Identity protection
Be careful to protect your personal details in the online world. If you don't, criminals may get hold of your information and carry out activities pretending to be you.
Most people are very careful with personal documents such as a birth certificate or driver's licence and keep them in a safe place. You should do the same thing with your personal information online.
Banking on the internet, shopping online and using email for personal and business reasons can lead to you accidentally revealing too much information about yourself.
Only reveal personal details online to organisations you trust. If your information falls into the wrong hands, someone could use it to impersonate you in order to steal your information, money or assets.
Steps to protect your identity online
- Use a strong password and do not share it with anyone. A random combination of numbers, letters and punctuation over eight characters long is recommended.
- Check your billing and account records carefully to detect potential identity theft early.
- Set up a separate email address for shopping and newsgroups. If you need to, you can then change this address without disrupting online business activities.
- Only share your primary email address with people you know.
- Be careful when signing up to mailing lists - spammers use the unsubscribe button to validate addresses.
- Only make online purchases from companies that have a clear privacy policy.
- Think before you fill out online forms. Ask yourself, how much information do I need to enter into this site?
- Keep a record of what information you've given to whom.
What to do if your identity has been stolen
- Notify financial institutions.
- Change passwords.
- Notify relevant websites.
- Request a credit report from credit reporting agencies.
- Notify the relevant authorities.
Further information
You can obtain a copy of the booklet ID Theft—Protecting your identity from the Australian Attorney-General's Department at www.ag.gov.au/identitysecurity, where you can also find contact details for relevant authorities.
