How To Protect Your IdentityWhat is identity theft?It is the theft of a person's identity (personal information) in order to commit fraudulent activity or to profit financially. Here's an example. If you open your mail and find a substantial hospital bill requesting payment for the amputation amputation (ăm'pyətā`shən), removal of all or part of a limb or other body part. Although amputation has been practiced for centuries, the development of sophisticated techniques for treatment and prevention of infection has greatly of your right hand (the same right hand you opened the mail with), chances are good your identity was stolen. How does identity theft happen? Most victims are at a loss to explain where, or how thieves got hold of their personal information. But now more than ever, in this age of technology, it's important to understand how your identity can be stolen and the repercussions repercussions npl → répercussions fpl repercussions npl → Auswirkungen pl therein. 7 Tips to Minimize the Risk of Identity Theft: (1) Destroy Unneeded Personal Documents. Use a cross-cut shredder on all personal documents (with your name and address) that you don't need to keep. Cross-cut shredders are more secure than strip-cut shredders; papers are cut into minuscule pieces, making it difficult to put documents back together. (2) Check Your Credit Report. Recent laws entitles consumers to one free credit report per year from all 3 credit bureaus. Scrutinize your reports for fraudulent activities and report errors to: www.equifax.com www.experian.com www.transunion.com If you are already a victim of identity theft, you can request additional reports. Visit www.annualcreditreport.com Experian's CreditCheck monitoring service The general surveillance of known air traffic movements by reference to a radar scope presentation or other means, for the purpose of passing advisory information concerning conflicting traffic or providing navigational assistance. will alert you to changes on your credit report. (3) Check Your Mail. Remove your mail quickly from your mailbox to prevent thieves from rummaging through it. If you plan to be away on extended holidays, contact the post office to hold your mail. (4) Register with the Do-Not-Call Registry. Apply to stop all telemarketing solicitations. This includes junk mail See spam and junk faxes. and pre-approved offers from credit card companies. Your privacy may also be compromised if telemarketers share your information with a third party. Call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (5) Protect Your Social Security Number. Leave the Social Security card at home. Provide your Social Security Number only when dealing with legitimate financial institutions (banks, insurance companies) and employers. If thieves locate your Social Security Number, they can get more personal information like your phone number, bank accounts, and credit reports. (Passports, birth certificates and important legal documents should be held in safety deposit banks or other secure area). (6) Do Not Share Personal Information. Identity thieves will pull any trick to get a loan, cash, vehicles, houses, jewelry, and vacations in your name. So it is imperative not to divulge personal information on the phone. Upfront businesses do not email or make phone calls to customers asking for information that is already secured on file. Instead, customers are notified by letter and provided a with phone numbers to contact official representatives at the company. Avoid filling out ballots with your full name on address in hopes of winning a cruise or shopping sprees unless you are familiar with the sponsoring organization. Scam companies can pretend to sponsor the prizes but in reality, they only want your information. (7) Keep An Eye On Your Credit Cards. Carry only the cards you use on a regular basis. Leave the rest at home in a locked safe. Cards that have not been used in years should be canceled. Check statements to make sure that you, or an approved user made all the transactions. Tips to Protect Yourself Online Most Web sites will ask users to register with personal details personal details npl (on form etc) → coordonnées fpl personal details person npl → Personalien pl personal details in order to access their sites. Be careful here. There's no need to give your real name and address on the registration page of a talk show. Login as John Brown or Jane Doe Jane Doe female counterpart of John Doe. [Am. Usage: Misc.] See : Everyman . Always read a Web site’s privacy policy to determine:
Firewall:
Choose strong passwords that are hard to decipher and that only you know the meaning of. Refrain from using common everyday words or your date of birth. Use both numbers and letters at least 8 characters long. Change passwords frequently. Shopping Online Buying merchandise online is very popular. Before providing credit card information, look for the icon of a 'closed lock' in the status bar. Also, 'https' in front of the URL URL in full Uniform Resource Locator Address of a resource on the Internet. The resource can be any type of file stored on a server, such as a Web page, a text file, a graphics file, or an application program. indicates you are in a secure site. Do not open email from unsolicited sources. If you don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. who sent it, don't open it. Email sent with suspicious attachments are often red-flagged, delete those immediately. Online Job Sites Post resumes only at reputable job Web sites. Do not put your address, date of birth and phone number on a resume. Provide that information when a legitimate job offer is made. Don't respond to requests to provide cash or Social Security Number up front. Logout Signing out and exiting from a network server, Web server or other computer system. The process (the noun) is a "logout" or "logoff," while the act of doing it (the verb) is to "log out" or to "log off." See login. Remember to logout from all sites that required you to sign in, particularly when doing online banking or shopping online. Downloads Exercise cautions when downloading and installing files from unauthorized vendors. You could become infected with viruses. Know About Encryption Levels. Encryption is complicated but it's easy to find out what your level is. It is essential to have a 128-bit encryption on your browser to get maximum internet security ''This article or section is being rewritten at Internet security is the process of protecting data and privacy of devices connected to internet from information robbery, hacking, malware infection and unwanted software. protection. Click 'Help' on your Internet Explorer Microsoft's Web browser, which comes with Windows starting with Windows 98. Commonly called "IE," versions for Mac and Unix are also available. Internet Explorer is the most widely used Web browser on the market. It has also been the browser engine in AOL's Internet access software. tool bar. Click 'About Internet Explorer'. A small window appears indicating your level. If it's 40-bit or 56-bit, you can upgrade to 128-bit encryption. More helpful tips to protect your identity
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