Identity Theft  can happen in many ways. In this feature we focus our discussion on Online identity theft. Identity thieves employ a number of methods to capture personal information that people store or transmit in a  manner that is accessible over the internet. They are typically variations on one of the following methods:

• Impersonating a financial institutions or companies in e-mail communication ( pop-up messages to get you to reveal your personal information (Phishing)
•  Stealing personal information stored in your home computer
• Infiltrating databases of financial institutions and other organizations that store large amounts of consumer personal information.
• Browsing social network (MySpace, Facebook, etc) sites, online for personal details that have been posted by users

Identity thieves are coming up with increasingly innovative ways of using your personal information for their benefit,  for extended periods of time, without detection. You may end up being liable for large purchases made on your credit card, payment of loans initiated using your personal information, and other forms of liabilities which can cause you considerable effort and cost to set right.

There is no foolproof way to prevent identity theft, but there are some basic precautions and good practices that you can adopt that to reduce the chances of identity theft, or alert you to it in its early stages.. Make sure you do not give out personal information unless you are sure of the target. Monitor your bank statements, credit card accounts to detect unauthorized transactions. Install anti-virus and intrusion detection software on your home computer to prevent unauthorized intrusion. And lastly, but importantly, educate yourself on an ongoing basis on what you can do to prevent identity theft. This is an area of rapid technological evolution. Cyber criminals are actively coming up with new ways to circumvent new security measures and  what you know today may be obsolete a year or two from now.