How to Prevent Identity Theft Online

Identity theft is becoming more and more common for any online user. Many people use personal information as well as financial information from different websites. It is important to prevent identity theft online. Protect yourself in all possible ways. There are a few precautions you can take to protect privacy and personal information.

When entering any personal information, especially financial information, verify that all the information given to the site is secured and kept completely confidential. If the site is not secured, do not pass information to this site and exit immediately. Using a site without security features is very dangerous and should be avoided at all times.

Always be aware of what information you are passing on websites that you sign up with. Many sites that will be paying you for services will want your Social Security number.  Be sure the site is completely legitimate before handing that piece of information.

Protect your privacy online. When you put personal information on the Internet, just assume that the entire world is looking at it. Whether this is true or not, it only really takes one clever person to steal your identity. People may use personal information as leverage and attempt to get more personal information about you.

If you have a sensitive job, be cautious about what pieces of information you reveal. It is not difficult to put pieces of information together to get a bigger picture. If you are in the military, do not at any time reveal information on your travel on social media sites. This is in violation of Operation Security (or OPSEC). This may not lead to identity theft, but it reveals sensitive, personal information that can violate and cause a serious security breach.

On a dating site, people may start a relationship based on deception and lies hoping to benefit from your innocence. No matter how much you feel you know the person, do not share any personal or financial information with them at any time. Remember, you have met the person face to face so you do not really know the person.

There have been many reported incidents of internet users on dating sites being victimized by so-called partners. The innocent person has their money withdrawn from a bank account without any prior knowledge. They only find out they have been used to get money when the checks start to bounce, the bank contacts them about unusual activity, or they get their monthly bank statement.

Crazy, but it can happen!

NEVER under any circumstances, give out your social security number, password or username through an email request by a financial or other organization. PayPal scams are very common. This can also happen with financial institutions. PayPal or a legitimate bank will NEVER ask for your username and password. Check out this information about the PayPal scam. This applies to anyone asking for personal information through a questionable email.

The simple act of sharing a Social Security Number can have devastating results. Charge cards and loans can be opened with this simple information. With an individual’s name and Social Security Number, financial disaster is going to happen if the wrong person obtains the information.

Keep all the personal information in strictest confidence and never share it with a site or email address you are not sure is legitimate or secure.  Do not trust “pretty words and promises!"

Continuously monitoring any financial records, bank accounts, and credit reports will help avoid the possibility of identity theft. Safeguard your information with extreme care. You do not want to have criminally minded people ruining your good name and credit. Take special caution to protect yourself at all times. You never really know what other people will do any information they obtain about you or your finances.