6 Simple Precautions To Protect Your Identity

Identity theft is unfortunately something people in general just don't pay enough attention to. People think that it wont, or just cant happen to them. With the recession crippling the economy there are a new wave of criminals evolving. The fact that people are starting to look for ways to protect their identities only means that people are just beginning to take this threat seriously. On that "Note" here's a few ways to "Avoid I.D. Theft".

Dictionary.com Descibes it as follows phish (fĭsh)
intr.v. phished, phish·ing, phish·es
To request confidential information over the Internet under false pretenses in order to fraudulently obtain credit card numbers, passwords, or other personal data.

One. "Phishing" Basically a hacker would set up a site that looks exactly like the one you where searching for......You would be redirected. You would then enter your information (Password, Personnel identification) and without realizing it, your information, now compromised . You would then see an error of some sort with the site and your information gone. One thing i always check for when landing on a page where i have to log in......... is Matching URLs.

Small Precaution but "Goes a long way" It's happened to me.

Two. Avoid" Limewire". When you go to sites where you would download anything from music to movies torrents like the "Pirates Bay" the minute you download anything you leave every strand on your computer open. Not very safe, definitely avoid any downloads unless you are 100 percent of the source.

Three. "Firewall" Key piece of protection on your P.C., well worth the download, keeps you informed of where and who is trying to connect to your p.c. I found a good free one at freeware.com, called zone alarm.

Four. "Password Protection" When it comes to cracking passwords one would be amazed at how quickly ones password could be cracked. Ive seen programs do it in 1 second flat. Combinations of numbers and letters both upper and lower case, and use something that Only you would know. Could ultimately make a huge difference in protecting your identification.

Five. "Insurance Protection" Because of the rise in identity theft, insurance company's are now offering coverage. "Sign of the times" call your local insurance company and see if it makes sense for you financially to give yourself that piece of mind.


Six. "Understanding" Knowing the way thieves operate, you should be able to protect yourself. Be proactive dont wait to become a victim.

Safe surfing.