What to do if you are a victim of identity theft

If you think your identity has been stolen, you should immediately contact your bank and credit card providers. They can investigate the source of your identity theft on your behalf to minimise the damage it can cause to your credit rating.

Internet identity theft is a cause of considerable concern for most people. Statistics suggest that Internet users are 50 times more likely to be victims of identity theft than non-internet users

Get online security

Internet security software can be an effective way to help prevent ID theft by providing PC protection against common threats.

Thieves who steal identities often use spyware, adware and computer viruses as a means of accessing confidential information stored on computers. This information can include passwords, bank account numbers, residential and business addresses, mother's maiden names, credit card details and even pet’s names, all of which are rich pickings for an ID thief.

Protection against internet security threats

To help protect personal details and prevent identity theft, internet security software is available as an application which can be installed on a personal computer.

Internet security software works in the background of the host computer, scanning for spyware, adware and malware which are the most commonly used tools in internet identity theft.

When these identity theft tools are detected, internet security software blocks or ‘kills’ the offending virus or spyware, usually with the prior consent of the PC user.

Additional security can be offered through the firewall available as part of internet security software. A firewall ensures that only user-approved access is permitted from the PC to the internet.

When considering which software to buy, it is important to ensure that the software covers the full range of spyware, adware and malware threats. It should also have a minimal impact on your computer’s processing speed.