How do avoid becoming a victim of identity theft from the Internet?

How do avoid becoming a victim of identity theft from the Internet?
- Ed

This question was answered on September 2, 2002. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

Identity theft is a problem that has been around much longer than the Internet and is more of an ‘off-line’ problem than it is an ‘on-line’ problem.

While the Internet can help criminals acquire the information they need to steal your identity, it is more often used to take advantage of victims once the critical information has been acquired.

A much more common method of getting information such as Social Security number, credit card numbers or banking information is from your snail-mailbox, personal or business trash and lost or stolen wallets

The classic ‘dumpster diving’ (going through your trash) method of getting critical information is one of the most common, since it’s easy and relatively safe for the criminal.

If you’ve ever thrown out a pre-approved credit card offer, old bank statement, old tax return or any official form that contained personal information on it without first destroying it (ripping it in half won’t cut it), then you are ripe for the taking.

A paper shredder is an absolute must in today’s information age for both the office and home and should be used religiously With a price tag of only $20 to $50 for a basic unit, it is the single most cost effective tool you can buy to fight identity theft.

Your physical mailbox is another easy target for thieves; so if possible, make it difficult to get mail that has been deposited in your mailbox with a lock or some other security device

If you suddenly notice that mail has stopped coming to you, it could be a sign that someone put in a change of address for you and is collecting all of your mail in order to carry out an identity theft.

When it comes to the Internet, there are a couple of simple rules that can help minimize your chances of identity theft:

- Never reply to or send an e-mail message requesting personal information E-mail is not secure and dozens if not hundreds of people along the way could read your message No legitimate company would ever ask you to verify or send your personal information via e-mail

- Don’t do business with a company if you can’t contact them by telephone and mail, especially if they seem to have an offer that looks too good to be true

- Never participate with any company that uses Spam (unsolicited commercial messages) as their way of marketing to you Remember, if it’s Spam, it’s probably a scam!

- Use passwords that incorporate both numbers and letters and at least 8 characters Thieves often use ‘dictionary attacks’ to break passwords that use real words

- Monitor your credit file - the Internet and e-mail has made it much easier, so you will know when something strange is going on Equifax (www.equifax.com), one of the major credit reporting bureaus, has a service that will allow you access to your credit file and will e-mail you within 24 hours anytime it changes You can try it free for 30 days and pay $70 per year if you like the service.