Nothing to 'like' about identity theft

[Audrey McNeil <audrey () riskbasedsecurity com>]

http://www.mandurahmail.com.au/story/1842701/nothing-to-like-about-identity-theft/

WITH increasing numbers of people sharing personal information on social
media sites, business owners and consumers are being warned to safeguard
their personal information more than ever ahead of National Identity Fraud
Awareness Week (NIDFAW) from 13-19 October 2013.

Almost one in four Australians have been a victim or known somebody who has
been a victim of identity theft, a survey conducted for the Attorney
General found.

Of these, more than half were the result of mail theft, loss of credit or
debit cards, or documents such as a passport or birth certificate.

The Identity Theft Concerns and Experiences Survey, conducted by Di Marzio
research for the Attorney General, 2012, found that identity theft had
increased by 40 per cent on the previous

Leading Australian private investigator Mark Grover said identity theft was
one of Australia’s fastest growing crimes.

“Broadly speaking there are three reasons why identity theft is on the
rise,” he said.

“Firstly, people are leaving their social media pages unlocked and filling
them with personal information.

“Secondly, people are increasingly careless with personal documents and are
either not disposing of them properly or allowing them to be delivered to
unsecured letterboxes.

“Finally, with online shopping becoming the norm, people can be careless
with how they share their personal information and will often maintain
obvious passwords and PINs to avoid ‘password overload’.

“All it takes is for someone to go through your rubbish bin or open your
letterbox and find an old bank statement or bill, or hop online and search
for additional information on you in order to open additional credit cards
or loans.

“Your identity is the single most valuable asset you own – and it is worth
protecting.”

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics Personal Fraud Survey
2010-11, Australians lost $1.4billion due to personal fraud, which includes
credit card fraud, identity theft and scams.

Ways you can protect yourself include:

 • Shredding all personal and financial information before putting it in a
bin

 • Avoid giving out personal details or sending money over the internet or
to people you don’t know and trust

 • Locking all personal documents in a safe container when not in use

 • Ignoring suspicious mail and emails

 • Locking your mailbox or using a Post Office Box to receive your mail

 • Avoid storing personal information on mobiles and laptops

 • Checking your billing and account records carefully

 • Choosing strong passwords and never select the ‘remember my password’
option

 • Installing anti-virus software on your computer

 • Checking your credit history annually to make sure there have been no
major changes to your credit rating

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