IDENTITY THEFT on the net? ( Archived) (23)

Also, someone got my Visa number.

Well dont want to say too much .....but some things being thrown my way at moment?

I just got caught by a website called Filedownloads or something like that. I was trying to get a flash game I wanted to play at work, its an older one I played online and was always free but I was having trouble finding it so this site claimed to have it. Had to join the site to download the file, page said 4.95 for a lifetime membership, so I paid it and they don’t even have the game. Next step they hit my bank acct in 30 dollar shot.

not good..........

WELL..You have to think about everything you do on the net I guess where there could be an opportunity.

Some questions.

1) Do you have a Facebook or other account displaying genuine personal information? If yes ammend your account or delete it.

2) Do you have a Firewall on your pc? If not get one immediately.

3) Install Decent antivirus such as F Secure/AVG/many others are available.

4) Avoid GMail addresses, these addresses seem to be the haven of criminals and you cant see where they are on the globe, obviously.

5)Install Anti Spyware software, like Adaware/Spywareblaster/Spybot...there all free and make sure you update the definitions every day.

6)Online banking and Emails sent to you, proportedly from your bank.Same goes for your Ebay/Paypal accounts.DO NOT REPLY.If in doubt ring your BRANCH.NEVER CLICK ON A LINK.

7) Buy a shredder.Never dump bills of any kind in your garbage, shred them, along with any banking correspondance or anything with your personal information.

8) Always ensure your Router does use encryption, and ensure the default password is changed.Do not use easily crackable encryption, these codes are available on the web for anyone to see.

9) Never ever do online shopping on a public computer in say an internet cafe, and never ever set the system to remember your passwords.

10)Never keep a document on your computer called "passwords".There are dedicated computers out there specifically looking for files with precisely this name.Instead name it something with a really abstract name, Like my favorite sausage recipe.

11)Conduct a credit check on yourself, to see if theres any credit taken out on your address that you dont know about.Then contact the company concerned.You might find you have bought another address, and in some cases you will be amazed to find how easy it is with 3 documents to obtain enough personal information to obtain credit, then reroute the mail so you never hear about the fraud till its too late.

If you want more advice let me know.

o.k....it was me.....I stole your pic...






Just joking hun..hope they didn't do too much damage...

I don't totally agree to Tip number (4) - Saying it that way you seem to hate gmail accounts :) ... I would put it this way;



Email is not encrypted and can easily be read by anyone. Therefore whatever the destination or source email account, one should be very careful when sending personally identifiable information and logins/passwords/pin numbers/visa numbers etc...

When you are the receiver of an email, before opening it, have a look at the subject field.

Many times you will be able to identify spam/malicious email from the subject.

In your email software, switch off the preview pane if it is on. The preview pan actually opens the email (the name 'preview' is misleading).

With regards to free email accounts (e.g. Gmail/Hotmail/Others), there is always a bigger risk as spammers usually use these services to send you emails.

An important thing to know is that anyone can easily modify the FROM field so the email looks like it is coming from someone you know. It is very difficult to confirm where any email is coming from.

Kevin

Well I kind of like my identity so I don't really see the need for a new one!!!!!!!!!!

I just thought I figured out where mine went, it was stolen on the net...