IDENTITY THEFT

IDENTITY THEFT

Identity theft is stealing someone’s identity in which someone pretends to be someone else by assuming that person’s identity, typically in order to access resources or obtain credit and other benefits in that person’s name or to hurt that person intentionally.

School kids are increasingly resorting to identity theft by creating fake profiles of their friends in social networking sites and gaining from it or causing harm to them.

Example   Rohit created a fake profile of Bhawna on a social networking site and posted objectionable pictures of her. Bhawna was the target of many groups because of the content that was in her profile. Ultimately Bhawna registered a police case, and Rohit was arrested.

How to Prevent and Respond to Identity Theft

·       Do not share or disclose your personal information (email address, phone numbers, photos, passwords, etc.)On the internet.

·       If you are doing some transactions online, make sure you are using home computer (that is patched properly). Computers in Cyber cafes and other places might have key logger software that will capture all the inputs and thus your personal information.

·       Do not attempt to click on any links or pen any attachments from “untrusted” sources. This might lead to malicious content getting downloaded into your computer that will then send all your personal information to the hacker’s computer.

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