Joining social media platforms or signing up with different sites for personal or even professional reasons entail creating an online identity. With an increasing rate of hacks that lead to identity theft and the spread of stolen data, we need to stay alert and take safety measures to stop such incidents from happening.
The Internet does applies strict measures to ensure our security.
For instance, for our online profiles to be created, we are asked to answer certain questions. After submitting our answers, we are given user names that no one else uses on the same platform.
However, despite these safety measures, cases of online identity hacks abound. In this post, let’s find out what online identity is and most importantly, how to protect your online identity against fraudsters.
What is Online Identity?
Online identity is the sum of one’s characteristics and interactions on the Internet. Because one interacts differently with each website one visits, each of those websites will have a different picture of who you are and what you do.
For instance, online stores establish your online identity based on the products you buy, whether it is you doing the actual shopping or a loved one using your account.
Now, this online identity constitutes the information we provide to each website we visit: name, date of birth, and other details needed to create our profile.
Meanwhile, there is an Identifier, which is a term used to show a difference in all user accounts.
For instance, our user IDs, email addresses, and account numbers are unique in their ways. We can’t find another profile with the same email address, user name, or account numbers because identifiers are used.
How Does Online Identity Theft Happen?
Identity theft happens when someone uses another person’s information and data without their permission to commit fraud. This happens when hackers gain access to one’s online identity and important personal data through the Internet.
Never compromise security
for convenience, choose both!
How to Protect Your Online Identity
Strengthen Your Passwords
Strong passwords are not easy to guess. We should create stronger passwords, which will limit the chances of being hacked. Weak passwords often lead to loss of accounts.
Avoid Visiting Unsecure Websites
We should always maintain our safety by browsing into secure websites. Unsecure websites often leave our information exposed to hackers, who are still waiting for a chance to get into our accounts.
Beware of Malicious Software
Malicious software is known to be harmful. This software can seriously harm our phones. We should avoid downloading applications from unsecured sites because we will not only end up losing our accounts but also our devices.
Don’t Fall for Online Phishing Tricks
When browsing, we should be careful with those ads that pop on the websites while we are browsing. Some ads are tricks to involve us in the process of hacking our accounts, and once we accept to collect gifts, we put ourselves at risk. We should be watchful when surfing the internet to avoid any potential hacking in the future.
Keep Children Informed
Prevent children from sharing personal information with online strangers. Keep them informed by letting them know about hackers and their possible intentions.
Stay Vigilant on Social Media
Avoid sharing too much information with the public via social media. Minimize your posts to maintain privacy by watching out what we share with other social media users.
Secure Computers and Phones
Be watchful about the cookies browsers provide.
The Bottom Line
Pay attention to safety measures that will keep us safe when browsing, like applying encryptions to our personal information. We should not compromise our safety; let’s choose both convenience and security by creating accounts with managements like Teamstack, which will provide enough protection.