Practice Safe Internet Shopping

Ahh, Internet shopping. No lines, no crowded parking lot…you don’t even have to put on a shirt. And neither does an identity thief before he hacks into a web merchant’s database and steals your credit card number.

Online shopping isn’t quite so convenient if it results in identity theft, so before you and your credit card get too cozy over there, check out these rules for shopping smart.

• Shop from secure sites, which will encrypt your order info—including your credit card number—before sending it to a merchant. To make sure your connection is secure, look for “https://” at the beginning of the URL in the address bar (it’s the “s” that’s important). Also check for a little picture of a padlock or an unbroken key in the bottom right hand corner of your browser.
• Read privacy policies. Secure ordering only protects your information en route. A privacy policy should tell you if the company is going to store and use your information safely once it arrives.
• Shop at sites you know. If you aren’t sure about a site, do a little research before you divulge your digits.
• Look for privacy seals—like BBBOnline, TRUSTe, or VeriSign—on the sites where you shop. These colorful little logos, usually located at the bottom of a homepage, certify that the company adheres to certain privacy and security guidelines. Click on the seal to make sure it’s genuine, and to find out exactly what its placement on the site means.
• Shop with a credit card—not a debit card. If a thief intercepts your credit card number and runs up charges, federal law limits your liability to $50 per card. If the same thing happens with your debit card, you can lose $500 or more.
• Keep detailed records of your online purchases in case anything goes wrong.
• Log off after using public Internet terminals, and, if possible, save your shopping for your home computer.
• Use special software to wipe your hard drive clean before chucking your old computer.

Say No to Downloads From Strangers

You’re surfing the web and a window pops up. You don’t really read it (who has time to read all those boring gray windows?) but you click “yes” to make it go away. Congratulations…you just downloaded a program. It may, of course, be a friendlyharmless program. Then again it also might be a mean sneaky program that changes your firewall settings and snoops around your computer for personal information. Many of these programs, known as “spy-ware,” really do perform useful functions while also doing less desirable things just under your radar. The point is, you really don’t know. Once you let a program onto your computer, it can do just about anything, and its movements can be very hard to detect.

The solution? Click “no” instead of “yes.” Your browser usually has to ask you if you want to download, so read those boring gray boxes carefully, and choose your downloads wisely. If you’ve downloaded a lot of free software and can’t seem to make it go away, you may want to get “spy-killer” or “ad-killer” software, which is designed to find and delete all your spyware.

Identity Theft and the Internet

Not every virus is lurking about your hard drive looking for your SSN, and not every piece of spam you receive is a solicitation from an identity thief. But some of them are. Nine out of ten identity thieves agree that the Internet makes their job a whole lot easier. Read on to find out how you can make it a little harder for identity thieves.

VIRUS PROTECTION
Viruses—programs written by hackers to mess with your computer—can do any number of unpleasant things, some of which can be quite handy for an identity thief. For instance, a virus could keep track of every key you type, which might include your passwords or your credit card number. The virus then sends that information back to the thief. Virus protection programs search out and destroy these sneaky bits of code, but the software has to know what it’s looking for. Update your virus protection software regularly and whenever you receive an alert about a new virus.

WINDOWS UPDATES
Despite its many useful capabilities, Windows contains some security loopholes that hackers find and exploit for their own gain. Fortunately, Microsoft is always working to come up with security patches to stop the hackers and thieves. But you’ve got to install the Microsoft updates if you want to be protected. Update your operating system whenever it tells you to—even if you’re in the middle of a particularly important game of Minesweeper.

FIREWALLS
When you venture out for a stroll in cyberspace, you use the front door: your browser. What you probably don’t realize is that there are thousands of other doors, windows, and ventilation shafts (ports, if you want to get all technical) through which your computer can be accessed. If you leave all of those entrances wide open, you’re just begging an identity thief to get in there and steal information. Firewall software protects your computer by locking the extra doors and windows. This is especially important if you have a high-speed Internet connection that’s always on.

The IRS Scam

If you get an e-mail from the IRS warning you that you have been chosen for an e-audit, and asking you to fill out some forms, keep the following facts in mind: the IRS doesn’t perform e-audits, and they don’t warn you when they are planning to audit you. Oh, so that’s probably another scam, huh?

In short, trust no one. Anyone can sound professional over the phone, and anyone can create an official-looking website.

If someone contacts you and asks for information, that’s your biggest clue that something’s wrong. Investigate thoroughly before you tell anyone anything.

