Identity theft prevention is a very real need in our modern society, which has become increasingly dependent on electronic technology, including electronic financial systems and tools. With modern conveniences such as online shopping and online bill payments, the possibility of stolen information is ever more rampant, which makes identity theft a very real danger.
The horror of finding one's funds depleted by hackers is one of the greatest fears of those with electronic bank and payment accounts. Credit card holders, for instance, can be charged for purchases they have never made while being forced to pay these charged.
No electronic banking customer should have to live through any of these horrors. With some secure moves to protect your online privacy, you will be able to sleep better at night.
Here are some ways that you can protect yourself and your family from online identity theft:
Follow safe email and IM practices. As a general rule, avoid clicking links that come in through instant messaging and email. If an instant message with a link comes in from people you don't know, ignore the message. If you receive these types of emails, mark them as “SPAM” immediately. In general, links that come from SPAM and unsafe sources have a structure of random letters and numbers. If you're expecting emails with URL recommendations from friends and family, and the URL follows a structure that is recognizable and from standard domain sources (i.e. "yahoo.com," "cnn.com," "google.com"), these are generally safe.
Follow safe browsing practices. Use browsing protection software like the McAfee SiteAdvisor, so that you can check whether the links you'll be viewing either from your email or your messaging service are safe or not. Employing these practices helps you keep yourself from entering your PINs and Passwords on fraudulent sites, which could then steal your details and allow the criminals behind these sites to hack into and steal from your electronic financial accounts.
Shop only from reputable sources. Shop from the top online retail and e-commerce websites only. These websites have developed a reputation for trustworthiness and reliability for online transactions. Make it a habit to check for customer feedback, especially if you chose to buy items from smaller-scale retailers. Anything less than 100% positive feedbacks are cause for alarm. Check the negative feedback for the reasons why the specific customers gave this type of feedback and qualify whether it's worth being alarmed over or not. If these reasons aren't too alarming for you, then it may be safe to proceed with your transaction.
Avoid sharing, posting or revealing pertinent financial account information. Your Social Security Number and full birth date are two of the most important numbers you should never share with anyone. Because these two details are used in financial accounts (as well as to verify your identity), identity theft criminals may use these details to hack your account and steal information from you. Keep yourself safe and prevent ID theft by refusing to share these details. This applies even on your social networking profiles: If you like those Facebook greetings on your birthday, you could opt to not share the year of your birth.
Set up fraud alerts. You may seek the assistance of any of several fraud alert companies. These companies will put an alert on your credit file and you can request for reports if you suspect that fraudulent activity is occurring on any or all of your financial accounts.
With these preventive measures, you can better safeguard your identity online when you shop. Are you already practicing them? It might be a good idea to start, right now!
Amy is an active blogger who is fond of sharing interesting finance related articles to encourage people to manage and protect their finances. Read more on how to prevent id theft while using electronic gadgets and why women are more prone to id thefts.
