South Florida is a hot spot for cybercrime. Here’s a few tips on how to protect yourself

Everyone has been victim of a cyber attack. You need only to look at your spam folder to see promises of untold riches from a foreign dignitary that require help in transferring funds.

The U.S. Secret Service and Miami-Dade police recently uncovered a local identity theft ring in which criminals stole credit card information from people and used them to buy gas at stations. The criminals filled up “bladder tanks” hidden inside the trucks and illegally sold the gas at a yard in Hialeah, for a fraction of its price. And this is only one of the facets of cybercrime.

While many such potential attacks are obvious, cyber criminals use other tricks to deceive innocent victims. You may receive an email at work that looks like it’s from a colleague or your company’s help desk, urging you to open an attachment or click on a link. Other emails may look like they’re from your bank asking you to log on and fix a problem with your account. Such schemes, known as phishing attacks, lure unsuspecting people into giving cybercriminals access to their data or their company’s infrastructure. Another common scheme is known as ransomware. A virus gets inside your computer or network and freezes all activity. A message or warning appears urging you to call a number to pay for software to unlock your system.

A 2017 Accenture analysis noted that cybercrime had increased by 27 percent in just one year. The cost of those incidents was also climbing by 24 percent annually. with the average annualized cost of dealing with an attack at $11.7 million.

It is essential that U.S. government agencies and financial institutions handle those threats as a national security issue. We need a comprehensive plan for collaboration between public and private entities to address the growing scope and scale of this challenge.

Much has been made of the potential hacking of upcoming midterm elections and debate over foreign interference with the electoral process. Financial cyberattacks, however, have the potential to be just as devastating, and could have far-reaching implications for our financial foundations. Imagine, for example, the chaos that would occur were cyberattacks to bring down stock market trading systems, bank-to-bank financial transfers, individual retirement account data or online credit card processing information.

The financial sector is a prime target with good reason: That’s where the money is! But not only that, it collects invaluable information about individuals and businesses. Data — from Social Security numbers to account balances — are a virtual gold mine to hackers.

South Florida sits at the cross-road of cybercrime vulnerability: On the one hand, Florida is considered one of the riskiest states when it comes to identity theft and risk of cyberattack. Webroot, a cybersecurity firm, named Florida the riskiest state when it came to cyber health. Experian ranks Florida the No. 2 state in identity theft (149 complaints per 100,000 population). And those rates are even higher for South Florida, with 340 complaints per 100,000 population, according to the the Federal Trade Commission.

On the other hand, South Florida serves as financial hub for Latin America, which is considered by experts as the next frontier of cybercrime due to the explosion in use of mobile devices for banking services. A recent report by the Organization of American States revealed that 9 out of 10 banks in Latin America and the Caribbean suffered cyber incidents during the past year.

Financial institutions and customers can protect themselves by following some basic principles that help protect against cybercrime, including:

▪ Use two-factor authentication to access accounts.

▪ Issue alerts when large purchases are made or accounts are accessed on a new device.

▪ Monitor for fraud through text confirmations of large transactions.

▪ Use complex passwords ... and do not share them.

▪ Do not share personal information when called from someone claiming to need a Social Security number or account password.

Cybercrime is costly to everyone involved. As incidents and costs mount, it’s time for government agencies and industry groups to come together and put in place a robust set of solutions to safeguard financial institutions and their customers from cyber hacks. This includes continued upgrading in technology, extending education to employees and customers alike and, perhaps most important, not being afraid to share information on cyber incidents, so that the financial community can gather enough data to confront this issue that affects all of us.

Who: Event held by Florida International Banksers Association (FIBA)

When: Oct. 29-30

Where: InterContinental Hotel Miami

Prices: $1,050 (for delegates of financial institutions); $650 (for government representatives)

More information at: https://felabancelaes.fiba.net/

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▪ This “My View” opinion piece was written for Business Monday of the Miami Herald.

▪ Got a “My View?” If you have a point of view on a business topic you would like to share, consider writing about it for Business Monday. Pitch your idea to rclarke@MiamiHerald.com. Guidelines: Submissions should be around 600 words; should state a topic clearly, with supporting examples; and use examples drawn from South Florida. They should also be accompanied by a photo of the writer, emailed as a jpeg. ‘My View’ submissions that are accepted are published as space allows.

This story was originally published October 19, 2018 at 6:00 AM.