The internet has introduced several new ways for identity thieves to access your personal information online; so while the ease of shopping and banking online may seem like a major time-saver, it has also put you at risk in many new ways.
Identity fraud can be committed by using identity numbers, a signature, name, address, phone numbers, banking and credit card information- almost any personal information can be used to help an criminal access your financial accounts and information.
Phish, horses and spoofs
Phishing is the process of trying to acquire private information from online users by falsely claiming to be an established enterprise; it is typically carried out through e-mail or instant messaging directing users to a fake website.
A more common method involves the familiar Trojan horse; this form of malware allows a hacker remote access to a target computer system- once a Trojan horse has been installed on a target computer system, it is possible for a hacker to access it remotely in order to perform various operations, such as transiting any passwords, usernames and credit card numbers you use on your computer.
E-mail spoofing is a simple yet effective tactic; an e-mail header is forged to make it appear as though the e-mail came from someone other than the actual source. Spoofing is not always malicious software, but it is a known method of phishing.
Pawning your life away on Facebook
To students, this phrase simply refers to spending hours upon hours on the popular social networking site when you more often than not should be studying or working. But very few people stop to think about just how much of their personal information they are indeed pawning away online. Sites such as Facebook and MySpace encourage users to reveal mounds of personal information in order to ‘enhance’ their profile; to the average person, sharing your birth date or previous jobs may not seem like top secret information, but to an identity thief Facebook is like their own personal heroin factory- a fix is always readily available with thousands of people to choose from. Sure there are security settings available, but the Sophos Facebook Privacy Challenge survey has shown some scary results, and you’ll be surprised as to just how much information you’ve really given away:
- 46% of Facebook users accepted friend requests from strangers
- 89% of users in their 20s divulged their full birthday
- Nearly 100% of users post their email address
- Between 30-40% of users list data about their family and friends
Some hints and tips
The answer is simple: protect for personal information. When online, take a look at a site’s privacy policy, make use of any additional privacy settings offered, and look for data encryption (software that prevents intruders from listening in on private communications- if they are able to capture a message, encryption allows them to only view scrambled text) and other similar services. Or, go to Free Byte for free data protection software!
Nextadvisor.com has a really helpful identity theft protection guide: Facebook Identity Theft Protection Guide: 6 tips to protect your identity on Facebook.
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