SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month and the FBI's Springfield Field Office has offered tips for staying safe online. 

Illinois ranks 5th in the country for internet crime victims. In 2021, victims in Illinois lost $185,000,000.

"Everything has become much more sophisticated and much more realistic," said Brian Dickerson, the President and General Manager at BLH Computers. "There are scams out there that looks so legit, that you would happily click on it and find out that you have now given access to your computer."

Dickerson said as technology progresses its important to make sure your computer stays up to date as well. 

"Keep your system up to date, they're always coming out with new fixes to new problems," said Dickerson. 

Justin Harris, a Computer Scientist at the FBI Springfield Field Office said the most common incidents involve scam links from email addresses that might look familiar. 

"The links will look like they came from one place but when you hit reply, you'll find it's not going to that place," said Harris. "If you hover your mouse over the top of the link and look at the bottom of your browser, it will show you where that link is going to go." 

He said a tell-tale sign of internet scams is spelling or grammar errors. Many scammers will use email addresses that are just one or two letters off from the address you are expecting to get an email from. 

The FBI Springfield Field Office offered these tips to mark Cybersecurity Awareness Month and remind the public to take extra precautions online. 

  • Do not open any email attachment or click a link unless you are expecting the file, document, or invoice and have verified the sender’s email address.
  • Avoid using free charging stations in airports and shopping centers as these can infect your devices with malware and monitoring software.
  • Keep systems and software up to date and install a strong, reputable anti-virus program.
  • Create a strong and unique passphrase for each online account and change passphrases regularly.
  • Use multi-factor authentication.
  • Examine the email address in all correspondence and scrutinize website URLs before responding to a message or visiting a site.
  • Be cautious about the information you share in online profiles and social media accounts.
  • Don’t send payments to unknown people or organizations that are seeking monetary support and urge immediate actions.
  • Take time to read consumer and industry alerts provided by the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

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