Cybersecurity & Your Financial Life
In a world where so much of life happens online, cybersecurity is at the center of how we live, work, communicate, and manage our financial lives.
From email and banking to social media and online shopping, much of what we do each day involves sharing information. That convenience has also created more opportunities for cyber criminals to refine how they target individuals and families.
If you haven't registered already, we invite you to register for our upcoming cybersecurity webinar on Tuesday, April 14th at 4 pm ET for a practical, easy to follow conversation on:
- Common social engineering scams
- AI best practices
- Strategies to protect your home, family and business
A few insights below help to highlight why cybersecurity is so important.
- According to the Federal Trade Commission, consumers reported losing more than $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024, a 25% increase from the prior year and the highest level ever recorded.
- Data from the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center shows that phishing and spoofing remain the most commonly reported cybercrimes, affecting hundreds of thousands of individuals each year.
- Research from IBM Security indicates that the average cost of a data breach has reached an all-time high, now exceeding $4 million globally.
Nearly 90% of cyber incidents begin with human behavior—often something as simple as clicking a link, opening an attachment, or responding to what appears to be a legitimate request.
What has changed most is the combination of the increasing volume of threats and how convincing they have become. With the use of artificial intelligence and publicly available information, many fraudulent messages now closely resemble real communications from trusted sources.
This is not limited to large institutions. Individuals, families, and business owners are frequently targeted, often because they are perceived as more accessible.
Awareness and a few consistent habits can go a long way in reducing risk.
At Covenant Wealth Strategies, protecting your information remains an important part of how we serve you. Our team actively monitors accounts and transactions, and our process requires verbal confirmation for any movement of funds. If activity appears inconsistent or unauthorized, we take immediate steps to investigate and notify you.
We also believe education plays an important role. For those who would like a practical and straightforward discussion on how to better protect your personal and financial information, we invite you to join our upcoming Cybersecurity Awareness Webinar.
Disclosures:
Whitney Coleman, LPL Financial, and Covenant Wealth Strategies are separate entities and do not represent each other.
This material is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. There is no assurance that the views or strategies discussed are suitable for all investors or will yield positive outcomes. Investing involves risks including possible loss of principal. Any economic forecasts set forth may not develop as predicted and are subject to change.