Scary Numbers: Identity theft through your computer
I’ve got a scary number for you: Security experts estimate that as many as ten million personal computers are infected with viruses designed to steal your personal information.
If that doesn’t make your hair stand on end, then listen to this: Panda Security found that at least one percent of the 67 million people who utilized their free ActiveScan to test their computers last year were infected with malicious Trojan software programs. That’s 670,000 computers. They estimate that if 1 percent of the computers in homes across the world actually downloaded malware without knowledge of it, it’s safe to estimate then that over ten million computers worldwide could potentially be infected with software capable of stealing its contents—and along with that, personal identities.
The scary numbers just keep coming. According to Panda, their detection rate rose to over 800 percent between the middle of 2008 and the end of the year. Victims are usually infected after being duped into downloading virus programs through fake websites or pop-ups.
Malicious programs such as key logger spyware can go undetected for quite a period of time, whether or not the latest antivirus updates are installed. And once these destructive programs are downloaded onto a computer, every keystroke made—including credit card numbers entered, Social Security numbers typed, banking information and passwords input—are then in the hands of the bad guys. Thieves have become technologically savvy. In fact, Panda reported that more than a third of the PCs they found to be infected had fully-functional and recently-updated anti-virus programs installed.
Here are some of the highlights from Panda’s study on the evolution of online identity theft:
- Over three million of the audited users in the U.S. and more than 10 million users worldwide were infected with active identity theft-based malware in 2008
- 1.07 percent of all PCs scanned in 2008 were infected with active malware (resident in memory during the scan) related to identity theft, such as banker Trojans
- 35 percent of the infected PCs had up-to-date antivirus software installed
- The number of PCs infected with identify theft malware increased by 800 percent from the first half of 2008 to the second half
A few tips to help protect your computer and your identity;
- 1. If you are using a shared computer, always delete any personal information and passwords you may have entered.
- 2. Never click on pop-ups or embedded links contained in email from an unknown source, even if it says, “You have been sent a postcard from your friend!” These are most likely fronts for “phishing” scams. DON’T CLICK.
- 3. Use care when picking passwords. Don’t use passwords containing public information that a trained identity thief can easily crack. Hint: your birth date, the name of your pet, and your mother’s maiden name are not as secret as you think.
I have one last number for you: The Federal Trade Commission estimates that over nine million consumers have had their identities stolen in the United States alone. Remember, the best way to prevent an identity theft is to plan for one. If your wallet is stolen, “who ya gonna call”? I know I’m going to call LifeLock, and leave the clean-up to them!
