What is Online Identity Theft?

By Matt Williams

Con artists have gone digital and online identity theft can happen to the best of us. What is online identity theft and how does it happen? A typical scam involves an email from your bank saying they need to verify your account. They ask you to follow the link and log in. You follow the link and it takes you to your bank's website. Difficulty is, the website is a spoof and when you enter your user name and password, you've just become the web's latest victim of online identity theft.

Phishing scams send emails pretending to be someone you deal with and often ask for unofficial information to validate, confirm or update your account. The emails look legitimate and often have flashy graphics and logos just like the institution in question. The links take you to websites that are nearly identical to the real one. Because these spoofed web sites look like the real thing, it's trouble-free to get “phished in”.

Web “phishing” scams are just one of many world wide web traps designed to steal your identity. Other scams can nab your identity in the blink of an eye.

You become a victim of identity theft when someone uses your name, credit card number, Social Safety Number or other unofficial information without your consent. Not only do you have to worry about being conned into giving this data out, malicious programs called spyware can worm its way into your pc and sniff out this info. These spyware programs then report the info back to the spyware developer or to a arbitrator who will use it for ill gains.

One type of spyware that is particularly dangerous to your identity is called a keylogger. This program logs all keystrokes you make on your keyboard and sends it back to the spyware developer. They analyze the keystrokes and are capable to find the instances where you may have entered your credit card information, SSN, or any other private info. If this happens, you have become one of many new online identity theft victims.

Steps you can take to prevent becoming the next online identity theft victim include installing an anti-spyware program, upgrading to Ie 7 and activating the Phishing filter, and installing a firewall to prevent hackers from taking over your System and also to alert you to spyware trying to send info out. Complete importantly, use frequent sense - and the clean button - when you receive emails asking for personal info.

If you have become an online identity theft victim, you need to take several steps to minimize the damage. You'll want to contact your financial institutions and place your accounts on alert for fraud, possibly even close the accounts. You can place a fraud alert on your credit report by contacting any of the three consumer reporting companies:

• Equifax 1-800-525-6285
• TransUnion 1-800-680-7289
• Experian 1-888-397-3742

The initial fraud alert will stay on your credit report for 90 days and will help prevent someone from opening up credit in your name using your stolen Social Security Number.

You can also file a report of your online identity theft with the local police and with the Federal Trade Commission.

Now that you know some of the threats to your identity while online, occur vigilant and insure your anti-spyware software current with the newest definitions and perform recurrent scans.

Sweep Keylogger Spyware