Jesse Whitehead asked:
Do you realize that as you read this article that criminals are searching for new ways in which to steal your identity? This does not mean they want to actually wear your shoes and sleep in your bed! What it means is that through your personal details, an individual can open numerous bank accounts and credit card accounts, and acquire various financial services. It is essential to understand how to prevent identity theft as otherwise you may lose an untold amount of money to these thieves.
There are two main areas through which a criminal will attempt to get hold of your confidential personal information. First, there is the old-fashioned method of going through household trash to find any documents that may contain such information. If you want to minimize the chance of falling victim to this crime then you should ask your bank or credit card company to cut down on the number of paper statements they send to you. Also, any documents you receive through the mail should be thoroughly disposed of by shredding.
Secondly, the internet has allowed criminals to have many different methods of stealing an identity. Sadly there are new scams being perpetuated all the time on the unsuspecting. For instance, it is possible for your system to be infected with spyware that steals important data from your computer and sends it back to a host computer.
We all receive emails from unknown people promising us money if we give them some of our personal information. Never reply to such messages. If you receive an email that claims to be from you bank, then you should be more than a little suspicious.
It has happened that people have received mails purporting to be from their bank asking for pin numbers and passwords. Only after giving out this information did they discover they had been the victim of a phishing scam.
If you are ever unsure about any correspondence – be it by email, regular mail, or phone – don’t hesitate to double check. It would not take you long to ring up your bank to find out if they have really sent that email asking for your password details.
It is generally a good idea not to store important personal information on your computer’s hard drive. The exception is if you the information encrypted and password protected. A good password and login management software is RoboForm, which allow users to use a master password to protect all of their user names, passwords, PINs and so forth in an encrypted database on the computer.
There are also other software applications that can help you manage your personal information. Just be sure it has a method for encrypting and/or protecting with a master password.
As long as you understand the ways in which identity theft operates you should be able to take steps to protect yourself. Be proactive, and don’t wait until you become a victim to take action.
Helen
Do you realize that as you read this article that criminals are searching for new ways in which to steal your identity? This does not mean they want to actually wear your shoes and sleep in your bed! What it means is that through your personal details, an individual can open numerous bank accounts and credit card accounts, and acquire various financial services. It is essential to understand how to prevent identity theft as otherwise you may lose an untold amount of money to these thieves.
There are two main areas through which a criminal will attempt to get hold of your confidential personal information. First, there is the old-fashioned method of going through household trash to find any documents that may contain such information. If you want to minimize the chance of falling victim to this crime then you should ask your bank or credit card company to cut down on the number of paper statements they send to you. Also, any documents you receive through the mail should be thoroughly disposed of by shredding.
Secondly, the internet has allowed criminals to have many different methods of stealing an identity. Sadly there are new scams being perpetuated all the time on the unsuspecting. For instance, it is possible for your system to be infected with spyware that steals important data from your computer and sends it back to a host computer.
We all receive emails from unknown people promising us money if we give them some of our personal information. Never reply to such messages. If you receive an email that claims to be from you bank, then you should be more than a little suspicious.
It has happened that people have received mails purporting to be from their bank asking for pin numbers and passwords. Only after giving out this information did they discover they had been the victim of a phishing scam.
If you are ever unsure about any correspondence – be it by email, regular mail, or phone – don’t hesitate to double check. It would not take you long to ring up your bank to find out if they have really sent that email asking for your password details.
It is generally a good idea not to store important personal information on your computer’s hard drive. The exception is if you the information encrypted and password protected. A good password and login management software is RoboForm, which allow users to use a master password to protect all of their user names, passwords, PINs and so forth in an encrypted database on the computer.
There are also other software applications that can help you manage your personal information. Just be sure it has a method for encrypting and/or protecting with a master password.
As long as you understand the ways in which identity theft operates you should be able to take steps to protect yourself. Be proactive, and don’t wait until you become a victim to take action.
Helen
