Online Identity Fraud

You may be surprised to learn the only 11% of all cases of identity theft reported are linked to online frauds, and in reality the main bulk of identity theft crimes are very low tech, using methods such as stealing wallets and rifling through rubbish to find important documents (bank statements, pay slips etc) that people have carelessly thrown away.

However as more and more people use the internet for online banking and socialising these online identity fraud numbers are rising fast, and so it is more important than ever to protect yourself against this type of crime.

Computer Security
Make sure your computer is kept in a secure place, and if you share this with others it is a good idea to set up separate profiles for each user to log in under, and also password protect any important files that are saved in the hard drive.  If you use the computer for the Internet you must have adequate firewall and anti-malware software in place, as this will help to protect your system against harmful programs such as worms, backdoors and trojans.  These can not only disrupt the performance of your computer causing crashes and slow running speeds, but can also allow hackers to access personal information contained on your system.

Online Security
When you are surfing the Internet you should be aware of potentially harmful websites that could contain malicious programs or traps, which could trick you into revealing your personal data.  These websites will most often be advertised through banner ads and pops ups, often with urgent messages such as ‘your computer has a virus click here now to protect yourself!’, and these trick you into clicking through to the harmful website.  Avoid visiting websites via banner ads or pop ups, and if you know the address of the website you want to visit type this in the search bar so that you know you are visiting the authentic site.