Every investor aspires to have a resilient, thriving portfolio that can withstand market uncertainties and preserve value in the long term. Risk is a natural part of any investment. It — along with considerations like associated digital safety and fraud — can be mitigated and managed successfully. To that end, this article will introduce you to the basics of securing your investments from a variety of threats.
Diversify Your Portfolio
Diversifying your portfolio is a fundamental and practical measure of offsetting market volatility. Instead of hedging your bets on a single company’s stock in hopes of high returns, spreading them out is smarter and safer. Investing in ETFs like the S&P 500 or a combination of asset classes like bonds and commodities brings lower average yields but ensures a single poorly performing asset doesn’t severely impact your initial investment.
Pick the Right Platform
The rise of financial platforms has made investing simpler, automatic, and available to more people than ever before. Popularity attracts fraud, so you’ll want to carefully assess any platform before entrusting it with your savings.
Start by verifying it adheres to regulatory oversight from the SEC, as this is a strong safeguard against mismanagement and fraud. It should also have a transparent and straightforward withdrawal policy that guarantees access to your funds at any time.
Take Advantage of Digital Security Measures
Hackers prioritize financial account credentials and sensitive information linked to those accounts when orchestrating attacks. That’s why ensuring their security is paramount.
On the one hand, you have to vet where and to whom you expose such information carefully. Whether it’s your investment platform or an online store, its website needs to have SSL encryption. Further, it should be compatible with payment standards like PCI DSS to protect you from fraud and data breaches.
You bear part of the responsibility as well. Access to your online accounts is only secure if each has a strong, unique password and is backed by anti-tampering measures like two-factor authentication. It’s best to streamline credential creation and storage with a password manager. Find password managers for iOS, Android, or your mobile operating system to protect your credentials. Most password managers also support computer operating systems. This way, you keep your passwords secure across all your devices.
Be Wary of Scams
Fake investment opportunities are a dime a dozen, hoping to con inexperienced investors with grand promises and shady deals. Always do research before committing to a new financial venture, especially if it sounds too good to be true.
Not sure of an opportunity’s legitimacy? Look for red flags like claims of returns that far outperform the market average, aggressive sales pitches that capitalize on the fear of missing out, or assurances that the investment carries no risk.
Regularly Monitor Your Accounts
Compromised financial accounts may not become apparent immediately, especially if you don’t keep track of them and someone with unauthorized access keeps a low profile. Monitoring your accounts for suspicious activity is crucial for early detection and damage mitigation.
Start by reviewing existing financial statements and noting any changes in information like the associated email address, phone number, etc. It’s also a good idea to set up notifications alerting you of login attempts from new suspicious sources or unauthorized transactions.
Reduce Your Digital Footprint
By now, you likely have a digital history spanning years or even decades. An account you created and abandoned a while ago may not seem like much. Yet, the real information it contains may now be in the hands of someone who can use it to endanger your investments through phishing or social engineering.
Curbing your digital footprint involves identifying and deleting such accounts as well as removing revealing public social media posts and reducing contact on social platforms to individuals you know and trust.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t address the information data brokers, and other unsavory online aggregators might have on you. The leading data removal services specialize in taking such information down successfully and keeping it from reappearing on the sites they monitor. Seek one out to reduce your exposure and the chances of being targeted.
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