Do we in Jamaica really care about the crucial purpose of the Cybercrimes Act and the Data Protection Act? Are we unwittingly voluntarily contributing to various forms of illegal activity by being careless with personal information? Note that the commission of a cybercrime is, to some extent, facilitated by gaining access to our personally identifiable information (PII).

There is urgent need for these two laws due to the tremendous range of threats they are intended to mitigate.

In my opinion, it seems somewhat counter-intuitive to hand a cashier your bank card instead of merely tapping the card, then, if necessary, carefully covering the keypad while entering your PIN. Giving someone possession of your bank card is dangerous. Think: You present a stranger with the details (front and reverse sides) on your bank card. Mind you, not many of us seem to really notice security cameras recording us. These recordings can easily be reviewed and the video paused for screen grab images to be taken to retrieve your card details. Not good. Well…not for you. Not being cautious might just bring joy to someone else.

However, card detail ‘thiefin’ is not the only concern to be flagged for attention and preventative action by all. Picture this: You can walk into any organisation and observe — in plain view — items with PII facing upwards, not covered: tax registration number (TRN), national insurance scheme (NIS) number, phone and account numbers, next of kin, e-mail, mailing address, and such, all laid bare, naked, like expensive jewellery on display without a glass case. All that delicious PII left vulnerable to other customers, patients, or people just ‘cooling out’ close enough to observe anything with PII left uncovered. Anyone can make a note or capture a photo. Private sector, public sector, it happens, and much too often.

These two laws, by themselves, only offer one layer of protection. We have to do the rest. Apply caution in everyday life. Recommendations? Mindset reset. Let’s all make it tougher for thieves and scammers! Guard your personal information — everywhere! Be protective, be proactive, and take action as necessary: Ask workers to always cover exposed PII. Do not share your passwords! Going online? Use antivirus software on all your devices and avoid using Wi-Fi that’s open to the public for anything more than a casual search.

Also, to hinder eavesdropping and peeping, organisations at which people join a line to get assistance should have someone insist on us not advancing beyond a designated ‘wait here’ spot. That gives a bit of breathing space for privacy when speaking, quietly, with a representative. You can’t tell if someone around you is just plain ‘fass’ or paying attention with evil intent. To boost privacy, maybe the banks, well-known for their highly effective customer management systems, could place a protective screen around the kiosks used to queue customers.

There are so many other things that we can do to protect ourselves; for example, when getting the car cleaned and detailed, keep the car key — and documents too — until that process is completed.

Perhaps the Office of the Information Commissioner and the Ministry of Technology may wish to augment their corporate communications and pursue a more strategic approach. That would include elements like more targeted workplace sensitisation sessions as well as exploring the adoption of mystery shopping, a tactic used by some entities to get a real-life sample of the experiences of customers when interacting with their businesses.

Gordon Brown is a communications management professional (CMP). Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or ordonbrownphotog@gmail.com.