WHAT CAN YOU DO? Take your time and pro - ceed with caution when meeting new people on - line. If you feel pressure to share personal or fi- nancial information with someone you have just met, do not be afraid to take a step back and speak with a trusted family member, friend, or advisor about your concerns. Review the source of emails and texts closely before opening them to make sure that you are receiving a message from a contact that you recognize or can independently verify. Avoid opening links or attachments from suspicious or unknown sources; rather consider deleting the email or text and blocking the send - er from contacting you further. MORE THAN JUST A PASSWORD We’ve all been warned of the importance of password safety, and we’ve learned to use lengthy passwords containing letters, numbers, and symbols, and to use a unique password for each account to avoid giving a cyber thief con - trol over not just one but possibly all of our ac - counts. These are just the first steps to optimiz - ing your password protection. Most financial institutions now require you to enable multifac - tor authentication, which as the name suggests, uses more than one method or device to verify your identity. For example, when you attempt to log into your bank’s website with your username and password, your bank may call, text, or email a code to the phone number or email address they have on file for you to confirm that it is you who is accessing your account. According to Microsoft’s October 2021 Digital Defense Report, 98% of hacking attempts can be prevented using basic security measures, including multifactor authentication. 2 Where available, consider enabling multifactor authen- tication when accessing any of your financial in - formation, especially your retirement accounts, and keep your mobile phone number and email address used to verify your identity up to date with each of your financial institutions, includ - ing the IAM National Benefit Funds Office. TOP FIVE RISKS ROCKING THE BOAT TO RETIREMENT READINESS Retirees face numerous challenges when pre - paring for retirement. A brief recently released by the Center for Retirement Research at Bos- ton College 3 outlined the financial risks retirees face in retirement and how retirees view these risks when planning for retirement. The IAM National Benefit Funds offer benefit options to help address these risks, such as sup - plementing a retirement benefit under the IAM Na tional Pension Plan by starting or increasing contributions to the IAM National 401(k) Plan or exploring $0 cost preventive care services through the National IAM Benefit Trust Fund. SEARCHING FOR A LIGHTHOUSE JOURNEY TO RETIREMENT OCTOBER 2022 12 2 Microsoft Corporation. (2021). Microsoft Digital Defense Report (October 2021) from https://query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com/cms/ api/am/binary/RWMFIi#page=121. 3 Wenliang Hou. (2022, July). How Well Do Retirees Assess the Risks They Face in Retirement? (Issue Brief No. 22-10). Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.