately $919.7 billion, adjusted for the Consumer Price Index. This translates to an average of $21.9 billion in damages per tropical cyclone striking the United States during that period.

From 1900 to 2017, the United States experienced 36 hurricanes with costs of at least $1 billion. Four of these storms struck in 2016 and 2017 — Matthew (2016) and Harvey, Irma and Maria (2017). Harvey ($125 billion), Maria ($90 billion) and Irma ($50 billion) ranked, as of the end of the 2017 Hurricane season, among the top five costliest hurricanes. Katrina (2005), at $161 billion, remains the most expensive in United States History. Sandy, third-ranked on the list, struck in 2012 and left damages of approximately $71 billion.

In 2018, two hurricanes (Florence and Michael) each inflicted billions in damages. Florence-related losses covered by insurance policies (not counting those covered by the National Flood Insurance Program) ranged between an estimated $2 billion and $5.5 billion. The estimated total damages from Florence reached $17 billion. For Matthew, insured losses carried estimates of $6 billion to $8 billion, with total losses climbing to nearly $11 billion.

Flooding

In addition to tropical systems, heavy rain events from thunderstorms and stalled or slow-moving unstable weather patterns create flooding damage. On average, flooding causes $8 billion annually. From 2000 to 2017, catastrophes involving flooding have resulted in damages north of $750 billion. In 2017, NFIP paid damages of over $8.7 billion for flooding losses. This more than doubled the nearly $3.7 billion in 2016.

Think you’re immune from flooding or the costs from it? According to the Federal Emergency Management Administration, the vast majority of counties and parishes in the United States (98%) face flooding events. More than one in five claims for flooding damage originate from places not considered at high risk for flooding. These numbers bear witness to the reality that not just coastal counties or those located along rivers experience significant flooding problems.

It does not take a catastrophe to accumulate significant damages for households. For the average home, considered by FEMA to be 2,500 square feet and one story, merely an inch of flooding in the structure translates to a potential loss of $26,807 to real and personal property. With four inches of water in the interior, that loss exposure climbs to $103,355.

Why You Need to Examine Your Property Coverage?

Standard homeowner’s and property casualty insurance policies do not cover damage from flooding. Those who do not live or own property in floodplains, and, thus, are not required by the federal government or normally by their lenders to have flood insurance, may not believe they need it. The realization that homeowner’s coverage does not avail for flooding damage, whether catastrophic or relatively minor, does not hit until the owner files the claim. Want to learn more? Check out Bankrate’s Guide to Flood Insurance

Congress created NFIP in 1968 out of concerns that standard insurance did not cover floods, and the costs of disaster relief and restoration from these events fell ultimately to taxpayers. Policies issued under NFIP afford coverage of $250,000 on the home itself and $100,000 on the contents in the home. Premiums for NFIP coverage average $700 annually. To access this coverage, your community must enact and enforce ordinances for protection and management of floodplain areas.

If you cannot obtain coverage from NFIP, usually because your property does not lie in a community with the necessary ordinance, you may find private companies to cover flooding. This insurance may come as a separate policy or an endorsement (or extra) to a homeowner’s policy.

Cyber Security, How To Stay Safe