Protect Your Identity Online
Why? To an identity thief, your personal information can provide instant access to your financial
accounts, your credit record, and other assets. If you think no one would be interested in your
personal information, think again. The reality is that anyone can be a victim of identity theft. In
fact, according to a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) survey, there are almost 10 million victims a
year. It’s often difficult to know how thieves obtained their victims’ personal information, and while it definitely can happen offline, some cases start when online data is stolen.
Unfortunately, when it comes to crimes like identity theft, you can’t entirely control whether you will become a victim. But following these tips can help minimize your risk while you’re online:
■ If you’re asked for your personal information—your name, email or home address, phone number, account numbers, or Social Security number—find out how it’s going to be used and how it will be protected before you share it. If you have children, teach them to not give out your last name, your home address, or your phone number on the Internet.
■ If you get an email or pop-up message asking for personal information, don’t reply or click on
the link in the message. The safest course of action is not to respond to requests for your personal or financial information. If you believe there may be a need for such information by a company with whom you have an account or placed an order, contact that company directly in a way you know to be genuine. In any case, don’t send your personal information via email because email is not a secure
transmission method.
■ If you are shopping online, don’t provide your personal or financial information through a company’s website until you have checked for indicators that the site is secure, like a lock icon on the browser’s status bar or a website URL that begins “https:” (the “s” stands for “secure”). Unfortunately, no indicator is foolproof; some scammers have forged security icons.
■ Read website privacy policies. They should explain what personal information the website collects, how the information is used, and whether it is provided to third parties. The privacy policy also should tell you whether you have the right to see what information the website has about you and what security measures the company takes to protect your information. If you don’t see a privacy
policy—or if you can’t understand it—consider doing business elsewhere.
WORDS FOR THE WISE
A hacker is a person who uses the Internet to access computers without permission. A spammer is someone who sends mass amounts of unsolicited commercial email. A virus is software that spreads from computer to computer and damages files or disrupts your system.
