October is traditionally the time when police and business groups around the globe join forces to raise awareness of the dangers of identity fraud, and focus attention on how individuals and corporations can protect themselves. In the UK, Action Fraud has again this year released tips on how to protect your identity from theft; a similar initiative in Australia, Stop ID Fraud, also offers tips and advice.
The fact is, your identity is a valuable commodity, which is vital if your day to day activities are to happen. You need to prove who you are to open bank accounts, obtain credit, goods and services, or to claim benefits. But in an increasingly mobile and online world, the keys to your identity are more vulnerable than ever. Just a few, seemingly innocuous details, can gift your identity to fraudsters. And reclaiming your identity once you have lost it is much harder than you would think.
Identity crime is one of the fastest growing types of crime in many markets around the world. It comes in various forms:
- Identity theft: the misappropriation of identity (name, date of birth, address) of another person, without his or her knowledge or consent
- Identity fraud: where a stolen identity is used in criminal activity – usually using stolen or forged identity documents, such as a passport or driving license.
- Facility takeover fraud: where identification details are used to hijack the running of a victim's account (e.g. by redirecting post, or to obtain new credit cards).
CIFAS, the UK's fraud prevention service, identified and protected over 150,000 victims of identity crime in 2012 alone. And Verizon's own 2013 Data Breach Investigations Report found that 76 percent of data breaches exploited weak or stolen passwords and credentials, underscoring the extent to which corporate and government networks, systems and applications are under attack by cyber criminals attempting to gain unauthorized access and steal sensitive information. It's a trend that is growing. But it's also an area where a few simple steps can make a big difference.
We've previously highlighted the steps you can take to keep your password secure, as well as mobile security tips. The steps you need to take to keep your identity secure are actually remarkably similar. Here are our top tips:
- Ensure you activate privacy settings on social networking sites, and don't disclose personal information online.
- Watch out for unsolicited ‘phishing' emails, which can redirect you to seemingly real sites, but which are set up to steal your identity. Don't click on embedded links!
- Only enter your personal information into secure websites (look for https:// in the address, or a padlock symbol) and always check the credentials of anyone asking for your personal information.
- Keep your computer's firewall, anti-spyware and anti-virus programs up-to-date, and encrypt your wireless network to the highest possible setting.
- Protect all mobile devices with passwords, and change these regularly.
- Never share your passwords or PINs, and make sure that you don't use one password for all your accounts. They should also contain a mix of numbers and upper/lowercase letters.
- Don't access websites requiring financial information from public wi-fi hotspots, and avoid using your smartphone for financial transactions.
- Shred sensitive documentation before you throw it away.
- Always check financial statements against receipts
- Finally, but most importantly, treat your personal details as you would any valuable item. If in doubt, don't give it out!
Many fraudsters win by relying on our complacency. By remaining vigilant and applying common sense, we can stop identity fraudsters in their tracks.
