The fourth National Identity Fraud Prevention week runs from 6th to 12 June. The week aims to remind UK citizens about the rising level of identity fraud in the UK and promote activities to help prevent it.
As well as reminding users to install the latest security patches and up-to-date anti-virus software, the Stop Identity Fraud website includes comprehensive advice for keeping personal details private on social networking websites. The advice includes these suggestions;
- Don’t post details such as mobile phone number, address or date of birth even if other users are doing so.
- Pick a user name that doesn’t include any personal information. For example, “joe_glasgow” or “jane_liverpool” would be bad choices.
- Set up a separate email account that doesn’t use your real name and use that to register and receive mail from the site. That way if you want to stop using a site, you can simply drop that mail account.
- Use a strong password.
- Use the privacy features on the site you use to restrict strangers’ access to your profile. Be selective about who you let join your network.
- Be on your guard against phishing scams.
