How to Prevent Identity Theft on the Internet

Getting your identity stolen on-line is not a long-shot these days with so many transactions taking place over the Internet. Knowing when to give out information and when not to, could make all the difference to your good name. Something as simple as ordering through a credit card takes on new dimensions when it is done on-line.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

How to Prevent Identity Theft on the Internet

1. The first thing you need to consider is how much you can trust the friends that you make on-line. Giving out your full name, home address or email address can be all it takes to lose your identity to people who know more about computers and hacking than they let on. Deception is the name of that game, and they can be very good at it. Most web users have nick-names that they use while logged in. It is a good idea to continue to use a false name until you have reached the point where you know someone well enough to trust that person.
2. Make sure that you take good care of your credit card information when doing business on-line. Before making your purchase, do some research. Your computer's security system can probably inform on the site to tell you whether or not it is a known scam site. Run a search of the site if possible and see if it turns up on any watch lists. Another good idea is to talk to your friends about the site. Ask them if they have heard of it and if any of them use it. If not then it might be a good idea to use some caution on this one and go elsewhere for your purchase. Have a friend recommend a site to you.
3. Having good safety precautions in place on your own computer is always a good idea as well. Make sure you have an anti-virus program with the capability of recognizing a "problem" web site, as this is also very helpful, not to mention essential to protecting your identity on-line. Do not just sit back and think that nobody can do it to you, after all you are nobody, just another face in the crowd. Tracking cookies bombard your computer every single time you go on-line. Most of them are relatively harmless but unfortunately, not all.
4. Take care with your passwords when you are communicating with virtual strangers on-line. Don't give away anything that you think might help someone to take your identity from you. Be particularly careful with your Pay-Pal account if you have one as that is connected to your bank account and could cost you dearly. Remember to never access the Pay-Pal site from an email. Always remember to take the time to type in the full address when you wish to go there. Plus, you should never save any important passwords on your computer, as those would be vulnerable if the machine was ever stolen.
5. Most web-sites will tell you if they are likely to contact you through email. If the site in question has security issues like Pay-Pal obviously does, it will post a disclaimer right there on the site, stating whether or not you can expect emails when problems arise. If the site does not send emails but you get one anyway, pay no attention to it, or report it to the website as spam and they will do their best to take care of it.

Tips & Warnings

• Try to only use passwords that you can easily remember but not so simple that a good hacker can figure them out with no effort. Use both letters and numbers if possible and make them something that pertains closely to your life and interests so you will find it difficult to forget.
• Make sure you change your email password if you even suspect that someone might have it. It's better to be safe rather than sorry.