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Why? To an identity thief, it can provide instant access to your
financial accounts, your credit record, and your other personal
assets.
If you think no one would be interested in your personal information,
think again. The reality is that anyone can be a victim of identity
theft. In fact, according to a Federal Trade Commission survey,
there are almost 10 million victims every year. It's often difficult
to know how thieves obtained their victims' personal information,
and while it definitely can happen offline, some cases start when
online data is stolen. Visit www.consumer.gov/idtheft
to learn what to do if your identity is stolen.
Unfortunately, when it comes to crimes like identity theft, you
can't entirely control whether you will become a victim. But following
these tips can help minimize your risk while you're online:
- If you're asked for your personal information
– your name, email or home address, phone number, account
numbers, or Social Security number – learn how it's going
to be used, and how it will be protected, before you share it.
- Don't open unsolicited or unknown email messages.
If you do get an email or pop-up message asking for personal information,
don't reply or click on the link in the message. To avoid opening
such messages, you can turn off the "Preview Pane" functionality
in email programs, and you can set your default options to view
opened emails as plain text to avoid active links or pop-ups in
the messages. Most importantly, do not to respond to solicitations
for your personal or financial information. If you believe there
may be a need for such information by a company with whom you
have an account or placed an order, contact that company directly
in a way you know to be genuine. Never send your personal information
via email because email is not a secure transmission method.
Most email programs have email filters built-in to the application.
The links on the left hand side of this webpage contain video
tutorials that'll show you how to set your email filters, so you
can limit the amount of unsolicited email you receive.
- If you are shopping online, be careful about providing
your personal or financial information through a company's website
without taking measures to reduce the risk. There are some indicators
that show vendors have taken measures to secure their sites such
as a lit lock icon on the browser's status bar or a website URL
that begins "https:" (the "s" stands for "secure"). Unfortunately,
no indicator is foolproof; some scammers have forged security
icons.
- Read website privacy policies. They should explain
what personal information the website collects, how the information
is used, and whether it is provided to third parties. The privacy
policy also should tell you whether you have the right to see
what information the website has about you, whether they provide
and/or sell your information to third parties, and what security
measures the company takes to protect your information. If you
don't see a privacy policy – or if you can't understand
it – consider doing business elsewhere.
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