Preventing Online/Computer Identity Theft

Since half of all identity theft occurs online, you’ll want to take a good look at some of the methods you can use to prevent your personal data from being stolen while you’re buying and selling online, sending e-mail, or even just web browsing.

Stay secure—get the upgrades
Internet security begins with making sure that you have the all the current security updates for your operating system. Windows, for instance, has a special site where you can go to check for updates, and the later versions of Windows will prompt you periodically to check for critical upgrades.

Operating system security patches are easy and free, so take advantage of them—update!

Use a firewall
The next thing you’ll want to get is a firewall. This is software that acts as a shield against hackers, worms, browser hijackers, and malicious spyware that might be directed at your computer when you’re online. Firewalls are highly-recommended tools, but when a firewall is configured wrong it can leave you exposed and vulnerable.

If you aren’t firewall-savvy, consider purchasing a firewall from a company that performs a port scan to help determine your level of risk. The company’s port scanner should be fast and include the ability to scan all 65,535 ports.

Seek out and eliminate spyware
When your browser starts to slow down and your cursor is lagging behind your mouse, you should suspect a spyware infestation. Spyware is malicious code that is inserted onto your computer without your knowledge and it collects information about you. Many marketers use it innocently to gather information about buying preferences, but thieves also use it to steal personal information.

In addition to the security risk, spyware can be annoying when it results in browser hijack attempts. This can also be a risk for children.

Often the spyware does other undesirable things to your computer besides identity theft. How would you feel if your young daughter’s browser was hijacked and it led her to a pornographic site?

Unknowingly, there are many ‘spyware prevention’ software companies that unknowingly install their own spyware on your computer when you purchase and install their computer. Be sure you obtain spyware prevention software from a reputable provider. There are many free spyware programs available online.

Pflush phishers
As we mentioned earlier, there are also many e-mail scams circulating, mostly by phishers who send you a very realistic-looking e-mail purporting to be from a large company. The best tool to use against these scams is your common sense. Phony phishing e-mails used to be easy to spot, since they resembled spam, with very poor spelling, poor grammar, and misused English words.

Unfortunately, the phishing scammers are getting much better. Many of their e-mails now have the same professional language, spelling, and grammar use you’d expect from a real company, complete with an identical logo. Phishers used to use look-alike logos that could be detected as false if you really looked, but now they just steal the company’s logo.

The FBI reports that e-mail phishing scams are the fastest-growing form of internet identity theft. What would you do if you clicked on a link you though was from a trusted source and it caused you to lose $50,000?

Evil E-mail scams
What would you do if you received a very authentic-looking e-mail from your mortgage company, advising you that your loan was about to default and telling you to click on a link immediately to clear up the matter, or to update your security information? And what if the return address was the same domain as the company’s real site?

This very scenario happened to thousands of Washington Mutual customers in 2005. The e-mails were perfectly written and they were from wamu.com, which is Washington Mutual’s domain. How did this happen? Online thieves are now able to forge DNS entries and make it appear as if e-mails came from a legitimate source. And that link they wanted people to click on went to a phony site that looked just like the real one…except for a slight difference in the url.

So if you’re tempted to respond to an urgent e-mail that seems to be from a company you do business with, don’t click on the link and don’t reply. Pick up the phone and call the company. Make sure the number you call is the one on your bill, not one in the e-mail.

Internet Fraud
In addition to the many benefits the Internet brings, it’s also fertile ground for identity theft. When you buy online, make sure that the company you’re dealing with is legitimate. And when it’s time to pay, make sure they use secure socket layers (SSL) protection for your credit card numbers.

Many online merchants offer you the convenience of setting up an account so that you won’t have to enter your credit card information for every transaction. Think long and hard before you take them up on this, since it means that they’ll be storing your credit card data. Who will have access to it? You’re not there at that company, so you won’t know.

What would you do if you bought something online, then on your next statement there were thousands of dollars in fraudulent charges? Do you have a plan?

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