The uncountable number of people that use the Internet to make purchases each day are at risk for falling prey to online predators seeking to steal their identities. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and numerous other agencies publish tips and advice on how consumers can protect themselves, but the FTC still receives up to 20,000 calls per week on identity theft. Now, even the White House has a plan for helping to stop online identity thieves in their tracks.

Internet Identity Theft

Online identity theft continues to grow as a problem as more and more consumers are using the Internet to make online purchases. Part of the problem is Internet security, which is both the responsibility of the online site and the consumer. For example, website owners should make sure that their shopping carts are safe and secure and credit card information is encrypted. Consumers should ensure that they are using varied log on names and passwords for their online accounts and not making the user names and passwords too easy for hackers to figure out.

National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace

The White House is taking responsibility too with the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC). The program will work similar to the Facebook connect option, which allows online users to log in to various sites using one log in and password, rather than having numerous ones. In its rollout phase, the NSTIC account is voluntary. After this initial rollout, the second phase will involve the White House focusing on efforts to use mobile devices and handheld devices to confirm their identity or to log on to specific sites.