Protecting your identity

How can you protect your identity information?

You can take simple steps to protect your identity information by:

• creating strong passwords
• not opening suspicious messages
• updating your online privacy settings regularly
• guarding your financial information, including checking your credit card and bank statements regularly for unusual transactions
• monitoring your credit report
• safely storing identity documents
• strengthening your email account security using multi-factor authentication
• protecting your mail, for example locking your letterbox or consider the mail holding service at the post office.

Do not give out your identity information until you are sure it is legitimate

Tips to make sure it is legitimate:

• Check for any spelling mistakes and/or poor grammar.
• Verify the domain with a simple web search using WHOIS.
• Look for reviews of the website.

Identity security resources and links

• Recognise, avoid and recover from identity misuse – ID Support NSW
• Protect your passwords – ID Support NSW
• Scams – Scamwatch
• Online protection and prevention – Cyber.gov.au
• Multi-factor authentication – Cyber.gov.au
• Monitoring credit – OAIC
• Privacy awareness – OAIC
• Credit reporting – OAIC
• Counselling and support for victims of identity theft – IDCARE