Keeping Your Personal Information Personal
An alarming number of crimes in Australia have been mapped to stolen identities. When criminals have access to personal information they may pose as the individual without the person having any clue.This explains why we must stay alert and keep our identity documents / information protected.
Personal information and identity documents comprise of one’s full name, current address, date of birth, Tax File Number, details regarding bank account, credit card, birth certificate, passport, driving licence etc.
Thieves maysucceed in collecting critical pieces of information from stolen wallets, social networking websites, scrutinising household rubbish etc. Some might go on to trap you into a fake recruitment process or pose as government or bank officials.
There are scams of all possible sorts including door to door, phishing, phone and online. The baits can be many, here are a few things you can do to keep yourself safe:
- Never share your personal information publically
- Donot give out information without understanding the legitimate need
- Change your passwords and PINs frequently
- Avoid writing down passwords, PINs on paper
- Avoid saving your passwords, PINs on mobile with obvious names/ descriptions
- Connect using secure wireless networks
- Keep your firewall and security software up to date
- Accept “friend” requests carefully and cautiously
- Consider keep your profile settings to “private”, wherever possible
- Elude making your holiday plans and daily routine public
- Stay cautious when downloading attachments, clicking on web links
- Check the person’s credentials whenever asked for critical information
- When travelling keep your documents protected
- Stay away from filling out important information on unsecure websites
- Whenusing the services of a tax agent, check the registration status by visiting Tax Practitioners Board’s website by clicking here