With identity theft, phishing scams, and credit card fraud a way of life these days, consumers are starting to come around to the importance of account security, and they’re taking strides to ensure their financial information is secure. Generally, people take the time to review their bank transactions, investment statements, and credit card transactions – or use some of the many safeguards, such as two-factor authentication, account alerts, and credit freezes to either alert them to suspicious activity, or prevent others from gaining access to these types of accounts.
How much thought are you giving to your airline loyalty programs, though?
Your points are like cash, and many frequent travelers have hundreds if not thousands of dollars of points that may be vulnerable to theft. Criminals can gain access to accounts with weak passwords and steal miles and points which they either sell to third parties, or redeem for tickets, merchandise, or gift cards. On face value, this unauthorized access may seem like nothing more than a minor breach (and a major inconvenience). So you lose some miles and learn a costly lesson. It ends there, right? Well actually, while not high on the list of white-collar crimes, the breach can pose a much more sinister threat. Think of all the things you store in your loyalty program account profile. All your personal information: contact information, birth date, known traveler id, names of family members. Hackers can use this information to further any identity theft goals they might also have in mind.
If you are a United Mileage Plus member, you may recall a recent change to their login procedures. United chose to do so after some thefts in the industry. Thousands of accounts, including those belonging to United and American Airlines customers, had been breached. You may see some changes coming down the pipeline with other airlines and rewards programs, as they scrutinize their security protocols and study the benefits of enhancing them.
While some may consider stringent safeguards on loyalty program accounts to be overkill, you know what they say about an ounce of prevention.
Protect yourself from creative cyberthieves by taking some basic password precautions with all your accounts:
Basic Tips for Secure Passwords
- Use a minimum of 8 characters
- Use a combination of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and special characters
- Don’t use dictionary words or easily identified information such as names, birth dates, addresses, etc.
- Set multi-factor authentication if possible
- Have unique passwords for each site
- Consider using a password management program such as LastPass