Security Sin 4 – expert opinion

jjones | Guides | 29/09/2008 11:48am
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What are the dangers of identity theft?

A stolen identity can be used to obtain credit, in which case the victim will be blamed for defaulting on a loan or account. Alternatively, your bank account could be taken over, emptied or used in money laundering or other illegal activities.

In more serious circumstances, a criminal may use a victim’s identity to conceal their real identity from authorities, or commit new crimes under the stolen ID.

What is the most common form of identity theft?

The most common forms of identity theft in cyberspace involve using Trojans, keyloggers and spyware in order to hijack details such as full
names, addresses, phone numbers, credit cards and internet banking details such as passwords. Personal information can also be mined from stolen laptops, disc drives or USB sticks. Often victims leave personal details on various social networking or job-seeking sites, and these could potentially be exploited by hackers.

How can I protect myself?

Many legitimate sites require user registration. While the intent is to help companies to keep track of customers, this means more and
more organisations will know details that should remain secret. Before you provide any personal information, ask yourself the following:
Do you know who you are giving your details to? Do you trust them? Can you see a padlock icon on the frame of your browser? When you
click it, do you see a verified identity and a valid certificate? Did you read the privacy terms? Do you agree with them? If you provided answers to ‘lost password’ questions, did you ensure they could not be easily guessed?

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