Cyber Security Awareness Month: Protecting Your Online Identity
When I write of protecting your online identity, I am referring to your personally identifiable information, that if stolen, would enable a criminal to falsely open a line of credit in your name.
This information is your name, your social security number and your address. Additional information that would help a criminal is a work history and a copy of your credit report. Most work histories are of course, in the form of a resume. And if someone knows enough information about you, they can get a copy of your credit report.
Identity theft can be much worse than it sounds. I’m not talking about someone getting a Shell Credit card and filling up their gas tank. Worst case scenarios of ID Theft could involve someone purchasing real estate in your name, and then cashing in the equity. Or even opening up a line of credit using the equity on your own home. Simply saying “it wasn’t me” to angry creditors will not work in such instances, and clearing your name and resolving the mess could involve high legal fees, frozen assets and lots of time and effort. And if the courts find that you were negligent in handling your own information, you could be held liable for some or all of the debt.
The surest way to prevent online identity theft is to not divulge your personally identifiable information to any websites, and do not store personally identifiable information on your PC without it being encrypted. In the event that a hacker breaks into your PC, he won’t be able to steal your identifiable info.
Ensure that any email transactions that contain such information are encrypted as well. This would include sending your resume to people since it contains detailed work history, your name, and your address.
If you feel that it is safe to apply for credit online or to purchase something from a reputable online business, ensure that your web session is encrypted with SSL. You can usually verify this by looking for the padlock icon in the bottom of your browser. If for any reason the site does not have a valid site certificate, then do not disclose your information. The site could be a fake. To learn how to check for a valid certificate, read this from the US-CERT.
Finally, keep track of your own credit report. You can get one free credit report per year, and you should if, for no other reason, someone with your social security number can’t get it if you already did. You may wish to sign up for a credit monitoring service. For a small monthly fee, most credit card companies can do that for you. Keep an eye out for any unauthorized purchases or lines of credit, and dispute such discrepancies immediately.
By law, you get one free credit report per year. You can contact them below.
Equifax: 800-685-1111; www.equifax.com
Experian: 888-EXPERIAN (888-397-3742); www.experian.com
TransUnion: 800-916-8800; www.transunion.com
If unauthorized changes in your credit reports are detected, you may be a victim of identity theft. A great resource to help guide you in recovery from identity theft is at the FTC here.
A great video on preventing ID Theft and Fraud is here.
