Weekly Blog Review #10

This week we discussed identity theft. Here is some vocabulary that went with it:

• Scam- An attempt to trick someone, usually with the intention of stealing money or private information.
• Identity Theft- A type of crime in which your private information is stolen and used for criminal activity.
• Vulnerable- In a position that makes it easier for you to be harmed or attacked.
• Phishing- When people send yo phony emails, texts, calls, etc. to hook you into giving them your personal information.

This is a list of things that people might want to take from you in order to steal your identity:

• Full name
• Date of Birth and where you were born
• Drivers licence or passport
• Social Security number
• Mothers maiden name

What could happen if you identity is stolen?

• You could serve jail time.
• Go bankrupt
• Accounts get hacked
• Ruined credit
• Held responsible for things you did not do

Here are five rules to follow to protect yourself from online scams:

1. Avoid opening the message or email in the first place.
2. Don't click on any links or download attachments; the might contain viruses or spyware.
3. Don't reply.
4. Mark as "junk mail" or "spam" for you email provider, or report it to your social network sites.
5. Verify contact information. (Banks or other businesses should never ask you to verify your account information. You should contact them and see if it is a reliable email. But banks never ask for account verification. They have it stored so they don't have to.)

Thats all I have for you this time! We didn't have a web 2.0 tool this week. So thats all folks!