We Can All be Victims of Identity Theft

Identity crime is particularly on the increase and can have far-reaching and devastating consequences. However many computer users have found that by looking at their vulnerable areas, they can very quickly institute processes and procedures which can provide them with a good degree of online security whilst connected to the internet.

According to official figures, the yearly cost for those affected by identity theft and online computer crime is of the order of $50 billion. This is is only in the United States, in the United Kingdom, the cost is estimated at over $3.2 billion over the last three years and over $3 billion per year in Australia. Luckily a White Paper produced by McAfee (http://www.mcafee.com/us/threat_center/white_paper.html) shows us ways in which we can learn from the techniques of the criminals intent on identity theft. There are many different ways in which your online security can be compromised from basic non-technical approaches to very sophisticated pieces of software that can monitor your every move on line. These techniques can lead to he loss of personal data including user names, passwords, bank details and private data.

The McAfee report provides a number of high profile and important examples of proven cases of identity theft. It also gives an idea of the type of people that are perpetrating these crimes and how they may use this data to their profit or even to carry out acts of terrorism.

By trying to look at the problem from the point of view of the criminal, potential victims can begin to understand the process that is initiated when their personal data is at risk of being violated. With the criminals often several steps ahead of the potential remedies, it will never be possible to fully guard against all the future risks, in the same way that computer viruses can never be fully guarded against until they are properly identified by the appropriate companies. However it is prudent to keep a high level of suspicion within you when carrying out any online tasks and to be cautious of any requests for information and personal data, particularly when this request comes from somebody or some organisation that you are not aware of.

For further information and resources on identity theft, internet crime and online security visit the New Identity Theft website operated by Eric Hartwell.

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