Internet Identity Theft: It's Easy to Protect Yourself

You have probably been the recipient of an attempt at Internet identity theft. Yesterday I got an e-mail from PayPal asking me to click on a link where I would update my information. If I didn't do this, my PayPal account would be deactivated. This was actually a scam to try to get my personal information in order to set up an Internet identity theft. These e-mail attempts at Internet identity thefts are tricky. The PayPal logo looked exactly like the real thing and had I clicked onto the link, I'm sure the page would have looked legitimate.

This the most common form or Internet identity theft and is called "phishing." Phishing is the act of sending an e-mail to a user and falsely claiming to be a legitimate business. The recipient of the e-mail is directed to a Web site where they are asked to update information such as passwords, credit card numbers, social security, and bank account numbers. There are usually bad consequences if you don't comply. The site looks just like your real bank, ISP, or PayPal site and it may even have the locked padlock symbol at the bottom of the screen. If this were a legitimate, secured site, the URL would change from http to https or shttp.

Consumers are getting wise to these tricks so Internet identity thieves are trying a new trick. It is very easy to get anonymous VOIP phone numbers so the latest thing in Internet identity theft is to use these phone numbers in an e-mail rather than having the user click on a link. The numbers are bogus and you should only call the numbers on the back of your credit or debit cards.

Here are a few ways to protect yourself against Internet identity theft:

1. Never provide information in answer to an unsolicited request
2. If you think the e-mail may be legitimate, contact the business yourself by calling them using their regular phone number or by going to their legitimate Web site.
3. Never give out your password over the phone.
4. Review your bank and credit card accounts regularly
5. Do not be intimidated by threats to close an account, etc.
6. Keep Windows up to date.

People are much more wary about Internet identity theft than they used to be. A Consumer Reports survey that was printed in Oct. of 2005 found that 53% of those surveyed had stopped giving out personal information for fear of identity theft. 30% of those surveyed have reduced the amount of time they spend on the Internet and 25% no longer purchase from e-commerce sites.

There is really no reason for people to have such fear of Internet Identity Theft if they prevent phishing, if they use secured sites with an s in http, if they install a firewall, and if they keep Windows current. Identity theft is far more likely to occur when your waiter uses a hand held swiper to steal your credit card information or when a corporation or the government gets sloppy about protecting information. There is not much you can do to protect yourself against Internet identity theft if a government employee brings home a laptop holding information on millions of people's identities.

It would be a shame if fear of Internet identity theft prevented all of us from the enjoyment, convenience, and bargains we can get from using the Internet.