Don't forget to pack up your identity on your hols!

Friday 29 July 2016

Your bags are packed and you’ve locked up your house but could someone be logging in as you while you’re away?

A local IT company says the holidays are peak season for identity fraud, when more of us relax and drop our guard online and they've put together some top tips to help you pack your identity away safely.

Logicalis’ Technical Consultant James Gillies said: “Holidays give us the perfect chance to relax and stop thinking about everyday life, and that’s something identity thieves count on to make it easier to commit their crimes. However, losing your identity is much more hassle than losing a suitcase, or missing a flight.

“By taking some precautions before, during and after your holiday, you can reduce the risk of identity theft happening. Whether you’re staying home or traveling this summer, it’s more important than ever that you don’t overshare your details on social media.” 

The number of victims of identity theft in the UK rose by 57% last year with social media sites Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin a 'hunting ground' for identity thieves, according to fraud prevention service Cifas and Mr Gillies said recent statistics show a huge increase in identity fraud amongst 21-30 year olds.

He said: “Fraudsters are opportunists. As companies have become more adept at detecting false identities, fraudsters are focusing on stealing and using genuine people’s details instead.

“Increasingly cyber criminals are turning to use social media to put together the pieces of someone's identity by assuming the identity of a real person after accessing details including their name, date of birth, address and bank details.

Here's the company's tips to help keep you stay safe online:

1) Don’t overshare - Avoid announcing your trip on social media sites. Not only do you not want to alert everyone to your present location, but your house is always vulnerable when you leave town. It’s best not to advertise your departure to more people than you have to. If you do share anything, avoid using public Wi-Fi and remember to turn off geolocation.

2) Know your privacy settings – If joining public hotspots, ensure that your connection is secured by using a VPN (virtual private network) service. This will allow you to browse anonymously and not leave a traceable footprint. All social media sites have privacy settings that will let you choose who can view your activity. On Facebook, you will notice a small icon that appears next to the timestamp on every item you post. If the icon that appears there is a globe, this means your post is public and can be viewed by anyone in the world. To limit your posts visibility to only your friends, click the icon and select the ‘friends' icon from the dropdown menu.

3) Choose your friends carefully - We all get invites to connect from people who we think we might have gone to school with but can’t quite remember, or who we gave a card to at a conference – but do you really know who someone is? A common method of finding personal information is through fake profiles – your security might be high on Facebook but it’s likely that your friends can still find everything. Make sure you know who you’re sharing with.

4) What is your mother’s maiden name? - It’s easy to find out personal details on social media. For example, you might not have listed your mother’s maiden name, but it’s not always difficult to work out your family connections with a different name. Similar information might be where you went to school, or the name of a favourite pet. When you’re asked to use security questions, try to use information that doesn’t exist online – make up your own questions if possible, and if not choose something that no-one else knows the answer to.

5) Be careful about what photos you post - As a rule of thumb, it is never a good idea to post pictures of the outside of your home. If you do, be very careful that there is nothing in the background of the photo that can identify your location. If you really want to post these, use a photo filter to blur the background. Also, some photos are meant for a family scrapbook and may not be appropriate to share online. The most important thing to remember is that nothing online is 100% private, so just use your best judgment and think twice before clicking ‘Publish'.

6) Be careful what you click on - Links in email are particularly risky and should always be approached with caution. If in doubt, leave it well alone. If you don’t know if a link is legitimate, call the sender directly to check. You should also get into the habit of confirming that a link is genuine before clicking on it. It’s easy to fake the look of a website – best practice is to use your personal bookmarks or type in a web address rather than click on a link.

7) Would you like us to remember your password? - No you wouldn’t. It might be convenient but make sure you’re confident that your password is being stored securely. Make sure that you use separate passwords for everything, and that they aren’t just variations on one password. Also make sure that your passwords are long, complex and impossible to guess based on your online data. It is hard to remember a lot of passwords but keeping your personal and business details safe is worth the effort. Where it is an option, use two-factor identification, and if you have a shared corporate account make sure that everyone has their own login and password.

8) Delete this post? Delete doesn’t delete. You should treat anything you write online as being permanent. Deleting Tweets, forum posts and Facebook information doesn’t necessarily remove all traces from the deep web and even if it does, other users may have already stored the information, shared it or taken note. Be sure before you post.

9) Consider the safety of your children - We all love bragging about our kids, but it is important to realise that posting private information can put them at risk. If you frequently share photos of your children, be sure that only a select group can see them. On Facebook, you can go to your friends list and select a group of 'Close Friends’ to share personal information with. 

10) Talk to your children - It’s not just you who knows when you’re on holiday or a business trip. Making sure that your children and family know how to stay safe online is essential in its own right but it can also reduce opportunities for fraud against you.