By now, you know that a lot of your business and personal communication can be done online. But with the convenience comes the risk of online predators getting your personal information.

Identify theft has become one of the biggest dangers of transacting business online. Identity theft affects about 10 million Americans every year, and costs US businesses in the neighborhood of $50 billion.

Identity theft is still typically low-tech, occurring when trusted retail and financial institutions misuse or fail to protect sensitive information (such as names, addresses, dates of birth and Social Security numbers) or when someone steals directly from a mailbox.

But for those of you who use MySpace, eBay and PayPal, in particular, the danger is high that someone might send you a fraudulent message in an attempt to gain access to your personal information.

In order to lure the victim into giving up sensitive information the message might include imperatives like "verify your account" or "confirm billing information". This phenomenon is known as “phishing.” It’s a more dangerous kind of “spam” (which is typically simply an unwanted marketing e-mail).

According to Consumer’s Union (the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports), Americans lost more than $7 billion in the last two years to computer viruses, spyware and phishing.

Consumer’s Union reports that the phishers’ tactics are improving, including using official-looking Web and e-mail addresses, better grammar, and more plausible stories.

Here are some steps you can take to avoid becoming a victim of phishing scams, spyware and computer viruses:

• Always log into your accounts by going directly to the main page of the website you are visiting, not by clicking on a link in an e-mail. You can look at the Internet address (the URL) at the top of your Web browser window make sure you’re really logging into MySpace.com or WellsFargo.com and not another site.
• Shut down your computer when it’s not in use, or at least disconnect from the Internet. This will decrease the likelihood of a remote computer gaining access
• Consider using a Mac. Although they can be targeted by viruses and spyware, most online criminals focus on the much-more-common Windows machines
• Download with care. You may be getting more than you bargain for when you download free movies and music. Stick with a trusted provider.
• Invest in a program that protects against spyware, spam and viruses. Trend Micro, Check Point ad McAfee are top brands.
• Activate your computer’s firewall.
• Activate your e-mail program’s spam filtering feature to ensure that many phishing e-mails never reach your in-box.
• Check out the reputation (including any industry licenses) of any company you do business with online.

Also, there are certain things to look for when you get an e-mail that purports to come from your bank or another financial institution. You may be asked to “verify your account,” but in fact most reputable banking institutions will not ask you for sensitive information via e-mail.

You may also see phrases like “Your account will be suspended in 48 hours.” The scammers are hoping that a sense of urgency will get you to enter your information without taking a closer look. Don’t be fooled!

Finally, look for personal information in the e-mail. Authentic e-mails from PayPal will always begin “Dear (username),” and banks will often include the last few numbers of your account number. Phish e-mails, on the other hand, will probably have something more generic, such as “Dear Valued Customer.”

Aside from taking precautions against identity theft on your home computer, there are other measures that can be taken to preserve your good credit.

As of October, 2007, consumers in all 50 states have the power to “freeze” their credit with the three major credit reporting bureaus (TransUnion, Equifax and Experian). This means access to your credit report will be withheld until you contact the credit reporters with a PIN to temporarily unlock the report. An identity thief won’t be able to use your credit to get a new credit card as long as your credit is frozen, and only you can unlock it when you really need to (to get a loan, for example).

You should also check your accounts periodically to make sure no activity that you haven’t approved has taken place. Also, check your credit report from time to time to make sure nothing “phishy” is going on. You can get a free credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com. Remember, the three major credit reporting agencies do not share information with one another, so if you find an error with one of them, you’ll have to correct it with all three of them. You have the right under federal law to have errors corrected on your credit report; if an agency fails to remove an incorrect item, you can sue.


For more information, visit:

http://clarkhoward.com
http://www.consumersunion.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing