Identity Theft Techniques

It is only natural that with the advent of new anti-virus technologies hackers and scam specialists become even more skilled as well. The techniques that they use to get access to personal information get more and more tricky and many users do not even realize that they are actually fooled. Here are some of the identity theft techniques that every user should know and be able to recognize. This is a simple set of tips that can help you not to become a victsim of fraudulent actions.

Most Common Techniques:

Malware (Spyware) - represents harmful software that is able to bring havoc to your computer and damage the information stored on it. It usually gets installed to the computer without the consent from an owner.
Phishing - means sending e-mails that suppose to get the information about the recipient without their knowledge. Phishing is used to get either personal or financial information for the most part.
Pharming - represents an attack and it is supposed to redirect a user from the secure sites they visit to some fraudulent ones.
SMiShing (in other words - phishing via SMS text message) - it usually starts with a simple text message alerts sent to the cell phones of the users. In the majority of cases the users are asked to sign up for some company's service. Users are usually threatened that they are going to be charged in case they do not sign in and cancel the subscription. The aim is to get either personal or financial information; however, users are also likely to be asked to download some software that is always malicious in character (e.g. Trojan and etc.) Such websites can uses combined identity theft techniques.
Spam is broadly known to everyone. It can be represented by various e-mails received by users; the messages usually are unwelcomed bulk and can be of different character and level of irritability.
Spearphishing is a more serious technique and it usually presupposes a certain amount of deceitful action from the ones who initiate it. They typically send out false emails where they describe and speak from the part of some organization which either does not exist or they have no relation to. The main aim is to lure personal information from a recipient.
Trojan horse - represents a form of malware. It is described and represented as beneficial for the user; meanwhile it is able to damage and destroy information on the computes without a user's permission. It is unpleasant to get such one on.
Vishing - a vishing scheme presuppose that a recipient should call a certain phone number and provides personal information to the representative. Such measure is claimed to be a security requirement but in reality it is personal information that is lured from a user.

Other Techniques:

Dumpster Diving - it is quite easy to put certain information into trash without proper destroying it first. Peeking into one's trash bin can be quite informative for those who know what they look for.
Stolen Mail - an unsecured mailbox can be easy target with all its content such as bills and stuff. There is really no need for everyone to be aware of the peculiarities of your life.

How to Differentiate Secure Websites from Unsecure Ones

Any time you are asked to provide some personal information to a website, make sure that the website is secure and that your personal information won't be transferred to any third party.

First thing to do is to have a proper look at the web address. It is secure if it starts with 'https://' and not with 'http://'. This is only an ending 's' but it can make a huge difference.
Have a look at the status bar. In a secure website when you move the mouse to it, locked padlock icon is supposed to appear it should be in the lower right corner of your web browser. Decent payday loan websites are always secure.
Make sure you pay attention to any messages in small windows. If such a window ops up, do not ignore it and read carefully. Most web browsers have a feature to warn the users about the possibility to enter or leave a secure site.