With more and more of us signing up to services on the internet with personal details such as our names, home addresses and email addresses, the internet has become a key tool for unscrupulous individuals and organisations looking to steal our identities in order to commit various crimes such as fraud.
For years marketeers have striven to identify who their target audience is for a given product or service and now the internet has given them an unparalleled way to not only identify them but to advertise directly to them. As such information about people, their past times, lifestlyes and careers is becoming increasingly valuable in marketing to drive new business which is more profitable.
Many sites tailor their advertising to match what they think you as an individual may be interested in based upon information they have gathered about you including your browsing habits, previous purchases, location and interests. Services such as Google will even draw information from the content of your emails if you use their Gmail service to build a profile of your interests and to tailor their adverts to them. Although this information which is held with reputable organisations should never be accessible to other individuals either inside or outside of the organisation, the criminals who look to steal identities are trying to create profiles in just the same way by gathering information about you that you have left behind when using the internet.
The most common reasons for people to impersonate you, or steal your identity, using details found online is it to commit fraud. Under you identity, criminals may, for example, attempt to access finances such as loans and credit cards that they wouldn't otherwise be eligible for. If they fail to make repayments or fulfil any of their other obligations for these debts, the consequences fall upon the real you. What's more, criminals may apply for documents such as passports and driving licences to prove their assumed identity when committing other crimes and once they have obtained one piece of documentation the next is always easier.
Knowing the potential dangers of online identity theft, it is therefore paramount that anyone using the internet is aware of the simple steps that they should take to minimise the chances of becoming a victim.
Don't share details with the public - The most fundamental step when protecting yourself against online fraud and more specifically identity theft is not to make your personal details public. Information you release to the internet cannot be deleted and fraudsters will build up a copy of your profile using snippets of information they can find anywhere online. So by not putting your personal details into the public domain in the first place you are making it a lot harder for them.
Take care when sharing with friends - The rise of social networking means that online users are now sharing vast amounts of information, with friends and loved ones, everyday. To get a full social experience online you may want to share your details with trusted individuals such as friends and family but you should always check that by sharing them they will not be seen by anyone else. One pitfall on social networking sites is that details which you make visible to friends may in turn be visible to their friends. You should always make sure you are familiar with the privacy settings on a social networking site, and how to change them, before you start using it.
Don't accept requests from people you don't know or trust - There is sometimes a perceived kudos in making as many friends as possible in social networking circles and some criminals, by posing as a friend, attempt to exploit this to see information that would otherwise be off limits to strangers.
Look for secure certificates/encryption - Whenever you are viewing or supplying information that is personal and sensitive, the page on which you are doing it should be secure. That is, it has a valid security certificate which confirms that information on the page is encrypted when it is transferred (so that no-one else can intercept it). To check if a page is secure, make sure the URL starts "https" in the address bar and that there is a padlock symbol on or next to the address bar. If there are any issues with the validity of the security certificate, your browser will display a warning.
Read Privacy Policies - All websites which gather information about you should publish a privacy policy stating what will happen to that information. If they don't, you should avoid using them.
Check which check boxes you are checking - Many companies will have a desire to pass your details to affiliate organisations or third party organisations for business/marketing reasons, however, they are required by law to ask your permission before they do so. In such cases you will see a check box asking for permission before you submit your details - you should always read these check boxes and if in any doubt as to whether you know or trust the other companies involved, don't consent.
Use websites you trust - There are no black and white rules on this but long established organisations such as Google, Amazon and eBay are accountable for how they manage your information and will carry a higher level of trust. If you are using another website for the first time check their credentials and reputation - with shopping sites this can for example be done by checking buyer feedback on sites such as Google Shopping or Amazon.
Use secure email - Information you send by email is often not secure and as you cannot usually guarantee the security that the recipient has in place you should never send personal information by email. In addition, it is worth using an email service that encrypts the information you send by email such as Gmail so that you can at least ensure data is secure at your end.
Watch out for phishing emails - A common tactic of cyber criminals is to send out emails which appear to be from a reputable source, such as your bank, which encourage you to send them personal information back (phishing). These emails are getting increasingly convincing, so it is important that you never follow links back to a site from an email, especially when you are then asked to supply personal information of any sort. Instead either use your search engine or type the URL straight into your address bar. In addition, never respond to emails asking for personal information - legitimate organisations will never ask you to respond to emails with personal information as they will be prohibited from doing so by data protection laws.
Use strong and different passwords - You should always use different passwords for different accounts or different sites to ensure that if someone does access you personal details and uses them to access one of your accounts, they can't then use the same password to access other accounts. You should also avoid using obvious passwords by using a mix of uppercase, lowercase, numbers and letters.
Avoid unencrypted Wi-Fi networks - Many public Wi-Fi networks aren't secure and allow other people to monitor what information you have on your device, or intercept the information you're submitting. Your device should tell you if a network is secure but if in doubt only use networks you trust.
Have up to date Anti-Virus installed - Make sure you have software installed and up to date which protects you against malicious programs (malware) which may glean information from your computer, such as spyware.
As with everything in life, the internet is never going to be risk free, but by taking sensible and simple precautions to protect against online identity theft you can enjoy a rich and rewarding online experiences with peace of mind.
Five Internet Safety Tips for Government Contractors to Avoid Online Fraud Internet Security: Is Hiding Your IP Address Legal? Why Botnet Detection And Removal Is So Important Best Free Internet Filters - 4 Things You Should Know! Securing Your Privacy in an Online World Internet Cyber Security: How Do Firewalls Work?
