The online medium has brought with itself many benefits along with some risks. Online identity theft is also one of the risks that are definitely not a pleasant experience for anyone. Cyber criminals are always looking for such ways by which they are able to gain profit. They can open accounts in your name and mask themselves as you for various reasons. The information available online is a lot and thieves these days can plan an identity theft from the comfort of their home.
These risks have increased the threat to your personal information online. Not using online medium is one of the perfect ways by which you can prevent the identity theft. However, once you get used to it, it becomes really hard to resist online medium. Yet no one wants their identity to get stolen. So let’s jump on the ways by which you can prevent online identity theft:
Beware of phishing websites
There are websites which are not legitimate but present themselves as one. These websites are specifically developed to steal information of the internet users are called phishing websites. They ask for your username and password, your social security number, address and other personal detail.
You can detect the site as a phishing website if it demands you for bank account number, driver’s license number, health insurance ID or credit card number. To can differentiate the request whether it is from a legitimate site or not, if the request for information was unwanted. You can also visit the organization’s main web page and ask them to ensure their legitimacy.
Antivirus/Anti-Malware Program
Virus and malware are the biggest threat by which online identity theft can occur. There are a number of ways by which keyloggers, backdoors, and other such nasty applications get installed on your system as a result allow entrance to your system. The most reliable prevention from malware and virus is the installation of a program that can detect them and kill them. Thus, having a good anti-virus and anti-malware program becomes a necessity in safeguarding identity online.
Distinctive passwords
Online accounts and emails are the keys to your personal information, which a cyber criminal may exploit very well and gain access to your information. You should have a dissimilar password for each website and the password should be made strong enough so that the attacker is unable to crack it. Hence, password security is essential for the prevention of online identity theft. Making a password that is strong and secure is the first step to the prevention of online identity theft.
Wireless Network Security
In order to reduce fraud and identity theft, security of the wireless network has many reasons to be a priority. If your wireless connection does not have any password then not only the criminal can use the network without your awareness but can also sneak into the websites that you use. This helps them to make a detailed profile about you and the websites that you visit. Many websites may not encrypt your login information which helps the hackers to access users information. Thus protection of wireless connection with a password reduces the chances of online identity theft.
Trust reputable sources to download software
The downloading of a software program should always be done from a known source. Never download software from an unknown source. Installing games, screensavers, warez, cracks from websites that are disreputable can cause backdoors and Trojans that your antivirus application may be able or not able to catch. Keeping your antivirus updated with latest updates can minimize the chances of gigantic loss.
Avoid giving too much info on social channels
It is very important that you stay vigilant while giving too much information online. Some people check into banks occasionally on FourSquare, this is not good because who you use the bank for becomes known to everyone which can make you an easy target for identity theft. To prevent identity theft, remember not to share a lot of information on the social channels that the cyber criminals may use to impersonate you.
Conclusion
Getting your personal data stolen is the most disconcerting thing for an online user. Because all information on the internet is connected to one another, theft of a single account can lead to terrible damages. However, one can always be prepared for any such situations by already being shielded by some preventive measures. We recommended the most widespread ways that an online user can make use to protect him from online identity theft. Yet, being vigilant while using the internet is the key to perfect security.