Finding Online Fraud Prevention
How to Find Online
Fraud Prevention
Here are some
important tips on how to find online fraud prevention, for shoppers and
merchants.
I have a computer and use the
Internet. What should I be concerned about?
If you're storing personal information such as SSNs, financial
records, tax returns, birth dates, or bank account numbers in your
computer, the following tips can help you keep your computer and
your personal information safe from intruders:
- Update your
virus protection software regularly, or when a new virus alert is
announced. Computer viruses can have a variety of damaging
effects, including introducing program code that causes your
computer to send out files or other stored information. Be on the
alert for security repairs and patches that you can download from
your operating system's Web site.
- Do not
download files sent to you by strangers or click on hyperlinks
from people you don't know. Opening a file could expose your
system to a computer virus or a program that could hijack your
modem.
- Use a
firewall program, especially if you use a high-speed Internet
connection like cable, DSL or T-1, which leaves your computer
connected to the Internet 24 hours a day. The firewall program
will allow you to stop uninvited guests from accessing your
computer. Without it, hackers can take over your computer and
access your personal information stored on it or use it to commit
other crimes.
- Use a secure
browser - software that encrypts or scrambles information you send
over the Internet - to guard the security of your online
transactions. Be sure your browser has the most up-to-date
encryption capabilities by using the latest version available from
the manufacturer. When submitting information, look for the "lock"
icon on the browser's status bar to be sure your information is
secure during transmission.
- Try not to
store financial information on your laptop unless absolutely
necessary. If you do, use a strong password - a combination of
letters (upper and lower case), numbers and symbols. Don't use an
automatic log-in feature which saves your user name and password
so you don't have to enter them each time you log-in or enter a
site. And always log off when you're finished. That way, if your
laptop gets stolen, it's harder for the thief to access your
personal information.
- Before you
dispose of a computer, delete personal information. Deleting files
using the keyboard or mouse commands may not be enough because the
files may stay on the computer's hard drive, where they may be
easily retrieved. Use a "wipe" utility program to overwrite the
entire hard drive. It makes the files unrecoverable. For more
information, see Clearing Information From Your Computer's Hard
Drive(www.infofaq.com/fraud/credit-card/clearing_harddrive_info.pdf)
from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
- Look for Web
site privacy policies. They answer questions about maintaining
accuracy, access, security, and control of personal information
collected by the site, as well as how information will be used,
and whether it will be provided to third parties. If you don't see
a privacy policy, consider surfing elsewhere. For more
information, see
FTC Guide to Surfing the Internet.
Source: FTC
The FTC works for the
consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business
practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help
consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a
complaint or to get
free information on
consumer issues, visit
www.ftc.gov or call
toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The
FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft and other
fraud-related complaints into the
Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure online database and investigative tool available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
