_{This article was originally published on October 03, 2023; revised on October 27, 2025.}

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month, an internationally recognized campaign that helps you learn more about the importance of cyber security. The campaign teaches you simple steps to protect yourself and your devices against cyber-attacks. 

At HOOPP, we are committed to protecting our members’ personal and financial information, and it doesn’t stop there. This article offers guidance that can help keep your information, accounts and devices safe.

Get Cyber Safe

While this is Cyber Security Awareness Month, there’s no doubt that staying secure is a year-round activity. To help, Get Cyber Safe, a national public awareness campaign, was created to inform Canadians about cyber security and the simple steps we can all take to protect ourselves online. It’s an excellent resource that you can reference anytime. Learn more at Get Cyber Safe.

We also have some tips that can help to keep your personal and financial information cyber safe.

Recognize phishing and impersonation

Phishing scams commonly use emails, text messages and phone calls to try and obtain your personal information. If a message requests personal information, your password, or it has a link in it – take extra care. Cyber criminals often include a link that could install a virus or send you to a fake website to steal your personal information if you click on it. If you have an existing relationship with the company, consider calling them to verify if the request is legitimate.

Social media impersonation is when a fake account pretends to be a trusted individual or organization – like HOOPP. These accounts often aim to trick users into sharing personal or financial information. Always make sure you:

• Verify before you engage. Confirm the identity of anyone claiming to represent a reputable organization, and cross-reference with official social media channels. Look for a “verified” badge on their page which provides an additional layer of verification.

• Report suspicious activity. Report fake accounts directly to the platform (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) and notify HOOPP immediately if someone is impersonating a HOOPP employee or representative.

Practice safe social and protect your profile

Social media sites like Facebook, X, Instagram and LinkedIn are great ways to stay in touch and share news and photos with family, friends and professional contacts. To prevent cyber criminals from accessing your personal and sensitive information, take these precautions before you post:

• Protect yourself with unique and complex passwords and passphrases for each of your social media accounts. Consider using a reputable password manager to create and manage your passwords.
• Review your privacy and security settings to control who can see what information.
• Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA). This adds an extra layer of security to your devices, accounts, and information. Typically, this process requires you to present an additional piece of information beyond your username and password when logging in to an account. MFA provides continuous protection by verifying each sign-in to ensure it's really you. This can come in the form of:

• A text message sent to your phone or an email sent to your inbox.
• An additional app you have on your device serving as a secondary authentication factor.

Multifactor Authentication is now available on HOOPP Connect! We have introduced multi-factor authentication (MFA) on HOOPP Connect - an added layer of protection for your pension information that makes it much harder for unauthorized users to gain access. Sign into HOOPP Connect today and follow the steps to turn on MFA.

• Keep your personal and financial information private. When you post on social media, avoid sharing:
  • Personal information. That includes your phone number, email address, home address, or work details.
  • Informative pictures. Check the background of pictures and look for any revealing details like a license plate.
  • Exciting news. Vacation details, big purchases or events could be an invitation to criminals.
  • Banking or financial information. Never post anything like the name of your bank, credit or debit card numbers, or any other financial information.

Prepare your device for travel

Let’s be honest – our devices go everywhere with us, even on vacation. To keep your device (and information) safe while you travel:

• Keep it secure. When you’re not using your device, store it securely, in your hotel safe, protect it with a passcode or biometric login and auto-lock, and enable remote wipe and “Find My Device” features in case it’s lost or stolen.

• Use your own chargers. Stick to your own chargers – public charging stations can be risky.

• Stay connected safely. Avoid public or free Wi-Fi; use secure networks whenever possible.

• Crossing borders. Log out of sensitive apps like email and social media before airport security.

By embracing cyber security and motivating your colleagues, family and friends to do the same, we can protect ourselves from cyber threats and strengthen our online security together.

For more information, read Here's how to protect yourself from cyber threats.