Identity Theft

Identity theft, like prequels, bellbottoms and religious fanatics has been around for a long time and will probably be around for a while longer; but that doesn"t mean that you have to be a victim of any of these horrific things.

First, what is identity theft? Identity theft happens when someone pretends to be you (in this case on the Internet) in order to do some nasty things like taking money under your name. Who does this?  It is done by either computer savvy people who are bored, "friends" of yours that you shouldn't trust, or nefarious characters who would normally rob banks, but find it much less difficult to simply login and begin downloading personal information.

How can this be avoided? Get trustworthy friends. Don't leave anyone alone with your computer, and do not give personal information to unknown people on the Internet, or to websites that do not explicitly state their privacy policy!

Hackers have ways of getting your identity too. Even if you only give your name, credit card number, credit card expiration date and your address to one very trustworthy site (say the Apple store online or Chase banking online) there will still be a cache on your computer that has all that information. Even though that information is hidden, any good hacker knows how to get to it. A good idea is to clean your web browser's cache every once in a while and also to make sure that you don't allow any cookies (automatic personal information like a username and password) saved on any computer and/or website. But hackers still have ways to get into your information because no computer data not even caches get fully get deleted. There are ways to stop hackers from getting into personal information and any general information on your computer though. Software programs. If you have files on your computer that you don't want any hackers to get into, you should use at least one of the following: Synematc Norton Personal Firewall, Intego NetBarrier, Sustainable Softworks IPNetSentry or Open Door Networks Who's There. Any of those programs would do the trick. If you have Apple Mac OS X, your computer already has a firewall set up, but it's not the best, so we still suggest one of those programs.  Also, to avoid hackers, it is generally a good idea to disconnect from the Internet when you are not using it. If you aren't connected, nobody can get anything out of you.

If you have secret information on your computer you should:
- disconnect from the internet whenever you're not using it
- set up a personal firewall

Other helpful links about identity theft:
http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft
http://www.idtheftcenter.org/
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/fraud/idtheft.html