ID-PROTECT.ORG » Gold Mine http://www.id-protect.org Get the fact on identity theft... Protect Your Identity now. Mon, 20 Aug 2012 20:07:35 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 Why Securing Your Identity On the Internet Has Become More Difficult in 2010 http://www.id-protect.org/why-securing-your-identity-on-the-internet-has-become-more-difficult-in-2010/ http://www.id-protect.org/why-securing-your-identity-on-the-internet-has-become-more-difficult-in-2010/#comments Mon, 30 Aug 2010 12:01:31 +0000 admin http://www.id-protect.org/why-securing-your-identity-on-the-internet-has-become-more-difficult-in-2010/ We believe the more technology improve the more secure your data and personal identity becomes, but this is not always so. I know it is quite contrary to the common sense, but identity security does not go up with technological advancement — not at least automatically; rather our personal information becomes more prone to stealth because of technological advancements.

What advanced technology gives us is an option to fortify our personal data, which we invariably miss to do. The same technology, instead, is used by identity thieves to steal our data, even without leaving any trace.

Why is it so?

Because they are the active lot and we are the lazy ones.

Identity thieves constantly battle to get their hands on recent technology so that they can use it to their advantage. They walk an extra mile to get that, but even when every advanced technology is made available to us, we do not tend to use any of them.

How many of us have tinkered with privacy setting in Facebook to keep our photos, updates, etc. visible only to our friends, or to some of our chosen friends? The feature to make Facebook safe is already there, but very few people tend to use it, because of which most of the Facebook profiles are up for grab for identity theft.

This is not just one of case. There are many such things that we have been left the way they are on social networking websites. A social networking unfortunately is a gold mine for identity thieves.

What to do then?

  • Go to the setting menu (or any equivalent menu) and play with the privacy settings until you hide every detail from prying eyes.
  • Make all your photographs private, and confine the visibility to only those whom you intend to see. You should hide them from your friends as well, for you never know who will misuse it. Keep it visible only to those who matters or those who should see the pictures.
  • Do not post your postal address, telephone numbers, mobile numbers, or personal mail IDs in open forums, or in places where everyone can see it. If you have to share the number or any other personal detail then send it in a private mail.
  • Keep your personal information close to your chest. Do not give away anything to anyone, until and unless you trust the recipient completely, and you have faith that they will not misuse anything shared with them.

Technological advancement in itself does not expose us to identity theft, but our inability to use it to protect us does make us naked in front identity thieves.

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