Tips for Floridians During Data Privacy Week

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody is issuing a Consumer Alert with tips for Floridians to secure personal information during National Data Privacy Week. According to reports, data breaches exposed approximately 22 billion records worldwide in 2022. To better protect Floridians, Attorney General Moody is providing resources and tips designed to help protect personal and financial information.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “As hackers and other cybercriminals find new ways to expose and steal personal information, it is important to take proactive steps to guard against their schemes. In recognition of National Data Privacy Week, I’m offering tips to help Floridians become more secure and avoid falling prey to online criminals.”

Attorney General Moody offers the following tips for Floridians to keep data safe:

• Create strong passwords that use a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters;
• Never use the same password across multiple accounts;
• Enable multifactor authentication whenever possible;
• Do not use public Wi-Fi networks to sign-in to accounts or transmit private information;
• Never provide financial or account information in response to an unsolicited email, phone call, text or social media message;
• Be cautious when opening emails or text messages from unknown senders, and never click on links in these messages;
• Keep software updated;
• Only download trusted apps;
• Adjust privacy settings to individual comfort levels for information-sharing; and
• Weigh whether the amount of data given to a website or company is worth the promised benefits in return.

For additional information about guarding personal information, check out Attorney General Moody’s Scams at a Glance: Identity Theft. The resource highlights warning signs that identity theft may have occurred, additional ways to guard private data and steps to recover from identity theft.

To download Scams at a Glance: Identity Theft in English, click here.

To download Scams at a Glance: Identity Theft in Spanish, click here.

In a recent effort to protect Floridians’ cyber privacy, Attorney General Moody announced a historic multistate action against Google over the tech giant’s location-tracking practices. As a result, the business will pay the states $390 million—including $26 million to Florida. To learn more, click here.

Citing personal data security risks, the University of Florida is advising students to stop using the popular social media platform, TikTok. The app’s privacy policy indicates that TikTok may "collect biometric identifiers…such as faceprints and voiceprints, from your User Content.” To learn more, click here.

Anyone who encounters identity theft should contact the Florida Attorney General’s Office by calling 1(866) 9NO-SCAM or visiting MyFloridaLegal.com.