How to keep yourself safe from Online scams and Identity Theft

There have been millions of reported cases involving cyber crimes and Identity theft. With

the advancement of the Internet and virtual money, there have also been a rise of scams and frauds. In this article, we will discuss the various methods used by scammers and How to keep yourself safe from Online scams and Identity Theft. But before we should know more about Identity theft and frauds.

What is Identity theft:

Fraudulent practice of using another person's name and personal information in order to obtain credit, loans, etc. example, a scammer may ask for your Credit/debit card details and steal all your money through an online transaction.

WHAT CAN IDENTITY THEFT DO?

Once identity thieves have your personal information, they can drain your bank account, run up charges on your credit cards, open new utility accounts, or get medical treatment on your health insurance. In some extreme cases, a thief might even give your name to the police during an arrest. Other than this, identity thieves can do crimes such as entering (or exiting) a country illegally, trafficking drugs, smuggling other substances etc.

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM IDENTITY THEFT.

1.   Don’t give your personal information to anyone. You cannot be forced to give your personal details via phone call or email.

2.  Even the Government cannot force you to share your personal information.

3.  If you have shared any type of information via a call or email, immediately notify it to

the authorities (ex your bank).

4.Hackers usually ask for more than 2 types of personal identification. Hence, you can easily know if the call is from your bank or from a hacker.

5. A reliable institution such as the Bank will never call you from a personal Mobile

number (ex 99986*****). They will always notify you by giving a call through their Landline number.

6.Never open a spam email, even if they are awarding you with a huge sum of money.

7.If an email seems to be legit, then try to search for more information about the sender. You can search his/her email address on google search. If he is a scammer, then you will easily know by looking the search results.

WHAT IF YOU ARE SCAMMED??

If you are scammed by a hacker, then the only thing you can do is to file a complaint. First of all block all your Credit/debit cards by notifying your Bank. If you have shared your personal identification number, then you must notify the proper authorities. Also, file a complaint to your nearest Cyber cell. In certain countries you can call or email the Cyber crime divisions. 

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