One of the biggest threats of identity theft occurs when  people unwittingly download keystroke logging programs that can read all of the information in their computers and use it to steal the identity of the victim.  Often this occurs when people go to websites or respond to emails that promise free music, free games or free pornography.  In addition, a recent study done by Dr. Christopher Ahlers, a German therapist found that about two thirds of the sixty million people who access free pornography websites each day do so at work which puts the data in their employers’ computers in danger of being hacked and used for identity theft.  This is no idle threat.    A few years ago free pornography was used as the lure to hack into the computers of the Port Orange, Florida police department that resulted in more than 300,000 people becoming victims of identity theft.

TIPS

Employers should follow the lead of the Department of Defense which has issued a prohibition against workers accessing pornography on their computers at work.  Companies should make sure they educate their employees about the dangers of identity theft in attempting to access free pornography, music or games.  In addition, care should be taken to make sure that business computers protect information through encryption and also that they are utilizing the latest firewall technology and security software as well as making sure that their security software is regularly and automatically update.