Who CAN you trust? With
the Internet expanding
at an alarming rate,
there are some places on
the web that resemble a
dark back alley: an area
you simply wouldn't
tread for fear of
personal safety and
security. But it's hard
to tell when you should
be aware of your
personal information
being stolen - you might
think that you are safe,
but there are a great
deal of people everyday
whose identity is taken
without warning.
What
can you do in such a
globalized setting;
where someone half a
hemisphere away can take
you to the cleaners
overnight? Be
knowledgeable. Be aware.
Know the following tips,
and you'll never have
your identity stolen.
Number one places
where you can lose your
identity
E-mail
One of the leading
problems in Internet
security is how easy it
is to get someone's
e-mail address. There
are a number of e-mail
spoofs that can take
your credit card number
away from you in the
blink of an eye. These
are:
-Paypal e-mail spoofs
- E-bay e-mail spoofs
- Tricks, like those
e-mails that claim they
are a long-lost third
uncle or cousin of some
important figurehead in
a third-world country,
and they would like to
give you $4,000,000 or
some ridiculous number.
If you know what you
have to watch out for,
it definitely helps.
Never send anyone any
kind of important
personal data in an
e-mail; not even if they
claim they are Paypal,
E-bay, or some other
company you trust. No
one should ever ask you
for something like your
driver's license, social
security card or credit
card over e-mail.
A Paypal spoof site
can steal your Paypal
login information by
simply having you put
your username and
password in as usual;
but in reality you're
not submitting it to
Paypal, you're sending
it to scammers so they
can steal your account
information and of
course your personal
information, such as
credit cards. Never
login to Paypal except
anywhere other then
www.paypal.com
In fact, if you use a
spam-blocking utility
like Qurb, it makes a
world of difference. You
might still get the odd
scam or two, but you'll
be able to tell now that
you know how they look.
The next avenue of
personal data theft
evolves around...
Pop-ups, unsafe URL
addresses and
third-party installers
The next area that
personal data theft can
occur is simply by being
in the wrong place (and
not even necessarily at
the wrong time!) While
most pop-up windows and
URL addresses are safe,
there are some forms of
malicious software out
there we know as
"auto-installers" or
"self-installing
software." You can
recognize what I mean by
this if you use Internet
Explorer and if you have
some toolbars across the
top that either you know
you didn't put on there
or simply can't get rid
of. That is an example
of self-installing
executables: that
install themselves
without asking you.
Some of this software
is harmful, but most
know it is ad-ware/spyware
most of the time. It's
just blatant
advertising, but the
worst self-installing
software can access your
cookies and attempt to
transfer that data to a
remote server.
So how do you steer
clear of this junk?
Easy - use Firefox,
or if you find yourself
enduring pop-ups, get a
pop-up blocker. DON'T
get a third party
program - get something
reputable like Google
Toolbar, because a third
party "pop-up blocker"
can ALSO be a form of
spyware/ad-ware if you
don't know what you're
doing.
You can also maintain
some basic ad-ware/spyware
prevention tools on your
system. Avast Anti-virus
is excellent at
detecting a
self-installing script
and shutting it down
before it finishes. So
is Microsoft Antispyware,
should you have a
genuine windows version.
Routine scans with a
program like Lavasoft
ad-aware or other good
spyware/ad-ware suites
will also help.
And the last spot
where you can have your
credit card or debit
card information is
stolen is at your local
store. Should someone
ever drop your card
while handing it back to
you, make sure when they
bend down they are only
retrieving your card.
There have been reported
cases where shopkeepers
(especially disgruntled
gas station workers)
have "dropped" a card
only to swipe it through
another machine below.
While it's less
likely you're going to
be scammed locally, the
possibility still exists
for a disgruntled worker
unhappy with their
earnings taking your
card information and
running up some bills in
your name. Although,
typically people who try
this sort of scam run up
small bills over a large
number of accounts in
order to stop the
customer from noticing.
Don't worry - and
don't get paranoid. The
first step of personal
data theft prevention is
awareness. If you're
smarter about the secure
and unsecure world,
you'll be identify scams
from the get-go. It may
even pay to let a
company like Paypal know
who the spoofers are, if
you have a minute to
report them to spoof@paypal.com
Remember, you the
user control your level
of security on the
Internet. There is no
one to blame when data
thievery occurs but
yourself.
For more topics
related to Internet
security and
computer/Internet
related subjects please
come visit Mark's Pc
Forum at
http://www.markspcforum.com
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_Berger
