Tips To Protect Your Financial Identity And Improve Your Online Security

If you are doing any banking or shopping on the Internet then there are a few important things you should know about online security. This article explains what you should look for to avoid giving out personal details to suspicious sites.

One of the crimes that is growing fastest in the world is financial identity theft, and that means that online security is more important now than ever. In recent years fraud has become more widespread, sophisticated and organized, and as shopping increases on the Internet, more people are giving out their personal details. This can cause a problem unless you are armed with the knowledge to protect yourself from theft and fraud.

Online security tips

Here are some tips you can use when you need the Internet to send personal details.

• Make sure that your security software is up to date. You should have a firewall, anti-spam, anti-spyware and antivirus programs installed on your computer to keep it from being accessed by unwanted intruders. Quite often malicious programs can be installed on your computer without your knowledge, and they can be carried in an e-mail. Always make sure that you perform regular scans with these programs and check for updates periodically.
• Use automatic updates for your virus protection software so that you are always up-to-date with your online security.
• Never publish information that is personal on sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter such as your home address, details about your bank account or your date of birth. Also, make sure that only people you trust can access your profile.
• Use a filtering product for spam to block viruses or fake e-mails. Always be sure that you never open an attachment from somebody that you don’t know.
• When you are applying for a job online don’t give out any personal information that is confidential such as your TFN. This can be supplied to your employer once you have started working.

How to recognize fraud and tax scams

If you ever receive emails that claim they are coming from the Tax Office, you should be very suspicious of them. Here are a few things you should look for to avoid falling for a scam.

1. To make sure that you are logging into the official website of the Tax Office, you should visit www.ato.gov.au where you will be asked to sign in using your digital certificate before entering the website itself. If you think you are at the official site, but you are not asked for your certificate, then you will know that this site is fake.

2. Always keep your passwords and tax file number secure One of the best ways to do this is to change your passwords every now and again. Use one that has a combination of letters, numbers, characters and punctuations for extra online security. Don’t reply to any emails that ask for your password or any other classified information.

3. Any emails that offer a tax refund if you enter your personal information should be reported. An email that asks for extra information before any refund is released is a fake email and must be ignored.

If you know what to look for it is easy to spot fake websites and emails to keep your online security at the highest level it can be. Use the guide above to keep yourself protected as you work on the Internet.

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