1What is Identity Theft?

Identity theft is the fraudulent use of your financial information and other personal information related to your identity for criminal purposes. An example of identity theft would be if someone stole your credit card and then ran up a huge bill. Another example might be obtaining credit from a lending source using your personal information. Your identity can be stolen both offline and online and involves any type of unlawful use of information which is associated with your identity.

2How Can Your Identity Be Stolen?

Offline your identity can be stolen through personal papers in your trash, unlawful use of you Social Security number, lost or stolen credit card, and from anywhere you reveal personal information.

Online is a much different story and this is where the process gets more complicated. Here are some of the ways your identity can be stolen online:

• Phishing Scams: Phishing is the online term for a process which is used to trick people into revealing their personal information online. Here is a classic scenario: You receive an email that looks like it was sent by your bank. The title states that you must verify your information or your account will be closed. An unsuspecting person will panic, click on the link which is provided in the email to verify personal information. Upon clicking the link they are hijacked to a bogus website that looks identical to the bank website to enter their username and password. From there they are taken to another bogus page to type in their personal information to verify it. When they click the “Submit” button the information is forwarded to a remote server where criminals can access it for identity theft.

 

• Malware: Malware is software which is used for malicious purposes. It is manufactured by online criminals and downloaded to your PC either through trickery or without your knowledge. Once the software is in your PC it can spy on all of your computing activity including logging your keystrokes for passwords that you enter into websites you use. The software runs in the background of your PC without your knowledge.

   

  Here is a classic scenario of how your identity is stolen through malware: You encounter a pop-up ad that presents you with a message that your PC is infected with multiple viruses. The message tells you to click on the pop-up for a free scan to remove the viruses from your PC. Once you click on the message malware is downloaded to your computer for the purpose of spying on your activity. This method can also be used to steal your identity by telling you that the free scan still found viruses and that you need to purchase the full version to get rid of it. Once you enter your credit card information it is forwarded to a remote server for the purpose of identity theft. The virus removal of course is bogus.

 

• Password Theft: Online criminals use software that is specifically designed for stealing passwords by guessing them. The software will keep trying different combinations of passwords until it hits on the right one. Regardless of what your password is the software will not give up until it guesses your banking or any other type of password you use online.

These are only a few scenarios to give you an idea of how criminals can commit identity theft. There are new methods coming out on a regular basis.

3Avoiding Identity Theft

There are precautions you can take to help prevent identity theft. Here are a few methods you can use:

• Protect Your PC: Protect your PC by deploying a reputable antivirus/anti-malware program and activate a firewall both on your network and on your PC. Perform regular scans of your PC for any suspicious activity.

 

• Use a Paper Shredder: Get in the habit of shredding all of your documents before placing them in the garbage. Use a paper shredder that is capable of shredding both ways.

 

• Type in the URL: When you want to use sites such as your banking site, type the URL in the browser by hand to ensure you are on the right site before you enter your information. Also, do not respond to emails that claim to be from your financial institution. Instead, call your bank and ask.

 

• Change Your Password Often: Create passwords that are difficult to guess and then change them often. For example, a strong password might be “I*like#to%eAt#PizZa@” where a weak password might be “pass.” Although it requires you to remember your new password each time this is a low price to pay compared to a stolen identity.

 

• Click with Caution: Click on links with caution because criminals can hide malware inside the links, and try to stick with websites you trust.

 

4What to Do If Your Identity is Stolen

If you have discovered that someone is using your identity, cancel your credit cards immediately, close your bank account and any other sources they can use to cause further financial damage. You can work with your financial institutions to try and resolve the problem and once you have worked things out, get your credit rating back in order.

The other thing you can do is ask an Identity Theft Protection Service to help you. These are services that will help you pick up the pieces and monitor your credit activity for a long time after. Often this service is offered for a small monthly fee and offers a wide array of identity theft protection services. Even if your identity has not been stolen, you may want to consider one of these services as an added protective measure to prevent identity theft.