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Celebrate National Password Day in the Tri-Cities with these tips, says BBB

The Better Business Bureau is encouraging people to change their passwords on the top three accounts they would't want hacked.
More than half of Canadians reported they have been a victim of fraudulent requests
More than half of Canadians reported they have been a victim of fraudulent requests for personal information and malware

Have you ever been hacked, had your personal information stolen or been taken in by a scam?

You’re not alone. More than half of Canadians reported they have been a victim of fraudulent requests for personal information and malware, and nine out of ten Canadians identify cybercrime as a “serious challenge to the country’s security, bigger than terrorism, corruption, and other criminal activity,” according to a November, 2018 study.

That has hardly curbed consumers' online shopping habits. With more than 90 per cent of consumers now shopping online, accounts with Amazon, Ebay, banks and bill payment systems all offer digital thieves avenues of attack. And that just scratches the service.

In one study from the United Kingdom, the average person was found to have 118 online accounts, with the most used activated through social media like Facebook Twitter and Instagram.

Responding to the scale of the problem, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) has declared this Friday, March 15, National Password Day.

To reign in the proactive celebration of cybersecurity, the BBB is encouraging people to change their passwords on the top three accounts they would't want hacked.

“Passwords are such an integral part of our digital lives, as we use them to help secure important personal and financial information,” says Karla Davis, Manager of Community and Public Relations for BBB serving Mainland BC. “However, with 73% of users repeating the same password for multiple online accounts and the majority not creating strong passwords at all, there are millions of people whose confidential information is one hacker away from being compromised, placing them at risk of falling victim to identity theft”.

In order to create a strong password, the BBB recommends you:

*   Use between 8 - 13 characters

*   Use a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols

*   Use song lyrics, words in another language or unusual movie titles

*   Avoid words found in the dictionary

*   Avoid using family and pet names

*   Avoid using birth dates

*   Avoid adding a number or letter to the last password you had. Create something new.

No matter how strong your passwords are, change them regularly — at least two to three times a year, said the BBB — and never share passwords with anyone.