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Don’t become an on-line identity theft victim

Computers are wonderful things. They allow us access to our bank accounts, credit card statements, and just about any type of reading you could want.

But, those wonderful computers can also allow con artists access to your most personal information effectively making you a victim of identity theft.

Last week I wrote about scammers who are capitalizing on the economic stimulus checks that have already been electronically distributed to some Americans and will continue to be distributed by mail through mid-summer.

As a follow up, we’ll talk a bit about internet security in general.

To give credit where credit is due, I got this idea from a colleague who handed me the May 1 edition of the Wall-Street Journal. Writer Walter S. Mossberg covered this topic. Any information I pass along from the article will be so credited.

I mentioned this last week, but it bears repeating: DO NOT give out any of your personal information via the internet (or the telephone for that matter) if you are not 100 percent certain of who is on the receiving end of that information.

That is how so many of these internet scams start. An individual receives a very legitimate looking e-mail asking about a timely topic, such as the tax rebates, and that well-intentioned individual supplies all kinds of information under the false pretense of making a legitimate transaction.

Have you gotten one of the many e-mails circulating that claim to be from some guy living in a developing nation who desperately needs to get to the

Some e-mails practically scream SCAM! At least they scream to me, but not to everyone. During my years as a reporter I fielded numerous calls from good people who found themselves stunned and out of a lot of money after falling victim to scammers.

Now to borrow from Mr. Mossberg, here are some tips for navigating the web:

1)                   Never click on a link that is embedded in an e-mail from anything appearing to be a financial institution or any payment or auction web sites. Don’t click on the link even if it appears to be from your bank or a company with which you do business.

2)                   Don’t click on links to offers for free soft-ware or goods that you receive via e-mail. This is especially important if you receive an offer from a sender or company you don’t recognize.

3)                   Never download software from unfamiliar web sites unless you are absolutely certain it is legitimate.

4)                   If a web site tells you that you need a certain type of software to view videos, don’t download it from that site. Mr. Mossberg suggests you go directly to the software company’s official web site to download the product.

5)                   Use a web browser or security software with security features that will block or warn you of phishing sites.

6)                   Educate yourself about internet scams.

If you would like to read more about this or check out Walt Mossberg’s other columns about the web, you can visit his web site at http://walt.allthingsd.com.

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