Hotbeds for Identity Theft Online

 

Identity theft is an ever-increasing epidemic that affects millions worldwide. With the advent of the internet, this crime has become more frequent, and more difficult for unsuspecting citizens to dodge. That's why there's no other time to be informed than now about this crime, so that it may be prevented from happening to you. Listed below are ten hotbeds for identity theft online for you to watch out for and steer clear of.

 

1. Phishing. Targeted companies include PayPal, Citibank, eBay, America Online, the Internal Revenue Service, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America, with more entering the list every week.

 

Usually, you receive messages in your email inbox, purporting to be from the system administrator of the company, asking you to fill out a form that needs your personal information. Be very careful about these. Legitimate companies usually do not ask for your personal information via email.

 

2. Online shopping stores. Some of these stores do not contain secure online shopping, and personal information you submit online may be intercepted by unscrupulous users. It is important that before you place an order, to look for a closed "lock" icon on the bottom of the page and make sure the address begins with "https". This signifies that encryption software is being used to create a secure transaction.

 

3. University networks. The most recent breach has been commited at the University of Colorado, where it had been hacked by people from eastern Europe who originally just wanted a place where they could stash their files. In the end the personal information of over 42,000 students was compromised.

 

4. Identity theft protection services and credit repair companies. Are you shocked yet? It's true! Ironically, many services are actually fronts to get you to send them your social security number, your mother's maiden name, and your credit card number. Always check out the firm with the Better Business Bureau if you are unsure about it.

 

5. Lottery scams. You've probably received an email about winning a lottery you've never joined. Yes folks, it's too good to be true, and congratulate yourself for being wise as a serpent and immediately junking that email. They will ask you for your personal data. If they do, ask for a written application form. If they refuse, just tell them you're not interested.

 

6. Peer-to-peer file sharing networks, such as Kazaa and others. This allows quite a number of people to access a portion of your computer. This grants unscrupulous users the ability to gain access and maybe even exploit flaws in your security measures. Firewalls usually do the trick but several file sharing programs contain spyware and thus need to be taken seriously.

 

7. Wireless networks. Many people are clueless about setting up security for wireless networks, maybe because it's so new. Many sophisticated users like to go "wardriving," that is, to go around the neighborhood with a wireless network detection device. Some people even go so far as to hack through the networks (because many people don't even change the default security codes of their routers).