Identity theft is a growing problem, both in the United States and around the world. It seems like everyday, a new report surfaces of a major identity theft or related security breach. In the year 2000, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) estimated that a half million U.S. citizens had their identity stolen or compromised. Yet, at the same time, individual computer users unwittingly put their own information at risk. This section discusses how you can keep yourself from becoming an accomplice to your own identity's theft.

How does identity theft happen?

Identity theft happens in a number of different ways, including:

• Losing or the theft of a wallet or purse that contains your IDs and credit cards;
• Theft of hardware that contains personal information (such as laptops, tapes, CDs, etc.);
• Malware attacks that originate from a user's own error (such as trojan horses);
• Social engineering attacks (such as spoofed e-mail; phishing; telemarketing scams);
• Chain of custody theft occurs when you pay for something and the clerk steals your credit card number or other personally identifiable information;
• Stealing your mail or filing a false change of address request with the Postal Service;
• Selling Old Computers and not removing or properly erasing the hard drives;
• Break--Ins on servers that run websites or applications that contain personal information;
• Theft of personal information over the open Internet (packet sniffing).

While it seems that all of these methods are reported on in the news almost every day, the reality is that the first three in the list above are the most common ways that individual information is compromised. Attacks on servers and open Internet attacks are less likely to happen because so many users are either careless or are willing to be tricked into giving up their information willingly.

 

How you can prevent identity theft.

While it may never be possible to stop identity theft entirely, there are a number of very simple safeguards you can take to protect yourself from becoming a victim of this type of crime:

• Order a copy of your credit report regularly;
• Place secure passwords on important accounts;
• Secure your personal information;
• Don't carry personal information unless you have to;
• Shred personal information before disposal;
• Avoid giving personal information out over the phone, by mail, or on the Internet;
• Secure your mail and Forward it home at the end of the academic year;
• Check your billing and account records regularly;
• Limit the amount of credit you have in accounts;
• Write checks and fill out forms carefully;
• Remove your name from mailing lists.

More and more people use computers and the Internet to communicate, store information, and conduct business. Your computer could be your weakest link in preventing theft of your identity. If you follow a few simple steps you can make identity theft via your PC more difficult:

• Use secure and complicated passwords;
• Update your password on a regular basis (every 3 months or so);
• Use the latest anti-virus and anti-malware software;
• Use a personal firewall to secure your PC when online;
• Beware of unsolicited emails;
• Do not open, forward, or follow up unsolicited emails;
• Only conduct transactions with secure websites (look for the lock in the browser window;
• Wipe your hard drive before disposing of it;
• Don't use public computers to access personal information.

 

What to do if you become a victim of identity theft.

Unlike other crimes, victims of identity theft may not know they are victims until weeks or months after the theft has occurred. Through what you do when you realize you are a victim of identity theft can minimize the damage and prevent further crimes being committed. This could be through:

• Reporting to the police;
• Contacting the national credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion);
• Purchasing credit report monitoring services;
• Reviewing your credit file carefully;
• Closing all accounts and correct your credit file;
• Keeping all documentation associated with the theft;
• Clearing criminal records.
  

 

Web Resources

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U.S. Department of Justice Identity Theft Program

U.S. Federal Trade Commission: Deter, Detect, Defend AvoID Theft

The National Privacy Rights Clearinghouse

The National Identity Theft Resource Center

The National Internet Fraud Watch Information Center