The internet has revolutionized our way of life. Now more than ever, we depend on the internet for everything from shopping to banking. Although the internet has made life easier for us in a lot of ways, it has introduced some additional risks to us such as the risk of having your identity stolen online, which can result in the loss of access to your accounts, new fraudulent accounts opened in your name, and surprise bills. The risk of identity theft cannot be totally removed from your internet experience, but it can be reduced.
5 tips to protect your identity online include:
- Protect Your Passwords-To minimize security breaches, it is best to use a different, strong password for each website that you need to sign into. If a password leak would occur on a website that you use, a hacker could have your email address, username, and password which they could then use to try to login to other websites. Even more concerning, if a hacker would gain access to your email, they could use a password reset link to reset login information for other websites such as your banking accounts to gain access. Using a different password for each website you need to log in to reduces this risk. To keep your passwords straight, it can be useful to use a password manager to store them in encrypted form and to suggest strong passwords for each website that you use.
- Make Sure Your Router is Password-Protected-You should always ensure that your wireless router is password-protected by a strong password. If your router is not secure, anyone that is in the range of your router can use your internet. This could allow a skilled hacker to access information from your computer and gain access to your accounts.
- Learn How to Identify Phishing Scams-Phishing is when a scammer sends you emails claiming to be from a legitimate company in order to try to get your password or account information for the company that they are claiming to be a representative from. Some phishing scams are easy to spot, but others can look legitimate and can be very enticing to fall for. The best way to avoid falling for phishing scams is to never follow a link that is sent to you. Instead, if a company sends you an email, it is best to use a search engine to go to their website so that you know that you are inputting your information for the real company.
- Monitor Your Credit-The law entitles you to 3 free credit reports per year from each of the 3 credit bureaus Experian, Equifax, and Transunion. After you request your reports each year, you should review them for any new open lines of credit and ensure that they are valid. If they are not, you should take steps to have them disputed and investigated if necessary.
- Only Use Reputable Websites-When you are considering making a purchase from a new website, it is best to do some investigation beforehand if you do not know the company's reputation. For example, you may want to check for reviews from other users. Additionally, you may also want to ensure that the website uses an encrypted connection which you can confirm by checking the website's address. If the address confirms that the website is using Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (https), it is using a more secure connection and it is more likely to be safe for you to input your personal and financial information.
Your personal information and security are valuable. Through some simple steps, you can ensure that your identity is better protected so that you do not suffer from identity theft.