Identity Theft: Keeping Safe in an Online World

Identity Theft: Staying Safe dn Online World IDENTITY The Facts 1 in 25 Americans were victims of id theft in 2011 or 11.6 million people in US alone! $1.52b Average cost of identity fraud: $631 + 33ork the cost of identity theft and fraud in US in 2011 Did You Know? In 2011, 67% more Americans had their personal data exposed by hackers than in 2010. 67% If your data 9.5 times more likely to have your identity stolen. The largest amount of identity theft complaints in 2010 were from people aged 20-29 years old (24%). promi , you are In 2010, 13% of complaints of identity fraud were by people 60 years or older. Stolen identities were used mo st for applications of federal benefits, such as social security, followed by fraudulent credit card applications. Thieves who use false identities for work, loans and government benefits are primarily illegal immigrants. Those who use false identities for credit cards and banking information have been traced to organized crime. One study concluded that of the 42,232 participants aged 0-18, 10.2% had already had their identity stolen. The youngest victim in the study was five months old and greatest dollar amount fraudulently spent was $725,000 using the identity of a 16 year-old. Identity thieves target children because having a social security number and no credit history makes it easier to apply for fraudulent credit cards and loans. For this reason, children are 50 times more likely to be the victims of identity theft. The Internet is Becoming Less Secure Each Day In 2011 Web-based attacks increased by There were over 4,500 136% new attacks each day Unique malicious web domains New variants of malware 403m | 55,294 2011 2011 |286m 42,926 2010 2010 a 41% increase Ten Steps to Internet Safety 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 Don't feed the phish No one should ask you for your SSN or bank info by email. Password creativity Don't use the same password for everything. Invest in security Get an up-to-date virus checker & good security software (firewall and active malware protection). Use pre-paid credit cards Check statements regularly (more than once per month). Don't open suspicious emails If you don't know the sender, NEVER open an attachment or executable file (.exe, .com, .ba, etc). If in doubt delete it! Share selectively Make all profiles private & don't accept invites from strangers. Surf securely Only visit well-known sites. Don't randomly click links. Backup Securely backup computer data regularly. Be ready Keep a checklist of what to do if you are compromised. 10 Encrypt your sensitive data Turn on File Vault in security settings (OS X) Buy a third-party application (Windows 7 Ultimate includes BitLocker encryption) Purchase an antivirus protection security suite Download TrueCrypt for free Password Best Practices DO DO NOT love water dad dog house hellopizza alicia sanfrancisco sarah peter john new york password Use at least one special character Do not use something that can be found in a dictionary. Do not use names of your family, favorite team, city of your birth and easily guessed words (like "password") Use at least one number What to do if your data is compromised? Follow The Three C's. Change Contact Communicate Immediately change all passwords, financial passwords first. If you used the same password for multiple resources, make sure to change it for each account and do not use that password in the future. Contact companies, including banks, where you have accounts as well as credit reporting companies. Close any accounts that may have been compromised. Watch for any unexplainable or unauthorized charges to your accounts. Depending which identifying information was stolen you may need to communicate with government agencies (Department of Motor Vehicles or the Social Security Administration), Sources Javelin Identity Fraud Survey, 2011 Study conducted by Carnegie Mellon CyLab and AlIClear ID Identity Fraud Report, Javelin Strategy and Research, 2012 2011 Internet Security Threat Report, Symantec VERACODE Identity Theft: Staying Safe dn Online World IDENTITY The Facts 1 in 25 Americans were victims of id theft in 2011 or 11.6 million people in US alone! $1.52b Average cost of identity fraud: $631 + 33ork the cost of identity theft and fraud in US in 2011 Did You Know? In 2011, 67% more Americans had their personal data exposed by hackers than in 2010. 67% If your data 9.5 times more likely to have your identity stolen. The largest amount of identity theft complaints in 2010 were from people aged 20-29 years old (24%). promi , you are In 2010, 13% of complaints of identity fraud were by people 60 years or older. Stolen identities were used mo st for applications of federal benefits, such as social security, followed by fraudulent credit card applications. Thieves who use false identities for work, loans and government benefits are primarily illegal immigrants. Those who use false identities for credit cards and banking information have been traced to organized crime. One study concluded that of the 42,232 participants aged 0-18, 10.2% had already had their identity stolen. The youngest victim in the study was five months old and greatest dollar amount fraudulently spent was $725,000 using the identity of a 16 year-old. Identity thieves target children because having a social security number and no credit history makes it easier to apply for fraudulent credit cards and loans. For this reason, children are 50 times more likely to be the victims of identity theft. The Internet is Becoming Less Secure Each Day In 2011 Web-based attacks increased by There were over 4,500 136% new attacks each day Unique malicious web domains New variants of malware 403m | 55,294 2011 2011 |286m 42,926 2010 2010 a 41% increase Ten Steps to Internet Safety 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 Don't feed the phish No one should ask you for your SSN or bank info by email. Password creativity Don't use the same password for everything. Invest in security Get an up-to-date virus checker & good security software (firewall and active malware protection). Use pre-paid credit cards Check statements regularly (more than once per month). Don't open suspicious emails If you don't know the sender, NEVER open an attachment or executable file (.exe, .com, .ba, etc). If in doubt delete it! Share selectively Make all profiles private & don't accept invites from strangers. Surf securely Only visit well-known sites. Don't randomly click links. Backup Securely backup computer data regularly. Be ready Keep a checklist of what to do if you are compromised. 10 Encrypt your sensitive data Turn on File Vault in security settings (OS X) Buy a third-party application (Windows 7 Ultimate includes BitLocker encryption) Purchase an antivirus protection security suite Download TrueCrypt for free Password Best Practices DO DO NOT love water dad dog house hellopizza alicia sanfrancisco sarah peter john new york password Use at least one special character Do not use something that can be found in a dictionary. Do not use names of your family, favorite team, city of your birth and easily guessed words (like "password") Use at least one number What to do if your data is compromised? Follow The Three C's. Change Contact Communicate Immediately change all passwords, financial passwords first. If you used the same password for multiple resources, make sure to change it for each account and do not use that password in the future. Contact companies, including banks, where you have accounts as well as credit reporting companies. Close any accounts that may have been compromised. Watch for any unexplainable or unauthorized charges to your accounts. Depending which identifying information was stolen you may need to communicate with government agencies (Department of Motor Vehicles or the Social Security Administration), Sources Javelin Identity Fraud Survey, 2011 Study conducted by Carnegie Mellon CyLab and AlIClear ID Identity Fraud Report, Javelin Strategy and Research, 2012 2011 Internet Security Threat Report, Symantec VERACODE