Protect Your Identity From Computer Theft
There are a few items you can start doing right now to help protect yourself from having your identity stolen online. These simple things, when used in combination with one another, greatly reduce the chances of having your identity stolen.
Use a good password
Make sure that you use different passwords for different accounts. If you only use one password, you risk having all of your accounts taken, especially if the thief knows that you are having other accounts. Make sure that you don’t use passwords that are easy to guess like “password12” or something similar. Also, don’t use your birthday, last name, your spouse’s birthday, etc. because those are the easiest to guess. The best password you can get is to use a phrase like “the black kitty drinks milk 3 times a day” and make “tbkdm3tad”. That is one of the strong passwords.
Make sure that you use only one credit card for online transactions, even if you have more than one. This way you will be able to keep an eye on any transactions that are made on your credit cards and it will be easier for you to spot any frauds.
Choose a credit card instead of a debit card, even if debit cards take more safety measures when it comes to online transactions; it’s worse to refund debit card finances which have been already used than to fight whatever fake charges you may have on your credit card. Also, when choosing a website to buy from or a certain company, make sure that they can be trusted or at least the person who recommended them is trustworthy.
Another important aspect is checking privacy guidelines. The place where you buy from should have guarantees that your identity is kept private. Make sure that they have logos which confirm this.
You may receive emails that will tell you to update or change your email account, or you may receive emails that concern your credit card; my advice is to ignore and not to open those emails because they are fake.
Although there are many ways that thieves use to steal your private information, using these tips will surely help you protect yourself from the most common attacks.
Filed under: Security