Identity Theft

Five Simple Ways to Protect Yourself

Identity theft has been around forever. Even in ancient times, impersonators would pretend to be someone they were not – a prince, a long-lost heir to a great fortune, a merchant who had died at sea. The Internet has made the theft much easier. A hack here, a lost flash drive there, and tens of thousands of people can find themselves with false credit-card charges or drained bank accounts. In 2008 alone, 10 million Americans had their identity stolen. Here are five practical tips to keep your identity safe:

- Bob Lotich, ChristianPF.com

1. Make better passwords

We've been told to create better passwords for years, but many of us are still not following the advice. Check right now: Are you guilty of using the same password again and again, or a very simple password?

The first rule of passwords is not to use the same password over and over. You really do need at least a slightly different password for every account you have.

Second, don't use a password that anyone who knows you could easily guess. For example, if you love the Atlanta Braves baseball team, don't make your password “braves.” Don't use your own name, your children's names, or your pet's name – these passwords are very easy to guess. Some viruses are programmed to hack into systems by trying one by one all the most commonly used passwords. If you've ever used the password “admin,” or a first name, you'll understand why this method of hacking is still successful.

If you do want to use your favorite baseball team, your child's name, or your hero's name for your password, make it harder to guess. “Braves”, for example, could easily be turned into “br@v35.” Try replacing “a” with an @ sign, “e” with a 3, “s” with a 5, and so forth – whatever makes sense for you.

Then there's the problem of having multiple passwords. Instead of trying to remember thirty different passwords, create a core password, such as “br@v35,” then modify it slightly for each use in a way that you can remember. Your email password might be “ebr@v35,” where the “e” stands for “email.” If you bank with ABC Bank, your online banking password could be “ABCbr@v35." For someone trying to guess your password based on a few facts that they know about you, or for programs trying random words, your password will be very difficult to guess.

By using the method mentioned above, you can create a unique password for every account you have, yet you'll be able to remember each one without having to write it down.

2. Delete email containing passwords

You know how when you sign up for a new service, the company often emails you to say, “Your user ID is such-and-such, and your password is ABC”? Well, one way hackers learn our passwords is to hack our email account, then look around to find emails with passwords in them.

Don't ever email yourself your passwords. If you feel you won't be able to remember your user ID and password, write it down in a notebook you keep in a secure place, but delete the email with the information in it.

Additionally, if you get a randomly assigned password, change it right away to a variation of 

3. Do the same with PINs

Your PINs, just like your passwords, should be hard to guess. If you use some easy-to-guess number, an identity thief will surely thank you for making his or her job easier.

4. Protect the computer itself

With so many laptop computers being stolen, it's not just transactions online you need to worry about, it's your computer itself. Do you store sensitive information in your computer, such as a file with all your passwords in it? If you do, you need to password protect your computer and encrypt your files.

In Windows, encrypt a file by right-clicking on it and choosing “Properties”. Under the “General” tab, click “Advanced” at the bottom. Then click “Encrypt contents to secure data” and click “OK.”

5. Shred or burn sensitive documents

Some people still engage in the old-fashioned form of identity theft: dumpster diving. Sifting through your trash, they look for documents with identifying information in it – with a Social Security number here and a bank account number there, they can steal your identity. Prevent this from happening by shredding or burning any documents with personal information on it before you throw it away.

Source: www.csmonitor.com