Threats of Identity Theft in Today's Society

In today's world of e-mail, automated phone calls, and direct mail advertisements threats of identity theft can come in many different forms. In this article we are going to detail threats received via e-mail. First off, one surefire way to prevent identity theft from occurring based on e-mail content is to delete e-mails from individuals you do not recognize.

Normally you will notice fraudulent e-mails being sent from banks or financial institutions with whom you would normally interact with. Nefarious individuals will try to manipulate this trust in an attempt to obtain your personal information. Commonly you will receive an e-mail that claims your bank needs to review your account and that you need to confirm your information. There will be a link near the bottom of the e-mail that instructs the user to "click here to confirm your identity".

The website you'll be taken to from this link, will most likely be a false copy of the real institute's website. An unknowing user will enter their personal login information, including username, password, ATM PIN, and Social Security number. This information will be sold on the black market where your identity is effectively stolen. This type of malicious gathering is called phishing. It is common for phishing e-mails to include images or other information that may be present on the real bank or institution website. This is possible due to the ability of fishers to copy images, text, and website layouts with ease.

If you are unable to determine if a website is in fact legitimate, try calling the customer service number on the back of your debit card, credit card, or account statement. Any legitimate institution will never ask for this type of information in email form. One good indication that an e-mail is not legitimate is the prevalence of grammatical errors. Another indication is the inclusion of a generic greeting such as "Dear customer". While most institutions will not contact you directly via e-mail regarding your account, e-mails that may be sent to you will use your real name.

If you have already fallen victim to a phishing e-mail or website, contact your institution or bank immediately. It is recommended that you change all Internet passwords, debit card PIN numbers, credit card numbers, as well as a contacting the three major credit bureaus. There are many variations of these types of scams circulating via the Internet. You may have seen several e-mails claiming you want money and a foreign lottery or that you had a foreign heir that request your assistance in obtaining funds. It is advisable to delete these e-mails immediately.

Finally review any information available from your institution or bank regarding spam or fishing reporting. Many websites have a facility to report fake versions of their website that may be malicious.