ID Theft Protection Reviews http://idtheftprotectionreviews.net Thu, 17 Sep 2009 23:07:03 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.2 en hourly 1 How can I protect myself against CNP Fraud? http://idtheftprotectionreviews.net/2009/09/how-can-i-protect-myself-against-cnp-fraud/ http://idtheftprotectionreviews.net/2009/09/how-can-i-protect-myself-against-cnp-fraud/#comments Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:56:52 +0000 http://idtheftprotectionreviews.net/?p=16 You can pay for goods or services with your credit card over the phone, online and by mail without having to put your credit card through a PIN enabled card reader, and these are called card-not -present (CNP) transactions.  Because you are not physically swiping your card in these kinds of transactions you are not protected by the secure chip and PIN method, which only allows payments to be processed if the unique PIN number is input, and this can leave your credit cards vulnerable to fraudulent crimes as payments can be processed based on card details alone (such as the number and security code on the back).  This means that if a thief steals your credit card, they can quickly and easily run up fraudulent charges on your account using CNP payment methods.
 
Credit card providers and banks are well aware of this problem and are tackling it by introducing new measures designed to provide additional security for CNP payments.  This includes the ‘Verified’ service that has now been introduced by Visa, which links your credit/debit Visa card to a secure online payment portal.  When you are asked to pay for something online using your Visa card, once you have input your credit card details you will be redirected automatically (regardless of what website you are using) to the Visa Verified portal (this helps with credit theft protection), and you will not be able to proceed with the payment until you have entered your unique password.  Services like Verified from Visa have proved very successful at reducing online fraud involving credit card payments, and more and more measures are being introduced every year to improve the security of CNP transactions.
 
You can help to reduce the risks of CNP fraud by ensuring that you only provide your credit card details over the phone and online to legitimate businesses, and if you have to send any details by post make sure you use a recorded delivery service to ensure it gets to the right person.

]]> http://idtheftprotectionreviews.net/2009/09/how-can-i-protect-myself-against-cnp-fraud/feed/ 0 Protect Yourself From Email Identity Fraud http://idtheftprotectionreviews.net/2009/08/protect-yourself-from-email-identity-fraud/ http://idtheftprotectionreviews.net/2009/08/protect-yourself-from-email-identity-fraud/#comments Tue, 04 Aug 2009 17:33:29 +0000 http://idtheftprotectionreviews.net/?p=3 Email is a cheap and easy way for fraudsters and identity thieves to contact thousands of people at once, and email addresses are easy to get hold of either by trawling through other websites for those emails that have been published online (such as on forums, social sites, members list and staff contact details,) and many websites that collect the personal email addresses of their members/visitors also offer these extensive lists for sale to third parties.
 
Identity thieves will then use emails for a number of fraudulent purposes, and hackers can also use them to infect another person’s computer with malicious programs such as spyware and viruses, and these are usually carried in the form of attachments.  You should never open an email from someone you don’t know, and always scan all attachments (even from a trusted source) before you open it on your computer.

Spam

Spam is the term used for any unsolicited emails that come into your inbox, and you should have spam filters set on your email account to help prevent these annoying and potentially harmful emails from reaching you.

Phishing

Phishing is the used by identity thieves to try and trick another person into handing over their online bank/email account log in details by sending emails masquerading as legitimate organisations.  These emails can often be very authentic looking, and will either ask you to reply with your sensitive details, or to log in using the link in the email that will take you to a fake version of the account welcome page, which will record the details you input.  Remember that no legitimate organisation or financial institution would ever ask you for sensitive account details over the email, so you should be instantly suspicious of any request like this, and refer back to your provider’s customer service team before taking any further action.  If you do want to check your log in details only ever log on by visiting the providers main welcome page directly, and never through a link in an email.

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