By Using The Computer Identity Theft Has Significantly Increased
With the widespread use of the computer identity theft has become an increasingly growing problem. Thieves no longer have to dig through trash cans or try to hack into people's computer files to grab their social security number and other personal information, all they have to do in many cases is ask them for their information and many trusting souls willingly provide the information. Walking up to a person on the street and asking for their social security number usually will not work, but when sending an unsolicited email to their home or work computer identity theft is just as easy.
When the computer was first becoming popular, hackers would attempt to break into computer systems and glean information. Although many were quite successful in this type of computer identity theft, it could be time consuming and hackers quickly learned they could count on the trusting nature of most individuals to get their information.
Their strongest weapon in gaining information is fear. A common fear among people that they will be the target of computer identity theft and it is, in fact, that fear that enables thieves to get their information. When a person receives an email from what appears to be a company with which they do business telling them their identity may have been compromised, they have no qualms about following the instructions in the email.
Phishing Scams Enable Thieves To Hook The Big Ones
These scams work by presenting an official looking website to which their intended victims are directed. There is little to indicate to the average user that they are becoming the victim of computer identity theft. All companies that use the internet for gather information do so through secure websites and those can be determined to be real. A secure website will have an image of a lock at the bottom of the screen and the screen name will usually begin with 'https' indicating it is a secure site.
Computer identity theft victims may not realize their personal security has been compromised for several weeks and by the time they do find out, their credit record will be a disaster and collection efforts for debt of which they are unaware may be starting the collection process.
In order to prevent being a victim of computer identity theft, never click on a link included in an email or copy and paste it into your web browser. Instead, enter the site as you normally would and forward the email to the site's customer service address to verify its authenticity.
