Identity theft takes many forms, not least of all, online identity theft. Although it is more difficult to avoid identity theft in real life, there are many online practices that can be followed to avoid internet identity theft. Firstly, it is important to understand why your identity might be stolen online. The rewards for criminals are almost always financial. Whether it’s simple credit card fraud or a more complicated process of obtaining a cell phone contract or other goods and services on your name, the goal of the thief is simple. Use your information as soon as possible, use as much as possible and disappear as quickly as possible. This modus operandi is the unfortunate cause of many victims never finding any kind of justice. Companies worldwide lose millions per year in restitutions to victims who were able to prove that they did not purchase goods online. If you want to get an idea of how easy it is for a thief to obtain information about you, merely Google your own name. If it is a common name, you may have to dig around a bit to find yourself. If it is uncommon, you will probably find some rather shocking results. It is therefore important to cultivate good online security habits.

Web 2.0:

Social networking sites may have brought us closer to old school friends and long lost family members, but it is important not to get too chatty about your personal information on public posts such as Facebook, Myspace or Twitter. Do not put your address (home or work), contact number, social security number or any similar information online. Create an offsite e-mail address through Gmail or Yahoo and use that as your point of contact.

Falling for the Look:

Banks and similar legally run companies will never send you an e-mail requiring your account details, updates on personal information and certainly not your PIN codes or account details. Never follow a link to one of these sites directly from the e-mail either. Just because it looks like the proper company because of the logo, doesn’t mean that it is. Similarly, when going to your banking website, keep an eye on the browser before filling in your details. If the URL in that browser changes for any reason before you have entered your info, exit and call the bank.

Home data storage:

Whenever you go online, your computer is vulnerable to hacks and programmes that are built to come in and have a look around. Most firewalls and anti-virus programmes are built to protect your computer from these attacks, but sometimes, they slip through and have a few minutes before being detected. Never mark files on your PC with phrases like “banking” or “finance”. If you must keep a file of your credit card numbers or similar financial details, password protect the document with a non-dictionary word and if possible, use a code that does not include anything bank related. Also, “password” is not a clever password. It’s the first one anyone will try. Choose passwords which include numbers and symbols along with letters.

The rewards for criminals are almost always financial. Whether it’s simple credit card fraud or a more complicated process of obtaining a cell phone contract or other goods and services on your name, the goal of the thief is simple. Use your information as soon as possible, use as much as possible and disappear as quickly as possible. This modus operandi is the unfortunate cause of many victims never finding any kind of justice. Companies worldwide lose millions per year in restitutions to victims who were able to prove that they did not purchase goods online. If you want to get an idea of how easy it is for a thief to obtain information about you, merely Google your own name. If it is a common name, you may have to dig around a bit to find yourself. If it is uncommon, you will probably find some rather shocking results. It is therefore important to cultivate good online security habits.

Web 2.0:

Social networking sites may have brought us closer to old school friends and long lost family members, but it is important not to get too chatty about your personal information on public posts such as Facebook, Myspace or Twitter. Do not put your address (home or work), contact number, social security number or any similar information online. Create an offsite e-mail address through Gmail or Yahoo and use that as your point of contact.

Falling for the Look:

Banks and similar legally run companies will never send you an e-mail requiring your account details, updates on personal information and certainly not your PIN codes or account details. Never follow a link to one of these sites directly from the e-mail either. Just because it looks like the proper company because of the logo, doesn’t mean that it is. Similarly, when going to your banking website, keep an eye on the browser before filling in your details. If the URL in that browser changes for any reason before you have entered your info, exit and call the bank.

Home data storage:

Whenever you go online, your computer is vulnerable to hacks and programmes that are built to come in and have a look around. Most firewalls and anti-virus programmes are built to protect your computer from these attacks, but sometimes, they slip through and have a few minutes before being detected. Never mark files on your PC with phrases like “banking” or “finance”. If you must keep a file of your credit card numbers or similar financial details, password protect the document with a non-dictionary word and if possible, use a code that does not include anything bank related. Also, “password” is not a clever password. It’s the first one anyone will try. Choose passwords which include numbers and symbols along with letters.