Free Gift Scams

You’ve won an amazing free gift!(Just give us your credit card number for a small shipping and handling fee.) Well, then, it’s not really free, now is it?

Don’t give your credit card number to unsolicited e-mail offers. Don’t make us say it again! If you’re really tempted by the “free” toy, investigate the company first to make sure it’s legitimate. Does it have a phone number you can call to reach a live person? Does the area code match the address of the company?

Call the Better Business Bureau where the company is located to get all the dirt.

Lottery Scams and The Old Friend Scams

Lottery Scams

In this tempting scam, you get an e-mail, often from Canada or the Netherlands, saying you’ve won money in a lottery. To claim the cash, you simply need to verify your identity. Ummm, not to burst your bubble, but if you didn’t enter the lottery, it’s highly unlikely that you managed to win it. Repeat after us: S-C-A-M.

The “Old Friend” Scams

Someone e-mails you claiming to be a long-lost friend, maybe someone from a chatroom, and asks you some seemingly innocent questions. But remember: Friends don’t make friends fill out questionnaires! This is an identity thief trying to weasel info out of you, like your birth date and your interests, which could help them figure out your password. Don’t respond.

The Nigerian Scam

This is another popular one, so if you have an e-mail account, you’ve probably seen it. Here’s how it goes: you get an e-mail from “a government representative,” usually from Nigeria, asking for your help moving a large amount of money.

Often they’ll tell you that you were recommended by a “business associate” as the trustworthy type. In return, you get a cut of the money, and your part is easy. All you have to do is provide your bank account number…Yeah, right. Can you guess where this is going?

Phishing or The Account Maintenance Scam

This is the big one, and it works over the phone or through e-mail. Someone claiming to be from a company you have an account with—your bank, online retailer, or Internet provider, for instance—contacts you to “confirm” your account information, i.e., all the information an identity thief can use. Don’t. If it’s a phone call, double-check that the caller is legit by hanging up and calling them back using a reliable number. (Get, the number yourself from the phone book or a billing statement.)

If the account maintenance request comes in an e-mail, it’s called phishing, and things get even trickier. You’ll be asked to click on a link within the e-mail, which will take you to a site that looks exactly like the company’s real site. Don’t be fooled! There you’ll find a form, and if you fill it out, an identity thief gets all your info.

So how can you tell if an e-mail like this is a scam? Well, remember that link in the e-mail? It was probably your Internet provider’s real address, but here’s the diabolical truth: a link can say one thing and take you somewhere else entirely! Even the address bar on your browser can fool you. Thieves buy domain names that are almost exactly identical to the actual site names: www.yourbank.net becomes www.yourbank.com or www.yourbankonline.net. Again, you need to verify this through a separate source. Call the company directly, or type the address you know is theirs into your browser. If you go to the real website, you’ll often find a warning about the scam. If not, forward them the fake e-mail so they can alert other customers.

Are Debit Cards Safe?

Answer: The Jury Is Still Out.

The problem is that although your credit card number and your debit card number are both pretty easy to steal, the results can be quite different. With credit card fraud, the thief steals the bank’s money, and your job is to prove you don’t really owe it.

With debit card fraud, the thief steals your money, and you have to convince the bank to put it back into your account. Guess which one’s easier? When a thief steals your credit card you’ll never pay more than $50 in fraudulent charges. But when it’s your debit card, it’s possible to lose all the money in your bank account.

Should I Get Identity Theft Insurance?

Answer: Probably not

Okay, the decision is up to you, but keep in mind that no one but the companies selling the insurance recommends this step. That should be a clue. For around $25 to $60 a year, these companies offer identity theft policies to cover the expenses associated with theft—lost wages, mailing and phone charges, and attorney’s fees, for instance. While that might sound good at first, the truth is that the maximum coverage for lost wages can be miniscule compared to your salary. And as for legal fees, few victims actually require a lawyer.

The other problem with ID theft insurance is this: it only covers the financial losses, which are only one part of what a victim has to deal with.

Identity theft insurance doesn’t comfort you when you feel violated, wait on hold for you when you call the credit bureaus, or help you make sense of the complicated and frustrating project of clearing your name. At best, identity theft insurance helps to ease part of your financial burden if you become a victim. At worst, it takes advantage of your fears by selling you a service you don’t really need, then lulls you into a false sense of security, and only resolves part of the problem once your identity is stolen. The best insurance is prevention and early detection.

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