Identity theft is the fastest-growing cyber crime nowadays. This heinous criminal act involves an individual or a group making an unauthorised use of your personal and sensitive information, such as: name, passwords, credit card numbers, social security number as well as personal details; to either steal from you or commit a crime (usually fraud) in your name. In order to protect yourself and avoid identity theft online, you need to understand the risks and symptoms of an identity theft attack.
How is it done and what are the risks?
” In just about every country around the world there are people who make a living stealing other people’s identities. In fact, identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the world and stories of computer hacking, viruses and scams appear in the news almost daily. And while it may seem like something that only happens to other people, identity theft can affect anyone – including you.”
You can easily figure out if you have fallen a victim of identity theft through these most common signs:
• You aren’t allowed to log into website with your normal password because it has been changed.
• Getting credit cards you didn’t apply for.
• Getting calls from companies about purchases you didn’t make.
• Not receiving bills or other correspondence to your address which indicates that a criminal has changed the billing information.
• Rejection of your credit card for no reason.
• ” Entries on your bank, credit or store card statement for goods you did not order.”
Reasons why you might be pulled into an identity theft scheme:
• Being tricked into inserting personal details and account information into phony websites and emails.
• Sharing sensitive information on social networks, like: credit card information.
• Shoulder surfing through which an attacker can steal your information by looking over your shoulder into your computer, mobile or ATM.
How can you easily protect yourself and avoid identity theft?
The most effective way to avoid identity theft is by not allowing it to happen in the first place. You can easily avoid identity theft by following these important security tips.
1. Use Secret Emails
One of the most important ways to effectively avoid identity theft is to use secret or private email addresses only for the important services you use. When you link everything to your main email address, such as: social media, banking, newsletters, etc.; it would become extremely easy for an attacker to hack into your email and steal your identity and personal data.
2. Security Questions (to lie or not to lie)
As you probably know security questions are used as a means to protect your personal information and to avoid identity theft, especially if you forget your password or get locked out from your account. These questions can be about your pet’s name, parent’s surname, favourite book or movie and so on. Although these questions are required to verify your legitimacy, you don’t have to be truthful about your answers. If an attacker manages to get to that piece of information, you can easily lose your identity and personal data. On the contrary, not being truthful to security questions will help you avoid identity theft.
3. Don’t get hooked on shortened links
While short links may come in handy if you want to post something on Twitter and don’t want to exceed its 140 characters limit, short links can be risky and harmful as their origins aren’t immediately revealed. “To save yourself from being hoodwinked by legitimate-looking websites asking for your account details, always check the browser address bar for legitimacy when clicking upon a short link, and never input any account details if you do not trust the source of the link. It is also worth noting that if a trusted source’s account is compromised, they may be unintentionally spreading malicious links — so if a message looks suspicious, ignore it.”
4. Go Incognito
Another great way to avoid identity theft is by using incognito browsing modes, like in Chrome or private browsing in Firefox. The reason behind this is that when you go incognito, your browser is stopped from saving your browsing activities and will not allow cookies to be stored in your computer.
5. Use a VPN
VPNs are one of the most sought after methods to stay protected on the internet and to avoid identity theft along with other cyber threats. These encryption services are used by millions of people worldwide as they provide their users with optimal protection of personal data and complete anonymity. A VPN is a virtual creation of a highly secure, encrypted physical network of computers connected together for sharing and giving out personal information in a secret fashion. VPN grants you protection from getting your personal information and sensitive data, such as: credit card information,stolen by phishers and hackers. VPN also gives you anonymity every time you go online so that you get the chance to surf the web with absolute freedom without a third party tracing your every move. Check out the best VPN services for 2015, here.
