Identity Theft
Practicing Online Safety
Phishing Emails
Spyware
Email Viruses and Worms
Internet Auctions
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Information security
Defend -Defend against ID theft as soon as you suspect it.
• Place a “Fraud Alert” on your credit reports, and review the reports carefully.
• Close any accounts that have been tampered with or established fraudulently.
• File a report with law enforcement officials to help you with creditors who may want proof of the crime.
• Report the theft to the FTC at www.ftc.gov/idtheft or 1-877-Id-THEFT.
Your report helps law enforcement officials across the country in their investigations.
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how Id theft can happen
Skilled identity
thieves use a variety of methods to steal your personal information, including:
1. dumpster diving. They rummage through trash looking for bills or other paper with your personal information on it.
2. Skimming. They steal credit or debit card numbers by using a special storage device when processing your card.
3. Phishing. They pretend to be financial institutions or companies and email spam or send pop-up messages to get you to reveal your personal information.
4. Changing Your Address. They divert your billing statements to another location by completing a “change of address” form.
5. “old-Fashioned” Stealing. They steal wallets and purses; mail, including bank and credit card statements; preapproved credit offers; and new checks or tax information. They steal personnel records from their employers, or bribe employees who have access.
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To learn more about how to Deter, Detect and Defend against identity theft, visit www.ftc.gov/idtheft.
For tips on how to talk to others in your community about identity theft, get the FTC’s ID Theft Consumer Education Kit at www.ftc.gov/idtheft . This kit includes tips on getting the word out at work, in your community, and through the media. It has materials to use when you speak to others about identity theft.
Practicing Online Safety
Access to information and entertainment, credit and financial services, products from every corner of the world — even to your work — is greater than earlier generations could ever have imagined. Thanks to the Internet, you can order books, clothes, or appliances online; reserve a hotel room across the ocean; download music and games; check your bank balance 24 hours a day; or access your workplace from thousands of miles away.
The flipside is that the Internet — and the anonymity it affords — also can give online scammers, hackers, and identity thieves access to your computer, personal information, finances, and more.
If you are aware of and know how to protect yourself against certain online scams, like phishing emails, spyware, and viruses and worms, you can reduce your chances of falling victim to them or having them damage your computer.
Phishing Emails
Phishing is a scam where Internet fraudsters send spam or pop-up messages to lure personal and financial information from unsuspecting victims.
To avoid a phishing scam, don’t reply to email or pop-up messages that ask for personal or financial information, and don’t click on links in the message. Don’t cut and paste a link from the message into your
web browser — phishers can make links look like they go one place, but that actually send you to a different site.
Some scammers send an email that appears to be from a legitimate business and ask you to call a phone number to update your account or access a “refund.” Because they use Voice Over
Internet Protocol technology, the area code you call does not reflect where the scammers really are. If you need to reach an organization you do business with, call the number on your financial statements or on the back of your credit card, or type in the web address yourself.
Forward spam that is “phishing” for information to spam@uce.gov and to the company, bank, or organization impersonated in the phishing email. Most organizations have information on their websites about where to report these kinds of problems.
Spyware
Many free downloads — whether from people you know or businesses you don’t — come with potentially undesirable side effects.
Spyware is software installed without your knowledge or consent that adversely affects your ability to use your computer, sometimes by monitoring or controlling how you use it.
To avoid spyware, resist the urge to install any software unless you know exactly what it is. Your anti-virus software may include anti-spyware capability that you can activate.
If it doesn’t, install separate anti-spyware software, and use it regularly to scan for and delete any spyware programs that may sneak onto your computer.
Email Viruses and Worms
Most viruses sent over email or instant messenger won’t damage your computer without your participation. For example, you would have to open an email or attachment that includes a virus or follow a link to a site that is programmed to infect your computer.
So hackers often lie to get you to open the email attachment or click on a link. Some virus-laden emails look like they come from a friend or colleague;
some have an appealing file name, like.....
“Fwd: FUNNY” or “Per your request!”; others promise to clean a virus off your computer if you open it or follow the link — but instead infect your computer with a virus.
Don’t open an email or attachment — even if it appears to be from a friend or coworker — unless you are expecting it or know what it contains. You can help others trust your attachments by including a text message explaining what you’re attaching.
Internet Auctions
Internet auction sites are a great resource for buyers and sellers. They give buyers a “virtual” flea market with new and used merchandise from around the world, and they give sellers a global storefront from which to market their goods. But the online auction business can be risky business.
Here’s how to use these sites wisely:
• Evaluate how soon you need to receive the item you’re bidding on, and whether you can tolerate it being delivered late, or not at all. Many complaints about Internet auctions fraud involve late shipments, no shipments, or shipments of products that aren’t the same quality as advertised.
• Carefully consider your method of payment.
Learn what recourse you have if something goes wrong. Don’t send cash, and don’t use a money wiring service.
• Know who you’re dealing with. Avoid doing business with sellers you can’t identify, especially those who try to lure you off the auction site with promises of a better deal. Confirm the seller’s telephone number in case you have questions or problems.
Teach Your Kids
Online Safety
As a parent, you can teach your kids how to be safe online. Use the Internet with them and talk to them about their online habits, like the use of social networking sites. Tell them why it’s important to keep their name, Social Security number, address, and phone number to themselves.
For more tips, visit www.onGuardonline.gov/socialnetworking.html .
To learn more about how to be on guard when you’re online and other issues like wireless network security, social networking sites, scams sent through spam, online shopping, peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, Internet-based telephone service (VoIP), and cross-border scams, visit www.onGuardonline.gov .
• Gather your friends, family, or colleagues and test your online knowledge by playing the interactive games and quizzes at www.onGuardonline.gov/quiz.
• Host a training session using the tutorials and videos at www.onGuardonline.gov/tutorials.
• Know exactly what you’re bidding on. Read and print a copy of the seller’s description of the product closely, especially the fine print. Save copies of all emails you send and receive from the auction site or seller, too.
Seven Tips for Online Safety
You can reduce the chance of an Internet mishap by following these tips.
1. Protect your personal information. It’s valuable. To minimize your risk of identity theft, don’t share your personal information unless you know how it will be used and protected. Don’t reply to — or click on — links in any email asking for your personal information.
2. Know who you’re dealing with. When shopping online, look for a seller’s physical address and a telephone number. Call to see if the number works. Before you download free software or programs, read the fine print — some downloads come with spyware.
3. use anti-virus and anti-spyware software, as well as a firewall, and update them all regularly. Look for anti-virus software that removes or quarantines viruses, and for anti-spyware that can undo changes spyware makes to your system. Make sure your firewall is on and set up properly. If your firewall was shipped in the “off” mode, turn it on.
4. be sure to set up your operating system and web browser software properly. Select security settings high enough to reduce your risk of being hacked. Make sure to regularly update your system with the latest patches.
5. Protect your passwords. Keep your passwords in a secure place, and don’t share them on the Internet, over email, or on the phone. When it comes to passwords, longer is better.
6. back up important files. If you have important files stored on your computer, copy them onto a removable disc, and store it in a safe place.
7. Learn who to contact if something goes wrong online.
Visit www.onGuardonline.gov to learn how to respond if problems occur when you’re online.
