Don't be a victim of identity theft
Deb Shinder
Published: 12 May 2006 12:10 BST
Identity theft, which involves misusing another person's credentials and personal information (name, address, national insurance number, driver's licence, credit card, bank account details etc.), is one of the fastest growing crimes. ID thieves usually use this information to access the victim's money, obtain property fraudulently in the victim's name, or disguise their own identity when committing crimes.
According to the US Federal Trade Commission there were more than 685,000 complaints of consumer fraud in America last year, with 37 percent involving ID theft. The true number is considered to be much higher; fightidentitytheft.com estimates 10 million Americans have already been victims, at a total cost of more than $50bn.
There are steps you can take to avoid becoming one of these statistics, and to minimise the damage if you are targeted by an ID thief.
#1: Only shop at trusted sites
Some people think buying things online puts them at inordinate risk of identity theft -- yet those same people think nothing of allowing a waiter or retail store clerk to whisk their credit card away to some back room where they could easily record the numbers and information or even make a "white card" copy of its magnetic strip. The key to safe online financial transactions is to shop only at reputable Web sites and to be sure transactions are secured with SSL encryption (which you can recognise by the little "locked" icon that will appear at the bottom of most Web browsers) so someone can't steal your payment information as it passes across the Internet.One caveat, though: Scam sites can encrypt their transactions too. So we're back to the basic: Buying from Amazon.com or the Microsoft Web site is safer than ordering from Joe's Homepage (unless you know who Joe is and that he can be trusted).
#2: Protect your personal information
Online or off, it's not just your credit card number that you need to guard diligently. In some cases, just a name is enough for an ID thief to gather much more information about you. If you have a name that's common, like John Smith, it won't be so easy, but if your name is unusual, so that you're the only one with that name in your particular city or region, an ID thief may be able to find out your address, phone number, and date of birth through an online "people search".With that information, a thief may be able to dig up details of how much your home is worth, the kind of car you drive, and get an idea of whether you're a good target. Be aware of your online presence and opt out of as many directories and databases as possible.
#3: Protect PINs and passwords
Make sure you have strong passwords for online banking, bill paying and other financial services. Don't use easily discovered passwords such as your mother's maiden name, your social security number or your birth date. A good password is long (at least eight characters; 14 is better) and complex, containing a mixture of upper and lower case letters, numbers, symbols, and not containing any words found in the dictionary. PINs are often limited to four numeric digits. If you have a choice in creating the PIN, make sure the numbers are random and not easy to guess (for example, don't use your street number or the last four digits of your national insurance number).It goes without saying that you shouldn't write down your passwords and PINs, and you should never share them with anyone else. If it's absolutely necessary to do so (for example, in an emergency you need a friend to withdraw money from an ATM with your card), change the password or PIN immediately afterward.
#4: Protect sensitive data on your computer
If you have personal or financial information on your computer, use Windows EFS or a third-party encryption program to protect it. Update virus software regularly and use a firewall to prevent intrusions. Keep your operating system and applications updated, especially with critical security patches. Use an anti-spyware program. Don't use file sharing programs or visit Web sites that are more likely to contain dangerous code, such as hacker sites, porn sites or warez (pirated software) sites. Don't open attachments from people you don't trust and don't click on links in strangers' email messages.Don't put sensitive information on laptops, handheld computers or other portable devices unless absolutely necessary. If you need to access such data on the go, store it on a flash drive or memory card and carry it separately from the computer. Don't set your computer up to log on automatically, especially if it's a portable.
If you sell or give away an old computer, first use an overwriting program to get rid of the information on the drive (just deleting or even formatting is not enough). Even better, remove and destroy the hard disk and let the new owner install another one.
#5: Use an alternate identity for casual Web surfing
Savvy Internet users have learned that it's smart to have multiple email addresses and to use an alternate (for example, an account with a Web mail service such as Hotmail, Yahoo, or Google Mail) when you need to enter information to access a site. If you're just casually surfing and not conducting business, there's no reason to give any site your real email address, or real name, address or other personal information.Some sites require you to register (at no charge) to access or
post to the site. And some of these sell their lists of registered
users for marketing purposes. An identity thief can easily pose as an
advertiser and buy the same list. Having several alternate identities
can help you track down what sites are selling your info. For example,
Jeff might use the name Jeff Johns when he registers on a site called
John's Fishing Gear, and the name Jeff Booker when he registers on a
site called the Big Book Place, and use email addresses associated with
those names (jjohns@gmail.com and jbooker@hotmail.com, for example).
Now when he starts getting tons of spam addressed to his jbooker
account, he knows the Big Book Place is the one that sold his info.
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