Want To Go Phishing? Avoid the Lure.

Want to go phishing?

The digital world is awesome. We have music, pictures, videos, bank statements, electronic payments and investment portfolios all at our fingertips. Just a click away is where our friends and family are and what they’re doing at this exact moment. We even know where they’ll be tomorrow. Phones that track our locations so we can keep an eye on our kids and cars that can summon help in case we’re in a crash.

We have news as it happens, movies streaming to our TVs and emails so we can be in constant contact. It’s truly an amazing world. But with all that power, is there a price to pay?

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the nation right now. An Internet search returns over 4 million hits on identity theft alone. If you haven’t already been a victim, you most likely know someone who has.

For those who have been a victim (like me) it can be a frustrating, sickening experience. We seldom think about how vulnerable we are. Most of us don’t really even understand the plethora of ways our personal information can be compromised. We come up with a login ID and a password for every account, social media site and website and we’re on our way.

There are so many different things that require a name and password, most of us use the same one over and over for simplicity sake. I mean, who can remember different passwords for Facebook, LinkedIn, investments, bank accounts, Patch, email, work and all the other sites we visit and use.

They say if criminals used their intelligence for running a business instead of thievery, they would be some of the most successful entrepreneurs the world has ever seen. Some of the methods and thought that goes into identity theft at times are, quite honestly, brilliant. Unfortunately for us, there are really only three ways to combat it.

First, is to unplug from the system. That’s probably not too realistic.

So, the second is to pay for a monitoring service like Lifelock, or Identity Guard, or one of those. Those are not cheap, and if you’re going to protect your spouse and children at roughly $250 a pop, per year, most people don’t go for it.

The third way - and the most affordable way - requires effort and tenacity and our part. It requires us to put roadblocks in the way, but also to understand how our identities can be stolen in the first place, and be vigilant in looking out for them. So following is a list of the 6 most common (but certainly not all) ways the bad guys get our information from most common on down.

1.Phishing:

Yes, just like real fishing, they bait the water and put out a request (or threaten a user with closing an account) to provide login/password information by e-mail or a website that masks itself as being legitimate. If they get lucky and you provide your info, they’re in! Never respond to an email that requests your password.

2. Common Password Usage:

This is when you use the same password for multiple accounts so if someone breaks into one (like Facebook) they can get into others. Getting access to an e-mail account can often lead them to Paypal, EBay, YouTube and many other accounts. Make sure you use a unique password for every site where you have an account. Especially critical for financial sites, or sites with links to other accounts (like social networking or e-mail sites).

3. Linked Accounts:

This is related to the above in that one account has information leading to other accounts. If they gain access, then they know about the other accounts too. This is hard to protect against when a forum or social networking site requires an e-mail address (if they break into the one site, say Facebook, and look at your settings, then they know your email address too).

4. Failing to log out:

Failing to close your account on a computer that others have access to (like at work, school or a library) so that anyone else can access your account. Always close your account when you walk away from your computer (even at home for some people).

5. Browser auto-fill enabled:

Like the above, having the browser configured to enter your login/password automatically so anyone using the computer can gain access to your account. Never use the browser's auto-fill capabilities unless you're on a 100 percent private, secure and using a trusted computer.

6. Keylogger:

Any computer accessible by others can have Keylogger software installed which will capture your login/password for any site you visit. It basically records every key stroke. You can’t tell its running because it’s stealthy and hides in the background. This software originally became popular to safeguard kids accessing sites they shouldn’t or catching cheating spouses, etc. Never log into your account on a public computer (like at a library) and be very cautious using any computer that others have access to (like at work or school).

Don't forget to check your credit reports for suspicious activity.

Editor's Note:  James Semon is captain of The Perfect Neighborhood Watch, a community group covering the northwestern portion of Hauppauge.