Suspected online frauds, online identity theft included, were seen to have dropped by 59.4% when comparing Q2 2021 to Q2 2020, in TransUnion’s newest quarterly analysis. Due to the ever-growing occurrences of online identity crimes, many organizations placed their focus on helping to make fraud detection easier. However, global fraud attempt rates still had risen by 149% when comparing the first four months of 2021 and the last four months of 2020. Hence, people still have to remain vigilant – taking preventative measures and acting immediately if one believes that he/she is a victim, or at a high risk of becoming one.
Here are some things you can do:
To protect your bank accounts and account information:
Regularly reviewing your bank account transactions — we recommend at least weekly.
Closely reviewing medical bills and insurance statements.
Maintaining a checklist of regular bills, statements, or other sensitive mail to make sure you receive them.
Reviewing of your credit report — monthly or quarterly is suggested, but at least annually.
To protect your identity when surfing the Internet:
Install antivirus. The only way to prevent nefarious programs like backdoors and keyloggers from accessing your system is by installing antivirus. Apart from stealing data, viruses also have the potential of destroying hardware components within your computer.
Safeguard wireless network. Avoid public Wi-Fi hotspots when using passwords and personal information.
Monitor your public account.
Secure your online data
Avoid online shopping, games & other activities on websites that aren’t secure. Make sure you use only official, secure websites with the “https:” prefix-not “http:".
Understand the agreements you enter online. Make sure you fully understand what the agreement is all about.
To protect your identity on social media:
Check your privacy settings. When setting up a social media account, make sure that you’ve adjusted the relevant privacy controls so that strangers won’t be able to view your personal details and posts. Remember to check these regularly.
Be careful about what you post. Don’t overshare in social media. Even if you’re only connected to your friends and family on social sites, their accounts could potentially be hacked.
Don’t accept unknown requests. Don’t connect to strangers as this gives them access to your personal life and may use your pictures and information to perform fraudulent actions.
Verify links that you receive. Don’t automatically click on any links that you receive on social media, especially when they appear to have been sent to you by someone you know. If their account has been hacked, you could be clicking to download malware, or redirected to enter personal information on an unsecure website.
Update your social media privacy settings and passwords. It is always recommended to change your passwords regularly because it minimizes the changes of long term snooping and as much as possible, prevent yourself from sharing your email address and passwords to anyone.
Use a password manager.
Never open suspicious emails.
Don’t leave your accounts and emails logged in when not in use.
Don’t log in your accounts and personal information on someone else’s gadgets.
Where to report complaints:
There are hotline numbers, online channels, and websites in the Philippines where you can report complaints regarding online identity theft incidents.
Department of Justice (DOJ):
Sending a message to the DOJ Website at www.doj.gov.ph.