Remove your former password and email address from Leakcheck.
Your email address and former password if you didn't change it is DEFINITELY on here if you haven't manually removed it, and had an account before the breach. From the 2020 breach, your information would've been put on this website, where people who pay to view them can access your previous information. To remove it, go to this website: https://leakcheck.io, and create a free account. Once you get to https://leakcheck.io/dashboard, in 'Query' type in any email you have used, and in 'Type' press 'Email'. You will be asked to send an email to "removal@leakcheck.net" from the email that was breached. It will automatically give you a link to remove it. Then follow the instructions to delete the entries that apply to you.
Enable 2 factor authentication.
Enable 2fa on your aj account(s) AND the email associated with the parent dashboard. This will prevent someone with your password from being able to get into your account/email.
Do not re-use your Animal Jam password anywhere else.
If you signed up for example on ToonTown Rewritten with your AJ password, and ToonTown Rewritten gets its database leaked, then anyone can get into your AJ account by seeing your leaked ToonTown Rewritten password. If your Animal Jam password is currently also being used on any other website, change your password right now. Database leaks have been common among all sorts of websites within recent years.
Do not tell your Parent Dashboard email to anyone.
If you have an Instagram Business Profile, don't make your Parent Dashboard email the "contact email". If you have a YouTube channel, do not make it your contact email on your about section. Make sure not to accidentally show it on streams. Do not make it anything obvious like "your.aj.username@gmail.com". Put Two-Factor Authentication on your email if possible. Change your Parent Dashboard email if it does not follow these standards.
Make sure your password is secure and long.
Password crackers can easily get into an account with a password that's only one or two common words. Use capitals, numbers, and special characters. If you fear you won't remember your password if it is super long and secure, then write it down in multiple places, for example putting it in the drawer of your desk.
Lock your account via Parent Dashboard every time you log out of Animal Jam.
That way, if someone cracks into your account, they still can't get on unless they know your email. If someone ends up inside your account while your dash is unlocked, then log in to kick them off, and quickly lock the account. If you do not know your Parent Dashboard email, then it is advised you move main accounts, as that is a major security risk. And if your Parent Dashboard email actually is only accessible by your actual parent, then ask to go on their email, so you can change the email to your own.
If you do not know how to lock your account, you log into your Parent Dashboard from "animaljam.com/parents", then click the "AJ" logo tab, and turn off "Account Enabled" so that it turns red. Now, if you try logging into your account, it will say your account is disabled until you enable it again. To unlock it, you go back and click "Account Enabled" so that it'll turn green.
Do not click on any links you do not recognize. Do not click on "animal jam dot" links that are not "animaljam.com".
Even links like "animal jam dot xyz" are not in any way associated with Animal Jam. Anyone can register an "animal jam dot whatever" website domain, then copy-paste the coding of the real Animal Jam. These fake Animal Jam sites make themselves look as much like Animal Jam as possible, to trick the victim into logging in, but when they "log in", nothing happens - it just sends their information to the hacker. Always check the address bar before you log into Animal Jam, to verify you are logging into "animal jam dot com", not a fake scam website like "animal jam dot xyz".
A new version of this hack is where people tell you to visit their YouTube channel, and ask you if you can help with a video. They say they need you to go to "Animal Jam French/Spanish/etc" for the video, which is linked in their YouTube channel about section. The link in their about section will lead you to a site that looks like it's a foreign language version of Animal Jam, but if you check the address bar, it will be one of these fake scam websites. Their goal is to try to get you to "log in", which won't do anything except send your password to the hacker.
Do not download anything you do not recognize.
You could be downloading a straight-up virus or key logger (a program that tracks all your keyboard presses and sends them to a hacker, so they can find out your passwords). When someone asks you to download cookie-editing extensions, such as Edit This Cookie, it's to gain your log-in token, which they can use to get into your account without your password.
Do not accept free membership or free accounts.
There are multiple ways someone can hack you if they provide you with a free membership, even if it's through a gift card. The risk is even bigger when it comes to being given a "free account". Typically, when a scammer gives away a free account, they wait until the new owner puts rares on the account. Then they go into the Parent Dashboard, change the password, and steal the rares.
If it's too good to be true, it probably is.
Hackers take advantage of your desperate want of a dream item. They will use excuses like "if you go to this link, you'll get a free seal code!". If someone's promising your dream item, and they have a weird way of asking you to get it, it's likely not real.
Your little sibling is probably more gullible than you and will fall for a “free seal code” scam. Your friend might be tempted to take things from you if you stop being friends. If your partner breaks up with you, then they might change the password of the account.