How To Protect Yourself From Identity Theft: Part II, Preventing Theft

Identity theft is a crime that can happen to anyone that isn’t careful enough with their private information. In the first part of this article series, we covered what type of information identity thieves look for and how they use it for their financial gain. In this article we will cover the different ways you can protect yourself to avoid having your personal information compromised:

• Use a firewall:  this system is designed to block and protect your computer and information from threats. Most computers come with a built-in firewall, you should make sure yours is activated and updated.
• Use an antivirus: many hackers and identity thieves gain access to your information and computer through a virus. Depending on the nature of the virus they can gain access to all of your files. You need to make sure your computer, phone or any other device you use where you have your personal information, have a good antivirus.
• Use a spyware blocking software: like a firewall, this is a defense mechanism you should have to prevent having your sensitive information spied on by unwanted third parties.
• Use strong passwords: make sure you pick strong passwords that nobody can guess and that you renew them often. Do not have the same password for all of your private information.
• Do not reply to spam emails: in general, do not respond to emails you don’t know or have sketchy email addresses. There are emails offering you a job that is just looking for you to provide them with your sensitive information, do not respond to these. There are also a lot of scam emails that will ask you for money by offering you ‘business opportunities’, do not answer them either.

These are just some of the standard security measures you should take to avoid being a victim of identity theft. You can also look into other prevention strategies in the book Identity Theft For Dummies, or look into other cybersecurity books in our online library www.gellmedia.com.