How to Manage Your Identity

Technological advances have enabled users to keep steadily increasing amounts of personal data in online storage for easy accessibility. Unfortunately, this benefit carries the risk of exposing online identity through seemingly benign web activities such as using email, video gaming and shopping online. As digital thieves find new ways to steal identity information and passwords from website security loopholes, new measures are being taken to lock down these fraudulent efforts and secure users’ online identities and financial access.

Lookalike emails that falsely claim to be from trusted online stores and businesses are known as “phishing" and are known to trick even experienced email users. In these legitimate-looking emails, links encourage readers to reveal everything from passwords to social security numbers through fake webpages designed specifically for that purpose. Built-in browser securities and programs keep a running tally of the worst offenders, and email providers like Google and Yahoo have taken an active interest in thwarting these sly attempts – even on the outskirts of a scam, identity theft is bad for business.

Financial institutions have stepped up requirements for online account access, adding measures such as personalized security questions, text messaged passcodes and confirmation for unusually large withdrawals and charges. Without the easy access to user accounts that they once enjoyed, online thieves have begun exploiting another financial facet: loan and credit applications. Once armed with a victim’s stolen personal information, they can open mortgages, credit cards and store credit in the victim’s name. Thankfully, this scenario is easily avoided with the help of special identity management tools that are being introduced into financial corporations nationwide.

A simple background check is no longer reliable with the pervasive nature of online identity theft, so versatile new solutions are vital. Lexis Nexis’ Fraudpoint solutions use a unique fraud score capability, assessing the risk of new applications via a 300-999 score, similar to the way that credit scores are considered. Behavioral patterns and scoring methodology is used to filter out potential concerns on an application, drawing attention to fraud and strengthening identity management. Capable of collecting information on millions of individuals and businesses in milliseconds, the linking technology powering Fraudpoint keeps users one step ahead of identity theft.

As the threat of theft grows and changes with the Internet, users can at least rest assured that measures to combat fraud are advancing just as quickly. With careful consideration and technology safeguarding web users, it may not be long before online identity concerns are a thing of the past.