| Avoiding Identity Theft and Fraud |
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| Introduction |
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Identity theft is a hot topic these days. Seldom does a day go by without a news item describing a "phishing" attack, or personal data being stolen from an enterprise.
If identity theft affects you personally, you can suffer immediate financial losses and also the added burden of reestablishing your credit rating - a task that (for some people) can take years.
Although many people mistakenly consider identity theft to be purely a computer crime, it's not. Many identity thefts - perhaps the majority of incidents - start with the physical theft of information or a social engineering attack designed to trick an unwary person into revealing critical personal information. But the nature of the Internet has also made it much easier for criminals to exploit the thefts, and even to sell identities to other criminals thus compounding the problem for the victim.
And although many people are aware of the dangers of identity theft, they're not certain how identity thefts actually occurs, how to minimize the risks, or how to react if they become victims themselves.
In this section, we'll tell you a little more about how identity theft happens, how to avoid it, and what to do if it strikes you.
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| Featured Links |
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- Oregon State Resources
- Free Annual Credit Report
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. You can access your credit report through this Web site. For more details about your rights under FCRA, please see the FTC Web site
- Hoaxbusters
Wondering if an e-mail that you receive is a real warning, or just a hoax? This Web site, operated by the US Department of Energy, contains examples of the warnings, offers, and pleas for help that you receive by e-mail, and that generally don't have any basis in fact. It also contains information about how to recognize hoaxes, and how to respond to them.
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| Online Course: Avoiding Identity Theft |
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Here's a short (about 30 minute) online course that will help you to understand some of the ways that identity theft can happen, what preventative steps can be taken to minimize the risks, and what to do should the worst happen.
Click here to start
the course |
Topics covered in the course:
- What is identity theft?
- The potential impact
- Who is affected?
- How identity theft happens.
- Examples including:
- Mail theft.
- Dumpster diving.
- Burglary and car prowl.
- Fake Web sites and e-mails.
- Bribery/corrupt employees.
- Password cracking.
- Mail redirection.
- Dealing with paper.
- Taking care online.
- SSL protected sites.
- Drivers licenses and other cards.
- Spotting and reacting to identity theft.
- Checking your statements.
- Watching for missing statements.
- Regular credit checks.
- 3 immediate actions to take if you're a victim.
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| More Links |
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