Last week we discussed
how Internet in the 90's has spawned a new variety
of crooks called identity thieves whose stock
in trade is your everyday transaction. This week
we examine safeguards and list Internet resources
on identity theft.
How to Minimize the Risk
While you probably can't prevent identity theft
entirely, you can minimize your risk. By managing
your personal information wisely, cautiously and
with an awareness of the issue, you can help guard
against identity theft. Here are some suggestions:
- Place judicious passwords on your bank account,
credit and debit cards, mailbox, domain name,
web-site and various other objects of daily
use. Please exercise caution on selection of
password - birthday, name of spouse or children,
place of birth etc. are very common passwords
and easy to crack. Avoid using words from dictionary
- use a combination of letters (upper and lowers
case), numbers and symbols.
- Secure personal information in your home,
especially if you have roommates, employ outside
help or are having service work done in your
home.
- Ask about information security procedures
in your workplace. Find out who has access to
your personal information and verify that records
are kept in a secure location. Ask about the
disposal procedures for those records as well.
- Don't give out personal information on the
phone, through the mail or over the Internet
unless you've initiated the contact or are sure
you know who you're dealing with. Identity thieves
may pose as representatives of banks, Internet
service providers (ISPs) and even government
agencies to get you to reveal your personal
information like PAN number, mother's maiden
name, account numbers and other identifying
information. Before you share any personal information,
confirm that you are dealing with a legitimate
organization. You can check the organization's
website as many companies post scam alerts when
their name is used improperly, or you can cross-check
the credentials of the person by calling Customer
service of the organization.
- Shred or carefully tear your mails, letters
from bank, insurance papers, credit card slips
etc. Guard your trash from theft.
- Promptly remove postal mails from your mailbox.
If you're planning to be away from home and
can't pick up your mail, request a friend or
neighbor to collect it.
- Before revealing any personally identifying
information (for example, on an application),
find out how it will be used and secured, and
whether it will be shared with others. Ask if
you have a choice about the use of your information.
Can you choose to have it kept confidential?
- Don't carry your PAN card, credit card, passport
or ration card unless required - leave these
in a secure place.
- Carry only the identification information
and the number of credit and debit cards that
you'll actually need.
- Pay attention to your billing cycles. Follow
up with creditors if your bills don't arrive
on time. A missing credit card bill could mean
an identity thief has taken over your account
and changed your billing address to cover his
tracks.
- Be wary of promotional scams. Identity thieves
may use phony offers to get you to give them
your personal information.
- Keep your purse or wallet in a safe place
at work.
Precautions for Web-Site
- While surfing secure sites like your bank
computer - don't use an automatic log-in feature
which saves your user name and password so you
don't have to enter them each time you log-in.
Always log off when you're finished - do not
be in a hurry to move to another site or close
your browser without log-off. Without proper
log-off - your secure data remains vulnerable
for hacking.
- Look for website privacy policy - it will
tell you about security, and control of personal
information collected by the site. It should
also explain how information will be used, and
whether it will be provided to third parties.
If you don't see a proper privacy policy, consider
surfing elsewhere or do not volunteer any information.
Next Week - How to Protect Your PC and Where
to look for more information on Identity theft
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