Identity theft

These days’ identity theft and financial scams seem to have become commonplace. Our online lifestyles have given determined criminals access to just about all of our information. And as much as we are promised watertight information security from service providers, there seems to be a continuous stream of news stories detailing stolen personal information resulting in identity theft.

In fact just last week, a large defense contractor had their computers comprised by a ‘hacker’ who got away with secret material regarding Australia’s defense capabilities. Now if someone can access supposedly secure information via a Defence force computer, what hope is there for a sub- urban credit union protecting your financial information.

Information security is vital

Having worked in banks for a lot of my career I have certainly seen the damage that identity theft can cause innocent people. And it’s not something that is easily fixed either, so doing your utmost to avoid it happening is the best idea.

Criminals only need fractions of information – just some bits here and there, to enable them to build your profile sufficient enough to convince a retailer to supply goods or services. And guess who get’s the bill?

Therefore it’s increasingly important that individuals stay vigilant and certainly don’t make it easy for criminal elements. Information security is the key, so here are a few tips to help you.

Be particularly careful of all unsolicited offers in your email that promise easy money or huge re- wards. The rule with these, ‘if it sounds too good to be true it usually is” Just delete it and move on.

Never give your personal, banking or credit card information to anyone who makes contact with you. And be assured that your Bank will never, ever contact you to ask for it. They should already have it!

Make sure you always check your bank and credit card statements every month. If you see any- thing out of the ordinary, contact your bank immediately.

Destroy every document with your personal information on it. If you don’t have a paper shredder, tear them up into small unreadable pieces.

Any password you have should always be hard for someone to work out, and of course, don’t tell them to anyone else.

Be aware of what you are posting online and, try to limit what you share.

And finally, always ‘ere’ on the side of caution when giving out any personal information, as it is “always better to be safe than sorry”.

Do you have any tips that you use to keep your information secure? What about identity theft, has it ever happened to you. Let me know in the comment section below.

Thanks for reading, and see you next time. Homepage