How to Stop Internet Identity Theft

The Internet has opened unprecedented access to goods and services for people around the world. Today, most people think little of using their credit cards online, but the fact is that many tens of thousands of identities are stolen this way each year. If you want to stop this kind of theft in its tracks, it is important to exercise some caution and common sense wherever your surfing takes you.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Shredder
• Anti-virus software
• Anonymous browser tool

1. Close all windows and log out of every site when you are working in a public space. Any sessions left open or authenticated can become a back door to untold troves of personal information.
2. Decline to save any passwords when you are working in a public space. Many modern browsers and applications ask whether you want to save your login information for later. Cases of identity theft often stem from such careless votes of assent.
3. Avoid buying any goods or services by cell phone or public Wi-Fi. So-called "sniffing" hardware can usually detect credit card numbers in real time, rendering your efforts to stop prying eyes essentially moot. As Internet security protocols improve, this possibility might become safer, but not today.
4. Plug in that keyboard! Although great proximity is required for someone to lift keystrokes off a wireless keyboard, it has been known to happen in cubicles and apartment buildings where people are packed tightly together.
5. Avoid phishing scams. If you receive an email, chat or text message that appears to come from a familiar bank or other institution, do not give away any personal information. Instead, end the conversation and contact the company yourself to check whether the message was real.
6. Stop sharing personal information via instant messaging or text, even if you know the other party. Such communication typically takes place over unsecured party lines, making identity theft a very real danger.
7. Limit your online banking activities to the home. Some of the most sensitive data in your possession travels through such secure connections, and the last thing you want is for a public computer to cache any of that data for Internet-based thieves.
8. Invest in a program designed to stop viruses and other malware from being installed on your computer, such as Norton Antivirus, which is available from the Symantec website (see Resources below). Most security software offers anti-virus tools alongside a host of other features, helping you protect your identity from theft every time you get on the Internet.
9. Check out "anonymizing" software, such as Tor, if you want to keep your IP address from prying eyes (see Resources below). Identity theft is harder for criminals to complete if they cannot figure out who is browsing in the first place.

Tips & Warnings

• There is no such thing as total privacy on the Internet. By its very nature, this is a network composed of multiple nodes that bounce all the data you send between and among themselves many times before it reaches its destination. Any resourceful criminal with access to such servers could compromise what you send, so be careful.