Internet Identity Theft Can Be Reduced

As more and more people become comfortable conducting business online, the opportunity for internet identity theft increases. For each measure that is taken to protect a person’s identity another breach is found enabling a dishonest person to steal their identity.

Some of the most prolific scams of internet identity theft involve a person simply being asked for their information and, as unfortunate as it may be, some people willingly provide the necessary information to allow someone to steal their identification. A name, social security number and an address is basically all that is needed to assume someone’s financial identity.

Phishing is probably the most common scam helping crooks in their quest for internet identity theft and once they have the needed information; there is virtually no limit to what they can steal from you. When phishing, an unwitting victim will receive what appears to be a legitimate email from a business with which they deal. A claim may be made that your information has been compromised and you should sign into your account and verify your information has not been compromised.

Do Not Help Scammers Steal From You

There will be a convenient link provided to visit to check for compromised information. The web page you are taken to will be a very good duplicate of the real business’ page, but if you look at the link closely, there will be part of a name that is not part of the business name. To help reduce to odds of internet identity theft, you should never go to a web page from an email claiming to need information. Simple close the email and sign onto the web page through its own address.

If you do go through a link and give up personal information, the person effecting the internet identity theft can then access your account information, open new accounts and change your mailing address online and it may be days or even months before you know something is wrong. If no credit card bill arrives for a month or so you may consider yourself lucky in not owing anything until you go to use your charge account and find out that it has been cancelled because it was maxed out and closed for lack of payment.

At that time you may also discover other charges made in your name that you knew nothing about as they were opened for you as a victim of internet identity theft. It can take a long time to get everything straightened out so make sure you do all you can to avoid internet identity theft in the the first place.

Tags: cyber-identity-theft, internet-identity-theft

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