PREVENTING IDENTITY THEFT

This information I get is summarized from NATIONAL CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL (NCPC) report about PREVENTING IDENTITY THEFT.

According to U.S Department of Justice Identity theft defines as follow:

“Identity theft is a crime. Identity theft and identity fraud are terms used to refer to all types of crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person’s personal data in some way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain.”

Facts and Figures

According to the U.S. Postal Service, there were almost ten million incidents of identity theft in the United States in 2004, a huge figure dwarfed only by its cost to consumers—$5 billion. And limiting your use of your personal computer may not help much: a study released in January 2005 by the Better Business Bureau and Javelin Strategy and Research reported that most identity thefts take place offline, not online—just the opposite of what many folks might think. In fact, the study found, the theft of online information accounted for only 11.6 percent of identity fraud cases.

What is the trick?

Here are some samples of identity theft trick on online activity which was done most:

Hack into a computer that contains your personal records and steal the data

Phish by sending a legitimate-looking email that directs you to a phony website that looks legitimate and asks for your personal and financial data.

“Pharm” a tactic by which criminals “hijack” whole domains to their own sites and gather the personal and financial data of users who believe they’re communicating through their customary service provider.

Send fraudulent spam emails that promise huge prizes or bargains in return for personal and financial information

HOW TO PREVENT FROM IDENTITY THEFT?

E-Commerce

Make sure nobody is standing right behind you when you’re using an ATM machine. He or she may be trying to photograph your card number and password with a camera cell phone. Always shield your hand and the screen, even if no one’s right behind you.

Pay your bills online using a secure site if that service is available.

Don’t give out your credit card number on the Internet unless it is encrypted on a secure site.

Mail Matters

Don’t put outgoing mail, especially bill payments, in personal curbside mailboxes. Use United States

Postal Service mailboxes instead, or, better yet, drop off your mail inside a post office.

Use a locked mailbox with a slot at home, if at all possible.

Don’t put outgoing mail in an unguarded “out box” at work.

Don’t write your account number on the outside of envelopes containing bill payments.

When you’re out of town, have the post office hold your mail for you or have someone you trust

pick it up every day.

OK, MAKE YOUR LUCK BY EXECUTING the above tips.

Reference: NATIONAL CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL (NCPC) report.

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