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7 Steps You Must Take to Protect Your Identity
By John F | March 20, 2008
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Below are 7 steps that you must take to protect your identity from being stolen. Identity theft is huge business for fraudsters and organised crime gangs to fund further criminal activity.
1 - Guess what the first step is? Use anti-virus, a firewall, ccleaner, anti-spyware programs and update them regularly. I won’t lecture you on this point too much, as this blog has enough information about these vital programs that you must be running. Please ensure you use them.
2 - Limit what personal details you make available on social networking sites. If you use facebook, bebo, myspace or any similar social networking site then please be aware that some personal details that you entered when signing up are available for most people to see.
Your location, your surname, email addresses and phone numbers etc are visible and these can and will be used by fraudsters to clone your identity. Re-visit what details you have input on any social networking site.
3 - Shred all unwanted personal data. Yes, you may know this, but do you actually do it? Use a cross cut shredder. They cost a bit more than the straight line shredders, but they are worth it. Shred everything you don’t want. Bank statements, credit card statements, phone bills, even junk mail. Don’t throw it away if it has your address or any personal details on it. Shred it.
4 - Check your bank and credit card statements regularly, without fail. If you spot anything suspicious, then get on the phone quick smart and query it. Especially if you see a holiday, computer, flights or trip to the moon [ok I exaggerate a little here!] that you never purchased.
When buying anything over the Internet you should use a credit card rather than a debit card. You have much more protection when purchasing goods via your credit card. Phone up your credit card firm and ask what type of protection they offer. If they don’t, I’d advise moving to a company that does offer online protection.
When out and about shopping never let your credit or debit card leave your site. Especially in the UK now, there is no reason as chip and pin means that you only need to enter your pin for any purchases, which can be done with portable terminals. Be very careful at restaurants and petrol stations, these seem to be the worst culprits for cloning cards.
5 - Passwords. Never ever, ever, ever, ever [I could go on here] give out password or write them down on post it notes and leave around your computer or desk. Yes, I know there are loads of passwords to remember these days. That’s life I’m afraid.
To help you I can suggest a useful program called roboform that will collate all your online passwords and will protect it with a master password. Visit the website and have a look. It’s free and has lots of positive reviews.
6 - Be aware of phishing emails. These are emails pretending to be from your bank, credit card company, eBay or paypal asking you to update your account details as a security precaution. Your bank, credit card company, eBay or paypal will never contact directly via email [or by phone]. They have your details already. They don’t need to update them.
If you receive a suspected phishing email. Do not reply to it. Forward it on to your bank, or the company it pretends to come from. They will deal with it. Ask for feedback once you have sent it. If you receive a suspect phone call, either just put the phone down or [if you feel brave] try and get a name, number or address, without giving any of your details, and report to the police immediately.
7 - When on holiday ensure you don’t make it obvious you are away. Ask somebody to move your mail away from the door and check your home periodically. You’ll reduce the risk of burglary and somebody obtaining your personal details.
If you have moved house or are moving house, make sure you tell relevant organisations that you have moved. Any post going to an old address is just an invitation to identity theft, as the person who lives in your old address could be tempted. The more likely outcome is that they’ll throw any letters not addressed to them away, where somebody could go through their rubbish bin and get access to your identity.
In the UK there is a useful and free website called http://www.iammoving.com/ Enter your details, and it will either alert relevant organisation by electronic format [if they can accept it] or produce a letter you can sign and print off. Very useful.
Identity theft is big business these days. By following the above 7 steps you will stand a much better chance of protecting your identity from being stolen and causing you lots of grief and hassle.
Topics: Computer Privacy Usefulness, Computer Security Usefulness |