ARTICLES

Protecting yourself on the Internet

Phishing, malware, spyware, identity theft and more...

By now, we are all too familiar with the term ‘Indentity theft’, which refers to fraud that involves stealing money or getting other benefits by pretending to be someone else.

According to the Identity Theft Resource Center (http://www.idtheftcenter.org), identity theft is sub-divided into four categories:

Financial identity theft
Using another’s identity to obtain money, goods and services

Criminal identity theft
Posing as another person when apprehended for a crime

Identity cloning
Using another person’s information to assume his or her identity in daily life

Business/commercial identity theft
Using another’s business name to obtain credit

So how do these criminals get this personal information? Aside from the obvious sources such as paperwork that is not properly disposed of, the Internet has become a great resource for them. While your virus/spyware protection does a great job of protecting your computer, it does not prevent you from doing things that could get you into a whole heap of trouble. We calll that an "ID 10 T" error.

Your first line of defense is logic! Think long and hard before you enter your personal information on a website form. Do you know the people you’re dealing with? Are they a ligitimate enterprise? Did you check them out by doing a search on-line? Is the webpage secure and the data transfer encrypted?

Before you download and install that FREE screen saver, do you know if it will search your computer for personal data and then send it to someone that will use it for unscrupulous purposes?

When you receive emails, do you open the attachments? Are you sure that it is not a spyware program that can install itself the moment you click on it? Remember that no matter how good your spyware detection software is, there’s always the chance that it has not been detected yet.

Then of course, there’s the email from your bank that requests you update your information online! Never, ever fall for that one! What may seem like a ligitimate address in the email link can easily be a re-direct to another site that has absolutely nothing to do with your own bank. While it may seem ligitimate, it is not. Criminals are experts at making web pages look like the real thing, including logos and terminology. Check with your bank and DO NOT click on the link provided in the email.

Social networking sites such as ‘MySpace’ are great targets for phishing. Phishing is a criminaly fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as user names, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity. A phisher may pose as a site staff member asking the user to ‘verify their password’ or ‘confirm billing information’. When AOL became a target of phishing, they quickly implemented measures to prevent these attacks. However, while everyone can do their very best to eliminate these criminal acts, the criminals are getting smarter and the only defense is using our brain and being careful.

Ever run across a site that offers a FREE Malware or Spyware scan of your computer? DO NOT USE IT! By doing so, you are opening your computer up to very unscrupulous actions! It is very easy for the software to install a program that will gather info and send it out while you’re oblivious to the criminal actions taking place!

So how do we protect ourselves while we use the Internet? Here are a few tips that may save you from hassles and headaches.

• Make sure that your system software, browser, email program and anti-virus softwares are all up-to-date.
  
• Unless you’re absolutely sure that they’re from a reliable source...
  Do not open email attachments or click on email links that could be disguised as malicious programs. It’s is a good idea to turn off the ‘preview pane’ of your email program. Having your preview pane open is the same as opening emails. Do not open emails you’re not sure of...delete them immediately.
  
• Do not download and install software unless you’ve researched the validity of the program and the supplier.
  
• Think before you fill-in any personal information on-line, especially if the link was provided to you via email.
  
• If you insist on shopping on-line, obtain a credit card with a low credit amount (for example $200.00) and use it only for making on-line purchases.

We’re certainly not trying to scare you away from enjoying the wonderful world of the Internet. There’s so much to see, do and learn. However, being safe is something we should all practise vigorously.

You can get some great helpful tips and information from http://staysafeonline.org and others. Just do a search on Google for internet safety and security.

 

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