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Your three-step security health check
The festive season should be a time of celebration, not stress. Take a moment for this quick three-step security health check to help keep your personal and payment information safe from scammers over the holiday period.
1. Do a safety sweep of your devices
For many of us, our phone, tablet or laptop is where we plan, shop and manage our banking. That’s why it’s important to ensure your device is as secure as it can be. Make sure you:
 | Keep your software updatedThe software on your device both keeps it running and helps it stay protected. Software updates often contain important security fixes, making them an easy and essential step for safeguarding. |
 | Check your settingsMake sure you’re comfortable with the information you’re sharing – like your location, or your profile on apps you have installed. Scammers can use this information to learn more about you, and trick you into trusting them. |
 | Stay cautious with free WiFiA secure WiFi connection generally uses encryption to scramble and protect your data. Free public WiFi often isn't encrypted, creating a risk your data could be intercepted. Be especially mindful of using free WiFi for sensitive tasks – such as your banking or making payments. |
From pets to the post: be wary of payment requests
Scammers are clever at camouflage – they try and blend in with your day-to-day behaviour, in the hope that you won’t notice they are trying to trick you into giving your information or your money to them.
They’re not afraid of being creative – scammers even pose as puppy breeders, taking your payment or payment details for the promise of pets that never arrive.
At this time of year, be especially careful of texts and emails related to parcels in the mail. Scammers take advantage of peak periods for retail, and pose as the post office and couriers, hoping they’ve caught you at a time you’re legitimately expecting a delivery.
2. Double your defences with two-factor authentication
It’s a good idea to use two-factor authentication wherever it is available, especially to help protect your banking. It’s an additional layer of security and an effective guard against scammers and cybercriminals who regularly try and break through your defences – for example, by guessing or stealing your password.
Strong passwords are an important part of keeping your accounts secure, but alone, they’re not enough. Data breaches reported to the government's privacy watchdog in the first half of last year reached a three-and-a-half-year high. That means sensitive information – including passwords – got into the hands of cybercriminals. Two-factor authentication guards against cyber attacks1, giving you peace of mind.
That’s why we encourage our customers to use Macquarie Authenticator, a two-factor authentication app that links directly to your device. We recommend using ‘Ultimate’ mode with Authenticator, to ensure you’re accessing our highest levels of protection.
3. Shopping online? Always check the link and lock
When you’re browsing online, make a habit of checking if you’ve got a secure connection, to help ensure your details and browsing activity doesn’t get into the wrong hands. You can:
| Look for the lockThe lock in your browser bar signals that the connection between your browser and the website is encrypted. |
 | Check for the ‘s’The ‘s’ in ‘https’ at the beginning of a web address also signals that you’re protected by encryption. |
 | Read the linkFake shopfronts set up by scammers may have errors in their web address, or be designed to look similar to an address you already trust. Think before you click – it could save you from a scammer’s trap. |
We’re here to help
There are many ways you can protect yourself from a scammer to help keep your money and details secure. During the festive season and all year round, one of your defences is also talking to your bank if you’re ever in doubt about a payment, transfer or sharing your information.
A scammer may encourage you to mislead your bank and disguise the reason you’re transferring money or making a payment. Never accept the advice or guidance of a person who is telling you to hide the truth from your bank or coaching you on what to say to your bank.
Remember, we’re always here to help, and we're sharing some additional resources below to help you stay safe over the festive season.
Read: Simple ways to sidestep scams this holiday seasonFind out more about how you can stay safe from scammers over the holidays.
Access: Our security hub For our latest alerts, guides and information about scams affecting Australians.
Learn: Resources from ScamWatch The Australian government’s ScamWatch provides a range of helpful resources to help you spot and stop a scam.
Additional Information
Footnotes
1 https://www.cyber.gov.au/protect-yourself/resources-protect-yourself/personal-cyber-security-guides/protect-yourself-multi-factor-authentication
Disclaimer
This information has been prepared by Macquarie Bank Limited ABN 46 008 583 542 AFSL and Australian Credit Licence 237502 and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before making any financial investment decision or a decision about whether to acquire a product, a person should obtain and review the offer documents relating to that product and also seek independent financial, legal and taxation advice. Lending criteria, fees and T&Cs apply. We make no guarantee concerning the accuracy of data and information contained on third party websites.