What you can do to protect yourself
Of course what you really want to know is what you can do to prevent, or at least reduce, the odds of becoming a victim of identity theft. There are several things you can do, most of which are just part of a common sense approach to controlling your online identity.
Obviously, precautions should be taken not to reveal your personal details to strangers who have no business with them. Be very wary of new online acquaintances who press you for personal info. Never reply to spam e-mails.
Other common sense tactics are to steer clear of contests, sweepstakes and something-for-nothing offers. Inevitably what really is happening is that your personal details are being collected and soldââ,¬"that is the real currency of these deals.
As mentioned earlier, you can increase the level of privacy of your surfing by anonymizing name and e-mail settings in your browser.
Follow these instructions to access the personal information settings of your browser: In Netscape 4.0 and higher, select Preferences from the Edit pull-down menu, and go to the Identity screen under the Mail and Groups tab. For Internet Explorer 4.0 and higher, select Internet Options from the Tools pull-down menu and go to the Personal Information section of the Content tab. Then select My Profile to access and edit your personal info.
Another common tool is to use disposable e-mail accounts for non-private communication. A good strategy is to use your permanent, ISP-related e-mail address for only personal communications with friends and family, and to obtain some secondary e-mail accounts for other purposes. There are many free e-mail services like Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail, so having a few extra accounts around won't cost you a dime.
You can even go as far as configuring several e-mail accounts for different purposes. For example, one with your correct details for making online purchases, and another with bogus details for more risky uses like newsgroup postings and non-commerce site registrations.
Hi,
Great site, very inforrmative. But . . . .
If this is an Australian site, why are all your examples American.
What Australian agencies and credit bureaus should be contacted when id stolen?
Regards,
Ross