So many of us don’t consider security until it’s too late.
Whether in business or personal life, identity theft is a unique nightmare worth doing your best to avoid.
A few bad things that bad people can do with your ID information:
- Apply for credit cards or loans in your name.
- Withdraw funds from your bank account.
- Obtain medical care using your health insurance.
- Steal your tax refund using your social security number.
- Sell your information to other criminals.
- Conduct fraud by creating fake social media profiles with your name and photo.
- Blackmail you in case they have sensitive information that could damage your public reputation.
These are the most common reasons why identity theft happens:
- Entering information on phishing websites that mimic the real thing (like a fake Facebook website)
- Not using up-to-date security software
- Buying products from shady websites
- Using public WiFi
- Not secure the router
- Using weak login credentials
- Using the same login credentials in many places
- Having weak privacy settings on social media
If you can avoid making these mistakes, it will be much harder for criminals to get a hold of your identity and run havoc on your business. This week’s post is more just a what not to do.
See that list up above. Don’t do it. Lesson over.