Identity Theft Featured Article

Identity Theft: Online Consumers Beware

Certain commercials aired on national television depict identity theft by displaying a heavy set, hairy man speaking in a high pitched, feminine voice. Real identity theft pertains to when someone uses another individual’s personal information to obtain lines of credit for the purpose of fraudulent purchasing power.

The media and Hollywood generally have a way of hyping up certain situations to make them seem of more importance than they actually are. However, identity theft stands as something of actual importance and has become predominant in ever increasing instances within recent years.

How Do I Verify Security on the Website?

There exist one rule you should apply to shopping at any online store, business or manufacturer and this pertains to verifying the site will provide an encrypted connection to secure your personal information in transit. In order to prevent identity theft, you’ll want to make sure the site has a yellow, lock symbol somewhere on the website to indicate a secure connection is present.

If the website doesn’t have the traditional security sense of a locked symbol somewhere on the page, you may look in the website’s core code for the presence of an HTTPS address. To find this information, right click the website with your mouse, select the properties tab and look for the “s” to indicate secure transmission of data over the Internet.

People will encounter situations for identity theft, even when visiting what they consider to be the most reliable online stores. If the website does not have any features displaying a secure connection to the server, look for a “1-800″ number to provide your personal information over the phone, instead of through a non-secure connection on the Internet.

It’s easier than ever for consumers to learn the lessons of protecting against identity theft the hard way, these days. Several get-rich-quick schemes, unreasonable offers and other types of schemes entice the victim to click on the fake websites and enter their personal information.

Of course, you shouldn’t write the Internet off as a bad medium to conduct any business on again in the future. Instead, become more familiar with security measures to protect you against identity theft and take advantage of the benefits in shopping online. Being an informed consumer won’t just help you avoid becoming a victim of identity theft, it will make you shop wisely in other parts of life, as well.

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