Welcome to the Identity Theft Protection Centre!
This web site provides useful tips and information concerning your Identity Theft Protection service, valuable resources concerning phishing, online fraud, and identity theft, and tips for protecting yourself from such scams.
What is the Identity Theft Protection Service?
The Identity Theft Protection service, part of Virgin Broadband PCguard, helps protect you against online fraud by blocking fraudulent (or "phishing") sites as they are encountered.
How it works
- When the Identity Theft Protection service is on, the URL of each web site you visit is compared against a database of known fraudulent sites.
- If the URL matches one in the online fraud database, or if the URL is associated with a domain that is known to host such scams, the web site is blocked, and a message is displayed within the browser window.
What the Identity Theft Protection service cannot do
The Identity Theft Protection service is an excellent starting point for preventing online fraud. However, when using the Internet, education and vigilance are still key factors when it comes to preventing theft of your information and assets. No software can protect you from all possible fraud schemes, and new methods of attack frequently appear. For example:
- The Identity Theft Protection service will not protect against a scam that has not yet been identified by the research community and added to the database.
- The Identity Theft Protection service will not stop you from directly replying to a phishing emails.
- The Identity Theft Protection service will not protect against a "secure" site (a site that uses https instead of http) that is part of a phishing scam.
To learn more about how to protect yourself against online fraud, identify theft, and other scams, see About Internet Fraud.
For more information on the Identity Theft Protection service, see Why use the Identity Theft Protection? To order Virgin Broadband PCguard, contact your Internet Service Provider.
Phishing Trends
To view charts depicting the latest trends in phishing activity, click here.
What is Phishing?
Phishing is a form of Internet-based fraud. Using fake emails or web sites, online thieves trick you into providing bank account numbers, passwords, and other confidential information. The information is then used to steal from you or commit identity theft.
The methods used to convince you to part with your information are varied and sophisticated. For example, you may receive an email from an online auction site, asking you to "confirm" your account information. Thieves may also create web site that looks exactly like your bank's, but is actually a fake. See Phishing for more information and examples. To combat this type of fraud, it is important to be aware of how such schemes work. Installing the Identity Theft Protection software is also recommended.