For Preventing Identity Theft Online: 5 Must-Follow Tips
Preventing identity theft online is vital, and with good reason. In 2008, nearly 10 million people had some type of identity theft crime committed against them. A major part of this is due to the explosion and convenience of online commerce and communication. The good news is that while identity theft is common, a little knowledge goes a long way to help prevent potential issues.
To get you started, here are 5 Must-Follow Tips For Preventing Identity Theft Online:
1) Avoid Identity Thieves and don’t respond to unsolicited emails
Never fill out credit card or personal information on an unsolicited email, despite the name of the person or company the email appears to be coming from. Identity thieves are clever and figure out ways to make it seem like the email is legitimate, even going so far as to create email addresses that mirror those that are from a legitimate company. Keep in mind that reputable companies will never ask for personal information in this manner.
2) Use strong passwords to avoid ID Hackers
While a brute force attack by a hacker into a site with sensitive data such as your bank account is unlikely, you can make it nearly impossible by using a strong password. Remember to make passwords 8 characters in length or greater, and use symbols such as exclamation marks and ampersands.
Also, do not use the same password across all of your sites. That way if someone is able to steal your identity and gains access to one place, they are not able to get in everywhere.
3) Prevent Identity Theft by keeping your system secure
By using anti-virus, anti-spyware software and setting up a firewall on your system and keeping them up to date, the chances of identity theft occurring decrease dramatically. These three items together protect both local files and your web interactions. Identity thieves, viruses and automated scripting software designed to steal your identity all take the path of least resistance, and they will skip over protected computers.
4) Always update your web browser and operating system to the latest version
Software companies and browser developers are constantly updating their software to keep them as secure as possible. By not updating, you leave yourself vulnerable to attacks.
5) Keep your Identity Safe when disposing of an old computer
Just like you would shred old credit cards or sensitive documents, you must do something similar with the disposal of an old computer. Clean the hard drive with a strong “wipe” utility program (such as the free utility Kill Disk) if you are reselling the computer – do not rely on the delete function as your files may still be accessible. If you are merely throwing the computer away, consider pulling out or keeping the hard drive.
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