interesting to criminals, who can use it to gain your
confidence and then scam you, or use it to guess your
passwords or secret question answers, which often
include family members’ names. This information
may also expose additional family members to ID
theft, fraud, and personal harm.➟ Information about your car: Limit access to license
plate numbers; VINs (vehicle identification numbers);
registration information; make, model, and title num-
ber of car; your insurance carrier’s name, coverage
limits, loan information, and driver’s license number.
The key criminal abuse of this information includes
car theft (or theft of parts of the car) and insurance
fraud. The type of car you drive may also indicate
your financial status, and that adds one more piece of
information to the pool of data criminals collect
about you.➟ Information about work history: In the hands of
criminals, your work history can be very useful for
“authenticating” the fraudster and convincing people
and organizations to provide them with more of your
financial records or identity.➟ Information about your credit status: This informa-
tion can be abused in so many ways that any time
you’re asked to provide this online, your answer
should be no. Don’t fall for the temptation to check
your credit scores for free through sites that aren’t
guaranteed reputable. Another frequent abuse of credit
information is found in free mortgage calculators that
ask you to put in all kinds of personal information in
order for them to determine what credit you qualify
for. See Chapter 13 for more about financial safety
online.142
Part II: Using the Internet While Dodging the Risk