Prevent Online Identity Theft By Following These 5 Tips

If you use the internet frequently, chances are you may be presenting yourself as a possible victim of online identity theft. One in every five people will have their identity stolen at some time in their lives. Not all become victims due to activities on the internet but nonetheless, internet identity thieves are becoming more and more elusive in their tactics. Because of this we need to keep our guard up now more than ever before. Here are some tips to help prevent becoming a victim to this deceitful crime.

1. Do not give out your personal information to people you don't know.

This may seem rather obvious to most people but it is surprising how trusting some people are. If something about a situation doesn't seem quite right, then go with your instincts.

2. If you are asked to update information from a financial institution by email, don't do it.

Identity thieves have been known to send spam emails made to look like they came from financial institutions. By clicking the link you are directed to a separate webpage identical to that of your financial institution. By entering your information, you are giving the identity thief full access to your account. Whenever you want to visit the webpage of your financial institution, make sure you type the address into your internet browser rather than using a link.

3. Do not make online purchases unless you are on a secure, trusted site.

Many people who are new to online purchasing fall for this one. Any time you are making a purchase and you are asked for your credit card information, look at the internet browser's address bar. Secure web addresses begin with "https". If it shows "http" do not enter your credit card information.

4. Select "difficult-to-crack" passwords.

Especially do this for highly private accounts like banks and financial institutions. You should consider using passwords with a mixture of capital and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols. Passwords should be at least 8-10 characters long but the longer the better. Also, make sure you are not using the same password for every site. A password cheat sheet can be created to help you remember the passwords and usernames for every site. Keep the cheat sheet in a secure but accessible location and do not save an electronic copy on your computer.

5. Make sure your computer protection software is up to date.

This day in age it is extremely important to have a good antivirus, anti-spyware and firewall installed on your computer and always kept up to date. There are many good free ones available but most of the time the free versions do not update automatically. It is usually a worthwhile investment to purchase a good internet security system that constantly updates by itself. This way you can set it and forget it.

Now that you know the top 5 tips for protecting your identity online, it's time to apply them. Remember, try to be aware at all times to whom you are giving information to. Only enter credit card information on secure websites and immediately delete strange emails. Also, do not get lazy with your password selection and computer protection software. They may someday save you a lot of financial and emotional burden and prevent you from becoming the one in five.

Identity Theft - Different Ways People Steal Your Identity   Identity and Theft: Solving The Identity Theft Nightmare   Identity Theft Facts   Identity Theft By Family And Friends   Identity Theft - 5 Ways You Can Become a Victim - Identity Theft Protection and Credit Card Fraud   

Get Protection From Online Identity Theft - Acquire Life Lock

It's a typical day for you, time for you to browse the web, get updates from your social networking sites and do some online shopping. You found a very neat leather bag, the one you believed would never exist, the one that had a mystery compartment -- of course you're not going to waste your time, so you purchase it with your credit card. You wait for a confirmation of your purchase, then what comes instead is a notice that tells you that there's something wrong with your credit line. Wait, how did that occur? You know that you keep tabs on all of your acquisitions and you haven't even gotten fifty percent the designated credit for your card type, you even pay your yearly fees before the due date and make sure there aren't any overlooked payments. Days later, you learned what happened by chance: your credit account got hacked when you made an unsecure transaction. The moral lesson: if you had life lock to guard you online, you could have been saved.

The internet has become a big big world of possibilities; you can improve your persona, generate income and meet lots of people from around the globe. And along with positive possibilities comes the so unwanted negative ones which are delivered by hackers and fraudsters -- thieves who disguise themselves as good guys who want to assist you with business, et cetera. After they get your trust and you permit them to gain access to some of your data (that with just a couple taps and commands inputted by their brilliant hackers), everything you hold dear could vanish, or even worse, you could get blamed for cybercrimes that you never even heard about. You shouldn't be one of the ten million each year who have fallen prey to these identity snatchers, arm yourself and sign up for the best identity theft protection service that you can get.

Current comparisons made by theft labs on five identity theft safety services demonstrated that lifelock has incredible security and restoration capabilities. It works pro-actively with its alert system that constantly monitors for deceptive or fishy dealings made online with your name. They send you notices either through phone or mail and they immediately do the restoration of your name and credibility for you. Now, isn't that remarkable service? You won't have to take such aches and pains to make several phone calls and emails that may even be thought of as non genuine by the company that's been transacted with by the offender. They also remove you from pre-approved credit card offers (which web experts say are well-known identity fraud sources) and junkmail listings that deliver spam which you might provide your information to.

As an added measure where you can participate in checking your protection online, you get free credit reports annually so you can see if there are any distrustful entries relating to your account. You may even avail of their bonus feature for lost wallets or purses -- you are allowed one call to the security company and you may ask for an agent to cancel all your credit cards as well as other accounts and replace all of your identification, and what's great is they are capable of doing this for you even if you lost your wallet or purse in another country.

Don't stress yourself by worrying about identity thieves. Get some secure feeling by allowing life lock to take care of you online.

Identity Theft - Different Ways People Steal Your Identity   Identity and Theft: Solving The Identity Theft Nightmare   Identity Theft Facts   Identity Theft By Family And Friends   Identity Theft - 5 Ways You Can Become a Victim - Identity Theft Protection and Credit Card Fraud