10 Tips to Stopping Identity Theft

Okay, The VAR Guy concedes that the headline is a little misleading. You can’t completely “stop” identity theft. But you can mitigate some risks. Here are 10 ways to reduce the risk of somebody stealing your identity. Oh, and full disclosure: The tips were offered up by Identity Finder (a software company), but The VAR Guy added his own spin to each of them.

1. Passwords: OK, let’s start with the obvious. Choose an alphanumeric password that’s case sensitive. Something like The1VAR4Guy7.

2. Peer-to-Peer File Sharing: Make sure those programs don’t expose personal folders.

3. Microsoft Bug Fixes: They come out monthly for Windows. Apply them. Or, make the leap to Mac OS X or Linux. You’ll experience no viruses, and fewer bad guys will take aim at you.

4. WiFi: Turn on the security features. Period.

5. Hands-On Hardware: Don’t leave your laptop unattended in a public place (i.e., coffee shop).  Hundreds of thousands of laptops are stolen each year, according to Identity Finder.

6. Online Shopping: Don’t purchase anything online with your credit card unless the website is secured with SSL as indicated by a padlock in your web browser.

7. Ignore Hyperlinks: Don’t click on email messages that contain hyperlinks to websites.  Close the email and type the website address in manually to ensure you’re visiting a valid site.

8. Stay Private In Public: Never enter private company information on public computers such as in a hotel, library, or at school. These systems may be infected with a keylogger or spyware capturing everything you type.

9. Instant Nightmare: Never email or instant message private company information. Those communications are usually not secure and can be listened in upon by other people.

10. Lock Up Your Data: Finally, here comes the pitch from Identity Finder. The company says “Make sure you don’t store any personal or confidential information on your computer unsecured.”

Of course, the company is quick to point out that you can run the free trial of Identity Finder from www.identityfinder.com to see what private information is unsecured and vulnerable to identity thieves, if they access your computer.

The VAR Guy loves top 10 lists, so he was willing to give Identity Finder a bit of a plug.