The facts are quite clear and the current rising statistics speak for themselves. Avoiding identity theft completely is simply not possible. At some point in your daily dealings you will need to fill in a form at a doctors’ office, open a bank account or complete a service agreement or contract. That’s not including the various amounts of loans, mortgages, credit cards and car finance contracts that most of us enter into. For legal reasons, these institutions require your information in order to identify you as the responsible party. Once your information enters their database, you no longer have control over its progress through the system or security. What makes total avoidance of identity theft and similar types of fraud even more unlikely are the various legal practices of selling information. When a company decides to sell its debt, it makes an agreement with a “collection company” who is willing to purchase your contract at say, 75c to the dollar. This means that the original company makes a bit of a loss, but doesn’t have to go through the hassle of trying to recoup the money from you. Now company number two has all your relevant information including name, social security number, contact details, physical address and annual salary. Legally speaking they only use this information to send you letters and make contact with you to try and make a profit on their purchase. The grey area comes when company two is finished with your information. Let’s say that you have finally paid them and completed your financial obligations. Do they erase you from their database? The sad thing is they don’t. Information like this is valuable and many companies, even legitimate ones seem reluctant to part with such a large amount of data including interesting titbits, like your annual salary. After all, this information can be extremely useful to a marketing company. Enter company number 3 who, once again, completely legitimately purchases the database from the collections agency. The information they have is only used for market research (i.e. how much do men between the ages of 35 and 45 make annually). They won’t erase your information either, they will sell it again, and so, your personal details will be passed from hand to hand until you get phone calls from telemarketers for newspaper subscriptions and insurance. It is important to remember that none of these practices are necessarily illegal. All of these companies have merely used your information in the interests of commerce. What is disturbing though is the fact that this information is archived on systems that may be more vulnerable to hacking than bank or government databases are. It is important to do your best to protect personally identifiable information in your own capacity. The real protection however, will come when legislation catches up with the size of the problem.

There are certain practices that are obvious. Never give information over the phone or to a person without due cause or identification. Just because people say they are phoning from the bank or from a certain company, it unfortunately does not mean that they are telling the truth. Similarly, e-mails from banking institutions will never ask you to submit telling information. This is known as “phishing” and is one of the most common methods of online fraud around. Your banking website should have several pages of information on this particular phenomenon. As stated before, it is not really possible to completely protect your identity as you are not the only one with this information. Identity theft prevention should therefore be more clearly defined as identity theft protection. By following certain practices and making a habit of conservative data sharing, you can minimise the risk by making it more difficult for criminals to access your information.

Make sure that your business, personal and contractual dealings remain completely legal. When we begin blurring the lines between what is legally acceptable and what might be considered unethical or immoral, we also open ourselves to a world of ways to be victimised. When your personal or professional dealings are not on the level, you make yourself vulnerable. If you do ever discover that your identity has been used for some or other reason, it becomes difficult to report it. Identity theft does not end at financially fraudulent behaviour. A good identity is valuable to illegal immigrants and those engaging in acts of terrorism and espionage as well. There are many resources that will point you in the right direction of minimising the possibility of identity theft. Common sense also plays a role though. Never throw important information just like that out in the garbage. This includes credit card and utility bills and statements. When submitting information in a public setting, and you feel uncomfortable about those who may overhear you, be sure to write down the information rather than make it available for potential eavesdroppers. Never give more information than is necessary and never be afraid to ask for proper accreditation from companies or credentials from individuals. Trust your instincts and have a healthy respect for the value of your personal data. This includes your names, the names of your family, social security number, your residential or work address, telephone numbers, account numbers, bank or credit card numbers and financial balance information.

It is a great pity that we cannot trust strangers, but in a world of burgeoning crime, we should not completely mistrust everybody we meet. Merely politely ask them for the credentials you need in the interests of protecting yourself and your family.