Internet Identity Theft – Don’t Be a Victim

Internet identity theft continues to be one of the fastest growing crimes worldwide. It’s something that can not only steal your money, but ruin your reputation and leave you with months of work to restore your good name. The good news is that the everyday computer user can substantially reduce the risk of becoming a victim with a few tips and some diligence.

The easiest and most effective thing you can do is pay attention to your email. Email phishing is a scam in which identity thieves send mass emails with the intent of stealing vital information from the reader. It’s pretty effective, largely because computer users just don’t pay attention. These emails are often written in HTML and appear to come from a financial institution, online retailer, or even a government entity. I’ve even seen them designed to look and feel like the IRS website! The key here is to simply delete these emails immediately. Any trusted company would never use an email to request sensitive information. If you think the email may be legitimate, move your mouse over the reply address or the link that appears to “log in” to the website. If it is legitimate, the link will be clean and direct. If it is a scam, the address will not be so clean. It’s also a good idea to never click on a link that is identified only by an IP address.

Another good tip to avoid Internet identity theft is to use temporary credit cards to shop online. Almost all the major credit card companies offer them, including Visa, Mastercard, and Discover, and companies like PayPal are on board as well. Just do an online search for “temporary credit cards” and you’ll find all the information. The way this works is that the consumer signs up for a temporary credit card account and then purchases the card from the desired company. Some are purchased with a single fixed amount, others are reloadable. It is best to use a card with an expiration date within a few weeks of purchase. A little more and you’ll be back to using a normal card. The idea here is that even if a thief gets hold of his information, the card will expire before he can put it to good use. However, this only works if you use the card the way it’s meant to be: temporarily. It can be inconvenient to get a new card every few weeks, but it’s worth it.

One last tip to help prevent Internet identity theft is to protect your wireless network. All modern wireless routers on the market have the built-in ability to protect your network with encryption. WPA-PSK encryption is probably the best option. It’s easy to set up right from your PC and your user manual should be able to guide you. If you’re having trouble, your ISP provider might be able to help, and there’s also the local computer geek who can do it for a small fee. With all of this being said, keep in mind that any wireless security can be hacked given enough time. When you’re not using your computer, turn it OFF. A thief cannot hack into a system that is not turned on. You can also set your wireless router not to broadcast the ESSID. If a thief doesn’t know your network exists, he’ll have a much harder time finding it.

The keys to stopping Internet identity theft are common sense and diligence. Computer users who put in the effort to learn a little and apply common sense solutions are much less likely to fall victim. Those who continue to live with their heads in the sand are asking for trouble.