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Online ID Theft

Is your identity safe online? If you shop, sell, bank or chat online, surf the web, use social or auction sites and play games online, the chances of having your identity stolen online are high.

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The online security problem is rife and multi-layered. Solutions therefore need multiple layers. PC Security can help keep your PC protected from viruses. You will need additional protection against online ID theft. Knowledge and shared experience is also a powerful tool in the fight against online threats.

Share your experiences of online theft with others.

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Added: 30 June 2008 23:02
hazyfantayzee says:
APACS is trade association for organisations delivering payments services to you and I. They run banksafeonline DOT org DOT uk and apacs DOT org DOT uk which both offer useful information on how to recover from online ID theft.

Happened to me and the information there really helped out.
Added: 25 June 2008 19:36
digger1 says:
TPS is the telephone preference service.
Drat - you cannot add hyperlinks but search on google for the above name or "TPSonline DOT org DOT UK"

I string these salesmen along a little then start asking difficult questions like how they got my number, and who from then I drop the killer line about them illegally contacting me as I am signed up to TPS. The call is soon ended only giving me time to tell them to remove all my details from their database.
Added: 25 June 2008 16:36
Sharon says:
Hi Digger, what's TPS and how do I register?
Added: 22 June 2008 13:58
Digger1 says:
Subsequently my phone number is ex-directory and registered with TPS.

Watchout for "Response Handling Limited" trying to contact you (their number is 0800 1830143). These are marketing calls which may be legitimate but they got my number from somewhere without my consent. This is a breach of the Data Protection Act (only three companies have this number).

Then, if you receive "upgrade now", "Claim you free minutes", texts/calls from any company you have not deal with then they are breaking the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 and you can report them to the "Information Commissioners Office".
Added: 19 June 2008 17:08
Sukie%20Read says:
I too have never had my Identity stolen but as the press keep on reporting...this is the fasting growing crime in the UK so i think it's worth taking adequate protection.

I also purchased Tiscali Spyguard and up until last week it seemed to do very little! That it is until i had an attack on my machine when it went into overdrive and protected me...and surely this is the beauty of this product. I am fed up with the intrusive nature of my antivirus, constantly slowing my machine down and nagging for updates, signatures and everything else! In my mind the product is a winner....not intrusive until it needs to be and then it barks like mad!!
Added: 19 June 2008 14:43
Derek Rawlinson says:
I have never had my ID stolen (yet) but I have twice had my credit card details stolen and attempts made to use them. Thanks to my bank, they were stopped. I have all the firewalls and anti virus software etc but in the end it is the people who are employed by the companys you deal with that are suspect.

By the way the latest Tiscali Spyguard is a load of rubbish.
I have purchased it and it is operating on my machine and does find anything! I use the free addition of AVG spyware protection to find lots of malware every day!

I do lots of shopping on the internet but I agree that it is safet to shop on the high street.
Added: 16 June 2008 18:00
digger1 says:
I was a victim of ID theft two years ago.

Simply the security measures I take are:-
* Mother's maiden name isn't that - it is something only I know and is defferent for each use, more like as password.

* All passwords are not directly attributable to myself or family. They contain a minimum of 8 characters and are constructed using UPPER,lower num8er5 and punctuat!on character$.
* I have one bank card that is used only on the internet and only has enough in it to keep in credit with no overdraft. Money then gets transferred just in time to pay for my internet purchase.
* I never open emails from anyone I do not know/recognise and have set up rules to delete junk/spam from my inbox.
* If pop-ups appear I always click "X" and not OK/Cancel.
* Firewall on, Routered and standalone PC with no personal data on it.
Added: 16 June 2008 11:16
Sam says:
Anti-virus and a firewall is not enough. I also disagree that the high street is safer.

When you hand your credit/debit card over in a shop or restaurant, how do you know it isn't being cloned? The only safe way to pay is by cash. If you can't do this, the internet is safer for shopping provided you take the right precautions.

The sensible thing to do is:

Get Internet Security (a decent one includes anti-virus plus extras)
Get Anti-Spyware

Together with a firewall these will ensure that you don't get spyware on your PC which can lead to your private details being snooped on. Thr problem is that many firewall and internet security/anti-virus programme rules are signature based so are very reactive. Having anti-spyware that checks software behaviour can pre-empt a problem which your signature/rule based security cannot comprehend. It's the only way to know that you really are as secure as you can be.
Added: 16 June 2008 10:37
Pat says:
I never use the internet for shopping or banking as it's just not secure enough. You hear of all these horror stories of people losing money and getting scammed. How would you know if a site was safe or not? At least when I shop in the highstreet, I know where my money is going.
Added: 16 June 2008 10:34
Pete says:
I think most people have virus protection set up properly on their machines, but it's not easy to understand all the different types of protection you need. I'm still not sure what the difference is between spyware, keylogging and everything else. I don't have time to read up on this type of thing and although I do shop online, I just hope have a virus checked and my firewall turned on is enough to stop someone stealing my card details.

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