State agencies offer cybersecurity resources to protect Wisconsinites | Local News I Racine County Eye

During National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP) team up for a podcast to help Wisconsinites protect themselves online. The latest episode of “Transportation Connects Us” explores internet threats and the resources available to residents and businesses for dealing with them.

Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) oversees driver licenses, ID cards, vehicle titles and license plates, among other important pieces of personal information. Director of the DMV Bureau of Driver Services, Reggie Paradowski, explains how the agency safeguards customer information. This includes a DMV online notification service called eNotify, which sends electronic notifications to customers.

“The added safety component is that customers that sign up for eNotify, receive an alert by email or text when DMV products are ordered or changed. Any kind of change to a record, you’re going to get a text or email that could alert you to a fraud (sic) activity,” Paradowski said.

Paradowski shares more tips for DMV customers, like:

• Wisconsin DMV will never ask for customer credit card numbers or social security numbers by email, phone, or text.
• Be sure to use the official Wisconsin DMV website – wisconsindmv.gov and be aware that websites that end in .com, .net, or .org likely charge extra fees.

“We’re seeing an uptick in the number of fraud complaints and an uptick in the people actually being defrauded of money and it’s quite a lot,” Lara Sutherlin, Wisconsin DATCP Division of Trade and Consumer Protection Administrator, said in the podcast.

Sutherlin explains how some of the most common scams work and offers tips to help you avoid getting tangled in one of them, like:

• Be mindful of the types of personal information you post on social media.
• Don’t click on links in suspicious emails and texts.
• Ensure all your internet connected devices are up to date with the most recent software to prevent the risk of infection from malware.

To learn more about this aspect of cybersecurity check out the podcast:

“Transportation Connects Us” is a podcast series produced by WisDOT which focuses on transportation safety, engineering, transportation investments, and DMV topics. Download or subscribe wherever you find your podcasts.

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