Your Social Security Number and Identity Theft Series – How Can My Number Be Stolen Online?

There are various ways on how identity thieves can get your social security number. They can do these via high-tech methods and conventional ones that does not use any form of technology.

Here are some of the high-tech methods on how identity thieves can get your social security number:

1. Hacking into online databases and stealing your personal information that you shared with an unsecured website over the internet.

Identity thieves are now taking a different identity-that of computer hacker’s. This is not unusual since with the advent of technology, the internet and wireless mobile devices, a lot of people are sharing their personal information online with utter disregard to their privacy and identity theft. While there are users who are careful with their online transactions, a great majority are not. As a result, these people expose themselves by sending their personal information online even with unsecured servers. On the other hand, there are also computer hackers who are able to get access to databases of online merchants.

2. Replying to phishing emails and being redirected to legitimate looking sites.

Phishing emails are emails sent to your inbox from reputable companies that ask for your personal information. Often, they tell you that you’ve won the lottery and they need your personal information to process your check. Some emails, on the other hand, will inform you that your local bank has been merged with another company and in the process would need your banking information to prevent loss of your personal data. While other still will simply inform you that their company is undergoing a series of system wide account maintenance and to prevent closure of your account, they need to verify your personal data. They will then include links on their email where you need to click to be directed to a “secure” site where you will enter your personal information. This is actually a phony site no matter how legitimate they may look. When asking for information, they typically ask for your name, address, bank account number, credit card number and social security number.

3. Hacking into your personal computer.

When you go online, you are connecting your single computer into a huge system of computers worldwide. If we do not install security software in our computers like antivirus programs and firewall, you are making yourself vulnerable to intruder attacks. You may say that they cannot find anything in your computer but that is actually an understatement. Computer hackers can access files that have been deleted and emptied from the recycle bin and if you’ve ever saved your social security number on any of these documents, then you are in serious danger of being a victim of identity theft.

4. Stealing your personal information from social networking sites.

When people join social networking sites, they often post their personal information like birthdays, addresses and full names on their profiles. Little do people know that this seemingly harmless information can be used to gain more access to more sensitive information. When using social networking sites, it is not advisable to post too much information.

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