What is Identity Theft and ways to prevent

Identity Theft

Hi friends, we are living in an era where most of the things are online like shopping, booking hotels, trains,  flights, scheduling doctor’s appointment, ordering food , transferring funds, we know that digitization and online world have made our life much easier and most of the stuffs can be easily made available on the single click of a button at our doorsteps , but we should always be cautious enough while using these new generation features.

Today I would like to educate everyone on one of the major threats of modern online world that is Identity theft and basic measures to prevent.  Identity theft  basically means stealing someone personal information and misusing, it is a crime wherein the cheater steals the major piece of personal information such as:

·         Full name (if not common).
·         Home address.
·         Email address (if private from an association/club membership, etc.).
·         National identification number.
·         Passport number.
·         IP address (in some cases).
·         Vehicle registration plate number.
·         Driver's license number.
·         Face, fingerprints, or handwriting.
·         Credit card numbers.
·         Digital identity.
·         Date of birth.
·         Birthplace.
·         Genetic information.
·         Telephone number.
·         Login name, screen name, nickname, or handle.

All the above mentioned piece of information can be wrongly used and con artist can imitate someone else, creating a criminal record on behalf of the victim. The thief might open a new credit card account, bank account, take cellular phone service etc. The thief also can get access to the login credentials and use personal account of the victim and change all the information and create havoc.

Below are the various ways by which we can help ourselves in becoming a prey of Identity Theft.

1.       Always tear up personal documents before throwing into the dustbin.
2.       Keep your computer updated with latest anti-virus.
3.       Deactivate and tear all the credit cards which you no longer use.
4.       Always create password that are tricky and hard to un-cover.
5.       Remove your-self from the list of promotional email/calls and text of the services which you no longer use.
6.       Always take care of purse and wallet while travelling and in crowded places.
7.       Never respond to any suspicious emails that request you for banking related information.
8.       Always keep on monitoring your banking and card statement monthly.
9.       Keep your personal documents in a safe place which cannot be reached by un- trusted sources.
10.   Subscribe to third party services which helps you in case you fall prey to identity theft.

By Abhishek Jalan