Facts About Identity Theft Online
Identity theft occurs when sensitive information such as credit-card, bank-account and Social Security numbers and other personal details is stolen and used to conduct transactions or impersonate the victim.
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Statistics
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According to the Federal Trade Commission, "as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year." A Congressional Research Service report in January stated that incidents of identity theft in 2008 were up 22 percent over the previous year. Privacy Matters warns that although most cases of identity theft occur through "traditional" means such as stolen mail or wallets, in 11.6 percent of fraud cases the information is collected online.
Information Sources
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Identity thieves can gather a victim's personal information online through improperly secured shopping or auction sites, Web-based payment services, computer viruses and "phishing," the act of impersonating a financial, educational or commercial entity to collect sensitive data through fake e-mails and websites.
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How Stolen Information Is Used
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Stolen information can be used to open additional credit-card and bank accounts, take out a loan, commit phone or utilities fraud or have fraudulent government documents created under the victim's name and Social Security number.
Protecting Your Identity
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Protect your identity online by shopping only on websites that secure or encrypt the checkout page; your information is secure when the checkout page link begins with "https" instead of "http." Make sure the merchant offers a privacy policy guaranteeing that your personal information is confidential and will not be shared with a third party.
Reporting Identity Theft
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Victims of identity theft should file a report with local law enforcement and the FTC, notify their financial institutions and contact at least one of the three main credit bureaus.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit digital identity black image by Nicemonkey from Fotolia.com
