Identity theft is a growing problem around many of the developed countries of the world and as well as many of the other developing countries as well. Different governments around the world are doing the best they can to catch and prevent this form of fraud from spreading. But many of these people are hidden in the shroud of the internet making them more difficult to catch.
They say prevention is better than cure, and as internet users, we must also learn how to help prevent this from happening to us. Let us establish a few facts about identity theft so as to better understand this form of crime.
One of the facts about identity theft is that it has been a crime existing way before the internet existed. People used to use credit card account numbers, Social Security numbers and sometimes even old receipts to get the information they need to personally make transactions in different shops. The Internet however, made these people more ambiguous.
Another one of these facts about identity theft is that many people are scammed into this not because they have their information stolen but because they willingly give it to the swindler themselves! Many are tricked into giving all types of information upon a simple request to claim a prize to get special access on some internet sites. Just remember that no legitimate prize will ever ask you to give up personal information like your SSN or credit card numbers. Sometimes it’s better to be safe than to be sorry.
One more of these facts about identity theft that you should know is that many of these hackers don’t work alone. The act of Identity theft is now usually a group effort. Like organized crime, these criminals learned that they can earn more and have less competition by working together. It comes to no surprise that there are many forums around the internet where hackers chat with each other and share tips and tricks. Be careful where you leave your passwords and account numbers because you could never know how big this network of hackers is. Remember that anybody can be a hacker. A few years back, police traced an email of a very skilled hacker to a house in California. When they got there, they were shocked to see that that hacker, who was able to hide from the FBI for so long, was just a 13 year old boy
These are a few facts about Identity theft that can help you keep on your toes from hackers trying to get some information out of you. Keep valuable personal information to yourself only. Remember that it is not a bad thing to keep secrets so long as these are the secrets that are not meant for other people. A research done a few years ago says that because of the Internet, everyone around the world is separated by just seven degrees of friendship. That means with just seven emails to a friend, and a friend of a friend and so on, you can find anyone on the face of the earth. Now, imagine what that person can do if he has your Social Security Number.
