The Underside of the Information World

Your computer could suck you into dark hole, turning your life upside down.
That's because millions of Americans, who love mobile devices and conduct many financial transactions online, are inviting identity fraud criminals to ruin their lives, says an American Association of Retired Persons expert, who has himself been a victim.

"It is one of the fastest growing aspects of fraud out there," says Christopher Widelo, associate state director in government relations and advocacy for the American Association of Retired Persons in New York.
Yet many of us are doing it to ourselves. That's because millions of Americans aren't taking even minimal steps to protect themselves, according to a recent American Association of Retired Persons survey.
Many people are facing a possibility that someone will steal their identity, then start running up huge bills that the victim will have to pay unless he or she can establish that someone else was responsible.
What happens?
There are several ways people fall into the identity theft hole, according to the survey, "Identity Theft: Who's At Risk?"
*Almost half of Americans have not changed the password of an online account in the past six months.
*Some 45 percent of Americans use the same password on two or more accounts.
*About one in five Americans say they have never shred any of their personal financial documents that could be used to steal their identity.
And, even if person is taking the right steps to protect himself, he can be in danger because of where one shops.
Indeed, "four in ten Americans age 18 or older have been notified by a company they have done business with in the past year that their information has been subject to a security breach," the study said.
What's to be done?
Take these commonsense steps.
Be sure your anti-virus software is up-to-date. Change critical passwords frequently, possibly every other week. Don't leave valuable documents in your car or trash them unless they have been shredded. Crooks can come along and reconstruct your financial records and start stealing your assets.
Get your free credit report each year and look for anything out of the ordinary. Watch your bank records.