Make your home cyber secure

With nine in 10 U.S. adults online these days for work, finances, shopping or entertainment, criminals have many opportunities to steal money or sensitive personal information. When you factor in the many devices in our homes linked to the internet - computers, gaming systems, TVs, smartphones - the opportunities grow.

To keep your home network safe from criminals, follow these three home security rules. Keep the operating systems, web browsers and security software on all of your connected devices updated. If your internet router has the same name and password it came with, change both. And engage your firewall - your operating system or antivirus software should come with a firewall that guards your system from uninvited sources; make sure yours is turned on.

Peer-to-peer payment apps

In the time of COVID-19, peer-to-peer payment apps became more popular than ever.

According to a recent AARP survey, more than half of U.S. adults plan to use a peer-to-peer payment app for purchases. It’s important to know that some apps are safer than others.

PayPal, for example, is set up for users to make purchases with businesses where it’s offered. But other popular payment apps like Venmo, Zelle and Cash App, are intended for use among friends and family - to split a dinner bill or pay the babysitter. Fraud losses using these apps to pay for a product that never comes are generally not recoverable.

To protect your assets remember the old fashioned ways of using cash or a credit card, which comes with fraud protections, are still your best bets.

Fact Tracker tells truth from fiction

Do you believe everything you see online? The obvious answer is no, but there are plenty of sensationalized headlines, misleading stories and even complete falsehoods circulating on the internet, making it hard for even the most discerning reader to sort fact from fiction.

Disinformation online is a key tool for scammers. Luckily AARP has a new online resource to arm you with the skills to decipher what’s real and what isn’t on the web. Visit aarp.org/facttracker for interactive tools and resources to help you sort out fact and fiction online.

Be a fraud fighter! If you can spot a scam, you can stop a scam.

Visit the AARP Fraud Watch Network at www.aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork or call the AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline at 1-877-908-3360 to report a scam or get help if you’ve fallen victim.