A new and successful athlete’s life could change overnight. They suddenly gain a lot of exposure in the press and are viewed by fans as being very wealthy. Although this is a moment to celebrate, it could also make athletes an easy target for online hackers. Somebody in the world is getting hacked every 39 seconds, and celebrities with a lot of fame and money are at risk the most. It does not matter how successful an athlete’s wealth management program is if they cannot protect themselves from threats online.
Celebrities and athletes need to be more cautious when it comes to protecting themselves from hackers. They should never use public Wi-Fi or charging hotspots because hackers can easily install malicious software on their smartphone or tablet. Hackers will then be able to steal an athlete’s bank account details and passwords.
If an athlete is speaking to their agent on the phone while they are in a public place, they should be careful about who else is listening to the conversation. They should never share anything private during those talks. Instead of speaking to an agent while inside a taxi, it’s better to wait until they are alone. This is to prevent the taxi driver from leaking that information to others.
Athletes should be mindful not to let others know personal details about themselves, such as what their favorite book is, names of pets, or mother’s maiden name, etc. These are often used as security questions for different online accounts. Hackers could try to get these answers to gain access to the athlete’s bank account or emails.
If a player needs to print their contract, they should always try to use a private computer and avoid those in hotel business centers. They should also resist logging into social media accounts on a public computer. If a player does get hacked, the hacker could steal all their money and damage their reputation.
The best way to protect accounts from getting hacked is by creating the most unique passwords that are hard to crack. These can be long with special characters, capital letters, and many numbers. A password should also never have someone’s date of birth, partner’s name, or sports jersey numbers. A lot of hackers use programs that try random combinations of passwords to find the right one. These can take a very long time to do. Changing the password every few months will keep throwing them off and will secure your accounts a lot better.
It’s important to use a password to lock smartphones if they are not being used. Athletes tend to leave their mobile phones or tablets in locker rooms, and anybody could gain access to them. Setting a passcode on mobile phones keeps it secure, and never set that code to be something generic such as 1234. A lot of new phones require facial recognition to unlock, but if the passcode is weak, an unauthorized person can still gain access.
Many social media accounts request users to link their mobile numbers. This is to let an athlete know if someone is trying to change their password. They can also request a new password if they forget the old one. This multi-factor authorization system makes social media accounts more secure from hackers.
