| Are you one of them? The number of people who | | | | can avoid falling into their trap and adding to the |
| have fallen victim to online crimes continues to soar as | | | | number. Here are some tips for you to protect |
| more sophisticated techniques of identity theft are | | | | yourself against identity theft. |
| being developed. You may have purchased a single | | | | First, protect your SSN. It is safer not to carry around |
| item online once, and then found out that your credit | | | | your SSN card as having access to this number can |
| card has been used by unknown people. You may | | | | let the criminal know your credit history, bank account, |
| have clicked something or entered your information in | | | | charge accounts, and utility accounts. The person, |
| a website that you thought was secure, but | | | | once he or she gets hold of these, can open new |
| afterwards, your bills, financial information and other | | | | credit or accounts, and even obtain a driver's license. |
| cards have all been hacked. | | | | Avoid giving out your SSN to people you are dubious |
| These are all cases of identity theft. The sad thing is, | | | | of. |
| they have become common in the Internet scene | | | | Another tip is to fight phishing. It is the act of sending |
| especially with more people opting to purchase online. | | | | email where the criminal pretends he or she is from a |
| This crime occurs when a cyberspace criminal uses | | | | legitimate enterprise or company in order to "phish" for |
| another person's information and pretends to be him or | | | | private information that can be used for identity theft. |
| her. This can be done with your Social Security | | | | The email can lead you to bogus websites that ask |
| Number or SSN, credit card, bank statements, and | | | | for private information like passwords and card |
| more. | | | | information. Ignore this and don't give out anything. In |
| What's more, this crime is actually more complicated | | | | addition, guarding your personal computer against |
| as it seems. It has four categories which include | | | | viruses and spies is a must. Try to use difficult and |
| financial identity theft, where the criminal uses your | | | | strong passwords for your email or any other account. |
| name and SSN to buy goods; criminal identity theft or | | | | You can also use firewalls, spyware protection and |
| posing as another person when apprehended for a | | | | virus protection software. Your browser security must |
| violation or crime; identity cloning, where the person | | | | also be set to at least "medium". |
| adopts your information as his or her identity in | | | | If you think you have just been scammed and |
| everyday life; and, the business or commercial identity | | | | "phished" or just suspicious about something, it is |
| theft, where the criminal gets credit by charging it to | | | | always best to report to officials such as to SSN |
| another's business name. | | | | Fraud hotline. You can also directly contact your credit |
| If you know how these criminals work and what | | | | card issuers, banks, or any financial outlet concerned. |
| means they use to hack information from you, you | | | | Be cautious and protect your identity. |