July 29, 2015

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing methods used by hackers to carry out criminal activities. It is an attempt to gain unauthorized access to the personal information of internet users, such as email ids, passwords, credit card details, social security numbers etc. With internet being a crucial part of our everyday lives, the risk for identity theft has also increased manifold. Therefore, it is important that you are aware of the dos and don’ts for keeping your information secure over the internet.

Read on to know some of the essential steps that you must follow to ensure online identity safety:

  • Create Strong Passwords: Choosing small and easy passwords is like providing hackers the key to your virtual world. These are the most common ways crimes like identify theft are carried out. In order to avoid being a victim of these attacks, you should create passwords that are lengthy, unique and hard to crack. A good password comprises minimum 8 characters with a combination of numbers, alphabets and symbols. You can also use a two-factor authentication method to prevent unauthorized access to your online accounts.
  • Use Multiple Email Accounts: Using different email accounts for important and spam emails can help to minimize the risk of hacking attacks. For instance, you can create a separate email id for work related conversations, another for personal emails and yet another to be used for unsecure or trivial websites. Thus, spam emails will no longer pose a threat to your sensitive information.
  • Ignore Emails From Unknown Senders: If you receive an email from an unknown sender, you must not open or download its attachments. These could be malware attempting to infect your system and steal important data. You should also be cautious of emails asking you to enter your personal information or verify password. If you receive an email claiming to be from a bank or any reputed business, make sure you validate its legitimacy by directly contacting the company.
  • Ensure Secure Network: Before entering your credit card details for internet banking or other ecommerce transactions, look for the padlock symbol in your browser’s address bar. Additionally, the URL of the website should begin with ‘https’ instead of ‘http’. This ensures that the connection is secure and the information you enter will be properly encrypted.
  • Ignore Pop-Ups: Pop-ups are also a common method of getting users to download malware into their devices. Advertizements that claim to offer a prize or reward usually contain bugs programmed to damage your system, gather important data or simply manipulate stored information.

For more online identity safety tips, feel free to contact Centex Technologies at (855) 375 – 9654.