Archives - Identity Theft

Avoid accidentally revealing personal information online

Be careful when streaming, gaming, chatting online, taking photos, or doing anything else that might compromise your privacy. It’s extremely easy to accidentally reveal your identity and location online. Whether you’re a streamer who does business from their home, a gamer with a microphone or showing yourself online in any form, take steps to conceal […]

Use more than one email account

Your email account is one of the most important sources of personal information there are. If someone were to break into it, your confidential data could be decisively compromised. You should have a minimum of two email accounts, with one being a secure backup in case one email account is compromised and you need to […]

Don’t get rid of a hard drive without really erasing it

When you remove something on your computer hard drive, it’s not really gone, just inaccessible through the normal user interface. To really get rid of it, you’ll need specialized software that overwrites the deleted data multiple times. Also, keeping your old drives in storage instead of throwing or giving them away will also lower your […]

Try not to use your debit card for online buying

Most credit cards offer some protection against identity theft and may limit the monetary amount you will be responsible for paying. Debit cards do not offer that protection. Because the charges may be instantly deducted from your account, a hacker who obtains your account information may empty your bank account before you even realize it.

Look out for requests to update your personal information

The majority of organizations – banks, universities, companies, etc. – will not ask for your personal information over email. Do not reveal personally identifiable information online such as your full name, social security number, telephone number, address, insurance policy number, credit card information, or doctor’s name. Don’t open attachments, click on links, or respond to […]

Allow common sense to guide your online posting

It’s a good idea, before you post something online, that you think about what value it provides and consider the consequences of having the information available to the public. Identity theft is an increasing problem, and the more information an attacker can gather about you, the easier it is to pretend to be you. Act […]