The personal finance author explains how AI is changing scams, why passkeys offer stronger protection, and how to make your financial accounts harder to compromise.
Our guest on the podcast today is Mike Piper. Mike is the author of several personal finance books, the latest of which is called Household Cybersecurity: A CPA’s Guide to Protecting Your Accounts and Personal Information. Mike also writes a wonderful blog called Oblivious Investor, and he’s developed a free tool exploring Social Security claiming decisions called Open Social Security. One thing we loved about the conversation with Mike and about Mike’s book is his attention to the interplay between cybercrimes and cognitive decline as we age. He has a lot of helpful tips for troubleshooting that issue. One of the really interesting points he made was that financial problems can actually be an early warning sign of cognitive decline for an older parent or other family member. Mike shared simple, helpful tips that are easy to implement, including why you should create a guest network that’s separate from your main network at home, and how that can improve your cybersecurity.
00:00:00 Introduction
00:02:41 Why Cybercrime Is Increasing
00:04:10 How AI Is Making Scams More Convincing
00:08:25 How to Spot Cyber Fraud
00:15:21 How to Create Stronger Passwords
00:19:25 Multifactor Authentication and Passkeys
00:33:27 How to Secure Devices and Home Networks
00:36:53 Are Bank or Investment Accounts Safer?
00:39:21 Can Financial Problems Signal Cognitive Decline?
00:45:24 When to Bring in a Financial Professional
Dana Anspach: Don’t Let Fear Ruin Your Retirement
Erin Moriarity: My Dad Lost About $1.5 Million on Bad Investments. Here’s How to Avoid His Mistakes
Jean Chatzky: How to Create a Forever Paycheck for Retirement
If you have a comment or a guest idea, please email us at TheLongView@Morningstar.com.
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