Unfortunately, in today’s digital-heavy world, more and more of us are falling victim to online identity theft. Too often, many of us have weak passwords, are too blasé with our information, or we fall for phishing scams that are targeting us for our information.
There’s always something more that most of us can be doing to safeguard our information, and ultimately ourselves when we are going about our daily lives online, and while ultimately there’s no exact sure-fire way to prevent ourselves from falling victim to cybercrime, there are plenty of steps we can take to lower the chances of our information becoming compromised.
Ahead, we’ll cover what we consider to be the most vital steps to take into consideration when looking to avoid becoming a victim to online identity theft.
By making sure to check your credit reports at least once every year, you can make sure that no one has been opening up any fraudulent accounts in your name. Even better, check it out every 4 months or so, so that you can keep track of what’s going on throughout the year.
If you do notice something fishy, bring it up immediately. You could even request a fraud alert and freeze your credit reports, preventing anyone from viewing your reports, including lenders, and thus preventing any credit accounts from opening in your name.
It can often be difficult to protect yourself online, due in part to the vast number of tactics that criminals have up their sleeves. Try your best to keep up with the following steps:
By regularly monitoring all of your online accounts, you can make sure that you’ll be catching any potentially fraudulent activity as soon as it occurs. You can also set up push notifications on your phone, and keep an eye on any emails you may be receiving from any of your financial institutions.
While public Wi-Fi is an incredibly convenient tool for accessing the internet, it can also be a popular way for hackers to get access to your information. Not only can criminals set up free Wi-Fi networks of their own from which to scrape your data, but they can also hack legitimate Wi-Fi networks too. If you are using a public network, make sure you know that it can be trusted, and use a VPN too for extra security.
Many phishing scams will try to trick you into handing over your private information by posing as a legitimate-looking site. While these can often look totally indiscernible from the real thing, you can always work out whether or not it is by hovering your cursor over the link to check out the destination URL. In addition, phishing emails such as these can also include harmful attachments which, when opened or downloaded, will install information-gathering malware on your device.
If you’re going to be inputting personal information or payment details, ensure that you’re not using an unsecured website. Make sure that the site’s address starts with HTTPS, rather than HTTP, to ensure that hackers won’t be able to sneak in and steal your information. This isn’t to say that a fraudulent HTTPS site couldn’t be set up, so always be wary of what you’re doing online.
It has been known for criminals to get their hands on personal information by intercepting pre-approved credit card offers that contain personal information. If you are receiving these and simply throwing them straight in the trash, shred them instead. Better yet, opt out of them entirely.
Online identity theft isn’t purely relegated to the online domain. If fraudsters get their hands on any physical documents that contain sensitive information, this can aid them in the same way as it would have if they retrieved it online. Always be careful with information such as credit card numbers or bank account info, and be sure to follow the following tips:
If you were planning on throwing any sensitive documents in the trash then make sure you shred them first. While sure, it takes a lot more time, it will nevertheless protect you from any potential dumpster divers.
If you regularly receive documents in the mail that contain sensitive information, consider adding a lock to your mailbox or even setting up a P.O. box. For small packages, consider having them shipped to your work address if they’d otherwise be sat unattended until you return home, and if you’ll be away from home for a stretch of time you can request that the U.S. Postal Service hold all of your mail for you until you return.
You’ll want to keep some documents, such as your birth certificate, tax returns, and social security number, for example. Consider locking them away somewhere safe that only you can access.
This one can’t be stressed enough, and most places won’t even allow the use of weak passwords anymore. On top of this, while it can often be tempting to use the same easy to remember password just about everywhere, you should try to mix it up as much as you can.
It’s worth it to create strong, unique passwords for each and every account you have, and there are many great password managers that you can use to store them. Also, many apps and websites allow for two-factor authentication. While this can make logging into things a bit more cumbersome and time-consuming, it will nevertheless provide you with much more security, requiring two pieces of information to allow you access.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional consultation or advice related to your health or finances. No reference to an identifiable individual or company is intended as an endorsement thereof. Some or all of this article may have been generated using artificial intelligence, and it may contain certain inaccuracies or unreliable information. Readers should not rely on this article for information and should consult with professionals for personal advice.