How to spot identity theft
Online identity theft may pass unnoticed for some time, allowing great damage to be done to your finances. Some useful signs to watch out for include:
unexplained bank withdrawals or credit card charges
bills and other expected official letters don’t arrive
cards or cheques are declined
fraudsters making contact about debts you know nothing about
receiving notice that your information was compromised by a data breach at a company where you do business or have an account
your bank or credit card provider making contact about suspicious behaviour on your bank account.
Activity 5.3: Are you safe online?
Now that you have gained some insights into identity theft, what can you do to protect yourself from it?
This animation from OpenLearn gives some useful tips on how to keep your information safe online.
Transcript
The information superhighway: a bustling place, bumper-to-bumper with cat videos and baby photos and statue lols.
Every day, millions of people – young and old – use it to connect and share with each other.
But watch out! Sometimes sharing can be hazardous.
Say hello to Tony. He loves to snap a cheeky selfie with his intelligent telephone.
Gosh. This one must be for his lady friend.
Careful now... Oh, Tony! It looks like the whole world just got to see your gearstick!
Estimates show that some 11,000 teenagers die of embarrassment every week.
And it’s not just the nation’s youths at risk:
Miss Jenkins loves her new, electronomical jogging tracker.
But wait! The privacy settings! That route is being broadcast publicly!
Oh no, Miss Jenkins! Your beautiful ornaments!
Yes, careless sharing is a very real danger. It may already have affected someone you know.
And who can say how far its consequences may yet reach?
Don’t have a bad share day. Take our free online test and find out if you’re a safe sharer.
This message was brought to you by the Ministry of Sharing. All Instagram and Facebook activity is undertaken at your own risk. Please do not retweet.
There is a short quiz [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] for you to take at the end. How well did you do?
Identity theft