When did you last change your passwords?

So, I was online last night purchasing a few crafty things to make me smile, then I slept like a baby.

After my appointments this morning, the phone call came... from my bank!

Around 4 AM our time, someone at Forest Park in Paris, France, tried to use my debit card for a purchase exceeding $600.  When I heard that, I was soooo thankful that my bank stays on top of strange purchases and stopped it.  The charge was refused and my debit card was cancelled.  I'll have a replacement card in a few days.

If that had cleared, I would have been in a nightmare of epic proportions.

So, the bank did their job, now I am doing mine.  Slowly but surely changing my passwords online, including the passwords on my computer to even access my profile.  (I use 7, so it has user profiles, your computer may be different.)   As I am accessing each of the programs and websites that I use, I am changing the passwords.  I made sure to start with my bank! 

I wanted to share all this so I could ask, "When did you last change your passwords?"  

I think, "new year, new passwords" might be words to live by.  I have had some of the same passwords in excess of 7 years or variations on a theme.  And I could have gone on in bliss indefinitely if not for the wake up call from France. 

Please take a moment and do an inventory of your security.  If you haven't changed your passwords in the past year, please do.  We all have limited resources, so it is especially bad when some stranger tries to tap into them.

After all your passwords are updated, be sure to stop by our website GardenSourceSC.Org and come out to visit us this Sunday at the Plantory for Fellowship and Potluck at 5 PM!