Only YOU should be you<br> <i>11
Tips for avoiding identity theft.</i>
March 22, 2007
Statistics show that approximately three percent of all US
households are victims of identity theft. This translates to
approximately ten million victims annually. We have all heard
horror stories of people who have gone to make a major purchase and
were rejected for being "over the limit" or for "having bad credit"
though they knew that wasn't true. Precautions that were sufficient
in the past such as keeping the credit card carbon papers and
shielding the ATM when entering your PIN code just don't cut it in
today's high tech world. Here are some suggestions of things you
can do to avoid being an identity theft victim:
- Encrypt wireless networks at home. Although the web sites you
are visiting may be secure, the data passing from the wireless card
in your PC to the router is not secure unless it is encrypted, and
could be stolen by anyone who can "see" the network.
- Be suspicious of unsolicited email, especially if it is asking
you to enter or confirm personal or financial information. Although
these emails look legitimate, highly skilled hackers create
replicas of well known web sites to steal your private information.
This technique is called Phishing.
- Install security software on your PCs and keep it up to date to
watch for viruses and spyware which can steal your personal
information and transmit it to identity thieves.
- Look for the "lock" when shopping online. Websites which are
secure display a small gold lock at the bottom of the browser
indicating that the data being passed online is encrypted and
safe.
- Keep your identity to yourself when doing casual web surfing.
There is no reason to enter your actual name or email address onto
a site unless you are purchasing something. Use an alternate
address from Yahoo or Hotmail, or even a disposable email address
from a service like SurfSpamFree.
- Don't make it easy for thieves to guess PINs and passwords.
When creating these, do not use birthdays, pet's names, children's
names or other things that would be easy to guess. Try to use a
mixture of letters and numbers, and include some upper and lower
case letters if possible.
- Most debit cards can be used as either debit or credit cards.
Use them as credit cards to avoid having to enter your PIN.
Entering your PIN in public significantly increases your chances of
being the next identity theft victim.
- Shred your trash, or at least the pre-approved credit card
offers and anything else which might have personal information on
it.
- Be aware of pop-up ads on your computer. If the volume of these
has recently increased, it might be an indication that you have
spyware on your PC which could be monitoring your activity and
sending your personal information to a thief somewhere.
- Most importantly, check your credit report regularly. The
credit bureaus are required to give you a free copy of your credit
report annually. If you see anything suspicious on there, check it
out and have it removed. You can order your report through
AnnualCreditReport.com.
- If you're unsure about your computer or network security then
you may be vulnerable to being the next victim of identity theft.
Contact
ForeSite at 1-866-GO-4-SITE if you need assistance keeping your
network safe and secure.