Identity Theft

Identity Theft & Privacy

With the rise of different kind of online social interaction, such as social networking sites, privacy is becoming less important an issue with more information being put online about individuals than ever before.
It is important to be aware that this information could be used against you in cases such as identity theft, where access to your name, address and date of birth could lead to someone stealing your identity.
It is important to cover your tracks when online. If you are using a shared computer, ensure you fully log out of all banking accounts before leaving the computer.

Be aware how much accessible information you put online about yourself. To find this out, try ‘googling’ yourself: go to www.google.com and type your name in quotation marks (e.g., “John Smith”) to see what information there is about you.

In order to change your social networking privacy, you should click on the ‘privacy’ option and change the settings to ones you are comfortable with. This is usually quite straightforward and the site will let you preview the changes so you have full control over what information about you is available online.

It is recommended that you only put a minimal amount of information online. For more information about securing your identity, go to the Information Commissioner’s Office: www.ico.gov.uk.

To report instances of identity theft or breaches of privacy, go to: www.identitytheft.org.uk.