Online Security
Keep Your Family Secure: Be Aware of Online Identity Theft
Instances of online identity theft have dramatically increased in the last few years ever since the use of the Internet became so rampant. Identity theft is a crime whereby the criminals impersonate another person for personal gain. The gain is usually monetary, but identity theft may also be committed for other purposes like incriminating someone else for one’s crimes, obtaining driver’s license or travel documents, applying for a job or loan, etc.
The Internet has provided some of the latest and the most successful ways to steal someone’s identity and commit fraud. Here are some of the common methods used in Online Identity Theft:
- Criminals visit online chat rooms and spread Trojan horses on the computers of people who chat with them. These Trojan horses contain key logger software that transmits all the information typed on your computer back to the criminal. When you type your private and financial information out on a website, the criminal can steal this information and misuse your identity.
- When people shop online, if the website has not taken enough precaution to protect your information, hackers can easily access their database and steal personal and financial information of the website’s shoppers.
Thieves also use email phishing to collect your personal information from you. Phishing emails pose as legitimate mails from websites where you are likely to have posted your personal information, like your bank’s website, and request you to update this information. They direct you to a dummy website where you have to enter all your personal information and steal the information you have entered for fraud.