by Erik M. Dell

Created on: May 08, 2011   Last Updated: May 16, 2012

Identity theft is big business with organized crime leading the charge.  There are places out there that buy and sell credit card numbers, social security numbers, and all kinds of other data.  Your information is currency in the underground market.  Literally there are eBays of stolen information out there.  A person could by a pack of 10,000 credit card numbers for $X.  You want names and addresses with that, ok the price is $XX.  You want the CV number and social, well add another $XXX.

Once this information is bought it is used in a variety of manners.  Cyber criminals use this stolen information for everything from credit card fraud to entering the country illegally.  Protecting your online information is becoming more than necessary.  Ignoring this can lead to bankruptcy, loss of savings, or even a complete loss of identity.

Today’s cyber criminals are experts at exploiting weaknesses and gaining access to any and all information that they require.  It may appear daunting to thwart these hackers but with a few simple steps you can take the right path to protecting yours and your families identity.

1)  First and foremost is password strength.  Seems simple enough but I can’t tell you the number of times I have found someone’s password as simply “password” or “12345” or something silly like that.  The truth is that most hackers are using programs (that are available free to download) to find your password and the era of guessing the right password like in the movies (Wargames, Swordfish) is long gone.

So what can you do about this?  I suggest making a password that is a short sentence that has numbers, capital letters, and special characters thrown into it.

Ex.  M@ryHadaL!ttl3L@mb

2)  Don’t ever give your password/social security number/credit card number over the phone when you are not 100% sure who it is.  This is called social engineering and is a classic entry for a hacker into a large corporation.  Social Engineering works the same for your home.  Legitimate companies simply don’t ask for this information.

3)  Make sure your router is configured properly.  Even as I sit here and type I am aware that my neighbor’s router is wide open.  Do yourself a favor and read the instructions for the router.  DO NOT leave the standard username and password on it, anyone can Google that information. 

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