A matter of just a few short years ago the concept of shopping online was, for many of us, something we did sparingly and with a fair amount of unease. Now most of us do pretty much all our shopping via our desktops and devices and the truth is that for the most part it’s a safe place to purchase items.
However, there are still literally tens of thousands of disreputable individuals and organizations who have made it their life’s goal to trick you into providing them with the relevant information needed to bleed your bank accounts dry.
The tools used by these scammers are also getting more and more advanced and keeping one step ahead of them is a mission that requires a great deal of common sense and an abundance of caution.
The only thing an identity theft scammer is seeking to do is harvest your data, just enough to be able to convince relevant parties that they are you. All you have to do is make sure you don’t give it to them.
This is of course increasingly difficult given just how much of what we do happens online. Staying free of identity fraud is even harder when you consider just how many accounts, cards and sites we sign-up to and enter our crucial information.
Even those of us who try to limit the amount of places where our information is stored can’t avoid doing so entirely.
Here are some easy ways to stay one step ahead of the scammers.
Use Top Quality Security Software and Make Sure It’s Never Expired
If you have a pint of milk in your fridge you wouldn’t continually use it long after it’s expiry date, without checking whether it was still safe to consume, right?
Too many of us think we have active anti-virus and scammer proof security software running on our computers and phones, only to then discover that they had expired long ago, therefore rendering them useless.
Make sure you have top quality security software that informs you when you may be straying to a website or link that isn’t safe. This really is the least you can do to avoid being the victim of identity theft.
Monitor Your Credit Score
Often scammers will use your identity to secure new credit cards or even new loans, which you are totally unaware of. Run a check using a good credit monitoring service, such as https://www.top10.com/id-theft/reviews/credit-karma, and this way you’ll know if suspicious activity is occurring in your name.
Always Check Your Bank Accounts
A common mistake that many make, even regardless of possible identity fraud, is to not frequently check actions that are occurring within your bank accounts. This may well be out of fear for one’s own financial circumstances but in terms of making sure nothing untoward is occurring in your account, you’ll need to have a more active approach to your finances.
Checking daily will make sure that anything suspicious is spotted as sometimes identity fraud can be so well disguised that your bank doesn’t notice and believes transactions are legitimate.
Stay Alert, If Something Looks Too Good to be True, Then Steer Clear
Try to keep your online purchases to a limited number of outlets and always make sure that the sites you visit have the padlock item on the URL menu, this informs you that the site is protected. You can look for advice on these issues at https://www.identitytheft.gov/ as they provide a great deal of updated information on how ID thefts are evolving.
Some scammers have become very adept at setting up fake websites that imitate well-known companies and you should always make sure that the sites you visit start with the https prefix and not just http. Finally if a deal presented in a message or email seems to be from a random source, do NOT click on them.
Also if a deal presented to you seems too good to be true then it’s likely it’s a scam and you should close the relevant browser ASAP.
Use a Password Manager and NOT the Same Password
Some of us are creatures of habit, using the same password for multiple purposes but you should avoid this at all costs. Try to use a password manager to help store your details, this will help you to set-up strong passwords that are numerous and therefore make it much harder for scammers to access your accounts.
Avoid Using Public Wi-Fi
Don’t use public Wi-Fi sources as these can be unsecured and that makes it easier for some to piggyback from these to your devices. Using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a good idea if you do have to access online services away from your home or workplace.
Lock Your Phone
Make sure that your phone is protected from access by either a strong passcode or a facial id system. This way if your phone is lost or stolen then you will be protected, if you don’t have this layer of security on your phone then you may as well be giving a thief all your most valuable information because as soon as they have access to your phone they can get just about any information they might need.