Homepage > Crime > Identity Theft
- What is identity theft?
- What can you do to protect yourself from identity theft?
- Social networks
- Protecting your privacy online
Identity theft is stealing someone else's name, address or other identifying information. Criminals use this information to:
- obtain credit cards in your name
- take out loans in your name
- open bank accounts in your name
The most common method is the theft and misuse of existing credit cards, card numbers or home shopping catalogues.
What can you do to protect yourself from identity theft?
- Guard your credit cards, wallet or purse.
- Protect your mail and credit card statements – shred them rather than just putting them in the bin.
- Monitor your bank account regularly and check bank statements.
- Never share personal information on the phone and Internet.
- When ordering goods online, use the same card for all transactions and monitor statements carefully.
- When ordering online check for the little yellow padlock symbol as this tells you that the online order form is encrypted, which means your bank details will be better protected.
- Be careful when using public phones and cash machines.
- Be on the lookout for people with mobile phones who stand near you when you're using your bank card. Camera and video phones can be used to catch you entering your PIN number.
Many criminals now use the information you post on social networking sites like Myspace, Facebook and Bebo to steal your identity and you also make yourself more vulnerable to cyber-bullying.
Protecting your privacy online
To help protect your privacy online it is a good idea to:
- read the website’s privacy policy and know how to change your privacy settings
- not publish identifying information about yourself such as your date of birth, address and telephone number
- remember that everything you post online, stays online, so be careful about everything you post as it might come back to haunt you
- be careful about what you write on walls and boards. Also remember others might post information about you, that you don’t want the whole world to see
Home Office
Advice on what to do if you become a victim of identity theft.
Anti-Phishing Workgroup
Advice on spotting internet-related scams and fraud.
Get Safe Online
This is a new site that gives advice on protecting your home PC, anti-virus software and how to avoid email scams.
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