Online identity theft is becoming a major threat to anyone who does anything online. It seems that every time a new identity theft solution is found, the fraud artists develop a new way to steal your money, or your identity. Here is a list of tips to help you avoid the risks of surfing the net.

1. If you receive an email with an attachment, don’t open it. Tell your friends and family that you do not open attachments. If you receive an attachment from a friend, check with them to see if they intended to send it to you. Be sure to perform a full virus scan on anything you download from the internet, before opening it.

2. Be sure any website you downloading from is genuine and trusted. Don’t download music and videos from unknown sources. Spy ware could be lurking in the download, waiting for you to enter personal information later. The spy ware then sends this information to various sites, and before you know it, all of your personal information is in the hands of scammers.

3. Don’t enter contests, or subscribe to websites that require your credit card information before you enter. A general internet search on the site or the contest will reveal the details as to whether or not the contest is a fraud.

4. Beware of pop-up ads. These little screens appear when you are entering or exiting a website. Most internet browsers have blockers to automatically stop them. These are little sites that try to collect your information, and sometimes the owner of the website you were visiting does not operate them.

5. If you receive an email from anyone requesting your social security number, or your credit card number, call him or her by phone to verify that they need this information. Most reputable companies will not request this type of information by email. This type of identity theft is called phishing. It differs from spam because they are using email to impersonate someone that you already know and trust. Spam is blasting out emails to thousands of addresses, hoping that someone will open it, and answer it.

6. Change your passwords on your computer at least every three months. Don’t use birthdates, phone numbers or pet names. These are easily guessed, and if someone has obtained part of your personal identification, they will easily be able to get into your computer. Use unique passwords that contain both letters and numbers, and try to use at least eight characters.

7. Supervise young children and novice users on the internet. Children and new users might disable the security software that prevents them from downloading programs.

8. Keep your guard up on social networking sites. Don’t reveal your personal information to people you have met online. It is becoming a common tactic for scammers to befriend someone online, gather their personal information, and then use it for their own benefit.

9. If you are going on vacation, or away for an extended time period, consider unplugging your computer. Often, critical updates or new threats are released that could compromise your system while you are away. If you leave your computer on, be sure that the automatic updates are on, to keep your information secure.

10. Get the best antivirus protection and spy ware removal program for your computer, and update it often. Be sure to scan your computer before doing any financial transactions on the internet. Spy ware could be lurking somewhere in your computer, waiting for you to input a credit card number, a social security number or a bank account number.

Many identity theft victims are unaware of the crime for several months. They may be turned down for a loan or a mortgage because their good credit has been ruined by identity theft. You can check your credit report periodically, to be sure that you are the only one using your credit cards. Keeping track of your financial records and following these online identity theft solutions will help to keep you safe online. Keeping up to date on the latest protection methods and common sense will keep your identity safe.

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