Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the US. Your personal information can also be stolen on the Internet by using fraudulent websites. This is called Phishing.
Thieves will try to collect personal and sensitive information from you by impersonating well known companies through websites or emails.
For example, you may get an email from a company requesting you to update your personal information for their records. The email may ask you to click on a link to do this. This will take you to the fraudulent website, which may look very similar to the real one.
There are some things you can do to reduce the risk of a Phishing attack.
1.- Do not respond to emails that ask you for personal information. Don't click on any links from emails that look suspicious to you. Try to call that company and ask if that email is really from them. Or visit their website by typing the address on the address bar of your web browser.
2.- Use Firefox, Opera, or Internet Explorer 7 for your online shopping and banking. These browsers have some Phishing protection integrated. But make sure you update to the latest version. I prefer to use Firefox. You can download it on my website from the recommended links section on the right sidebar or visit their website at www.getfirefox.com.
3.- Make sure you have anti virus software installed and updated. Installing a firewall is also recommended. At the moment of this writing, Zone Alarm is offering a free version of their firewall software. You can find it at the www.download.com website.
4.- Install all the updates and security patches available for your operating system. If you use Windows XP, update it by using their Windows Update utility.
5.- Use anti Spam filters for your email.
6.- Use a strong password for your online transactions. A good password should have a combination of letters, numbers, uppercase letters and symbols. Do not use common words.
7.- Verify the authenticity of the website where you will make a purchase. Every time you are about to send personal information online, normally there should be a yellow lock icon on the bottom of your browser. If you click on it you can also check if their security certificates are valid.
Also, one worker at a bank recommended me to open a new bank account exclusively for online shopping. So every time I want to buy something online I could transfer only the necessary amount to that account and then make the purchase. By doing this you don't expose your main bank account.
Please visit my website for more advice regarding computer usage. Thanks.
Protect your identity from online thieves. - To learn more about this author, visit Aaron E Garcia's Website.
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Protect your identity from online thieves.
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Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the US. Your personal information can also be stolen on the Internet by using fraudulent websites. This is called Phishing.
Thieves will try to collect perso...
|
|
|
Aaron E Garcia
(Visit Aaron's Website)
The purpose of my articles is to share my
experience on computers and technology
with you. My free advice might help you on
your business or home computer. There is a
lot we can do with computers nowadays and
many of the software I recommend is
available for free. Please visit my
website for more information at www.at-p
resent.com
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