If there is one thing you should know about the Internet, it is that everything is not as what it seems. Join a chat room, a forum or any social network and you will find that it is pretty easy to pretend to be someone entirely different from who you are in real life. Many people who play Massive Multiplayer Online Games (MMO) create characters of the opposite gender. And some of us have had our fair share of pranks from friends who thought it would be fun to punk us on IM. While these online impersonations are relatively trivial, there are some that are considered criminal offenses.

Identity theft is a form of fraud that involves impersonating someone else in order to steal or gain access to certain privileges or benefits. Many identity thieves have taken advantage of the anonymity cloak provided by the World Wide Web to successfully dupe and burglarize unknowing people of their money. Here are a few useful tips to protect yourself from falling victim to this modern-day crime.

Be Careful What You Click On

Every day, our e-mail accounts filter out spam and send them straight to our Trash folder. A few of these e-mails are able to snake their way into our inboxes. When you find one that has, be wary about its content. Don’t be too quick to download attachments or click on any outbound links embedded in the message. A number of technocrat identity thieves use Trojans to hack into their victims’ computers and steal personal details. Others make use of phishing methods that trick us into disclosing our credit card details and other sensitive information.

One prevalent phishing method comes in the form of harmless e-mail promotions or advertising job offers. If the e-mail asks you to reply with your full name, complete address, telephone numbers, and banking details, it is likely to be a scam. As much as possible, keep your e-mail private and free from contact from people you do not know or trust to prevent yourself from getting any of these dangerous messages.

Old School Methods Still Abound

Even though we now maintain most of our correspondences online, that does not mean we should disregard our physical mailboxes. People who do not check their mail frequently are easy targets for identity theft. It is a simple task to slip a hand into the mailbox and snag a potentially implicating letter.

Don’t leave important letters and other documents lying around. When it is time to get rid of any important records, don’t just crumple them up into balls and shoot them into the trash bin. Dumpster divers are Internet thieves who steal sensitive information by rummaging through a person’s trash. To prevent them from unearthing any personal details they may be able to use to impersonate you for fraudulent activity, it is best to shred your papers and throw away the pieces in separate trash cans. This way, dumpster divers won’t be able to get your information even if they try to piece the torn-up document together.