Identity Theft and Your Home Computer

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The home computer is one of the newer places for identity theft to occur. Many people don't understand how it can happen to them but later realize they really messed up using online services that just weren't secure. An intelligent identity thief can easily get all of your personal information and use it to destroy your credit which could take years to repair even if you prove you are a victim.

One of the easiest ways for someone to get more information than you can imagine is when you simply upgrade, donate or throw away your old computer. People can be so excited about their new computer that they simply unplug their old one and set it aside until it's time to dispose of it. This is one of the worst things you can do. That old computer has all of your computer cookies, bookmarks, emails, and everything you ever looked at on it. Someone just has to take it home and plug it in to see what you have been doing, buying, and looking at.

The Internet itself is used to gain access to all kinds of personal information. College students are at very high risk because their personal information and grades are often posted on the Internet so they can check it. All it takes is someone to figure out their password and they now have everything they need. It's not hard to stop this from happening in the first place. Use difficult passwords. Don't use anything that is related to you. No numbers, no names, nothing like that. Choose a password that is eight to ten characters long with numbers and letters in it. That is very hard to crack.

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