Online theft is a despicable crime that takes advantage of people in a virtual world that uses email, websites, chat rooms and instant messaging to communicate.
There are several different types of phishing that have evolved over the years but they all have one thing in common – they will attempt to trick the recipient of a message into providing personal data such as credit card details, social security numbers, and their important account passwords.
The number of online phishing attempts is ever increasing but the good news is that it isn’t too hard to avoid.
If you can learn some basic tips then you will never fall victim to this cyber crime.
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Here, then, are things you need to do to avoid getting phished -
* Think about disabling file sharing on your computer.
* Always use caution when opening email attachments, especially when they come from strangers.
* If you need to enter your details on a website then check their privacy policy and make sure you understand how they will use your data.
* Regularly check your bank and credit card statements and look for signs of fraud.
* Make sure you have a firewall, antivirus software and an anti-spyware program installed and update them regularly.
* Always keep your operating system fully updated and patched.
* Always choose secure passwords that are hard to guess or crack.
* Take advantage of the free reports that you can get from the credit bureaus.
* If you think that you may have already become an identity theft victim then report it to the authorities immediately.
Additionally, there are a few things you positively want to avoid doing -
* Never give your personal data to anyone via the telephone or directly (even if they say they are your bank, credit card company or someone offering you a job) unless you’re absolutely certain that the person or institution can be completely trusted.
* Never click on links in emails, even if they appear to be from your bank. If an email says there is a problem with your account then get the bank’s telephone number from a statement and call them to verify if that is true or not.
* Never store personal or financial information on a laptop or external drive as these are stolen far more often than desktop computers ever are.
Lee Ives runs an internet security blog where you can learn far more about phishing, pharming and vishing.
Article from articlesbase.com
