2. WHAT IS PERSONAL
INFORMATION?
•Any factual or subjective information, whether
recorded or not, about an identifiable
individual.
• Information that can be used to uniquely
identify, contact, or locate a single person or
can be used with other sources to uniquely
identify a single individual.
3. EXAMPLE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
Personal Descriptors Name, age, place of birth,
date of birth, gender, weight,
height, eye color, hair color,
fingerprint.
Identification Numbers Health IDs, Social Insurance
Numbers (SIN), Social
Security Numbers (SSN),
PIN numbers, debit and
credit card numbers.
Ethnicity Race, colour, national or
ethnic origin.
Health Physical or mental
disabilities, family or
individual health history,
health records, blood type,
DNA code, prescriptions.
4. EXAMPLE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
Financial Income, loan records,
transactions, purchases and
spending habits.
Employment Employee files, employment
history, evaluations,
reference interviews,
disciplinary actions.
Life Character, general
reputation, personal
characteristics, social status,
marital status, religion,
political affiliations and
beliefs, opinions, comments,
intentions.
Education Education history.
5. How to Prevent Identity Theft
• Beware of Employment Schemes.
Employment schemes have increased to the point that it's
hard, now, to know what's safe and what's not when
people looking for employment online. Scams can be
targeted at anyone looking for a job, and some of them
are pretty sneaky.
• Monitor Credit Regularly.
The fastest way to find out if your identity has been stolen
is to check the credit report. Often, identity thieves will hit
people in pocketbook first, and sometimes their
fraudulent activity will alert people that there's a problem.
6. Cont’
• Guard Your Bank and Credit Accounts.
Learn how to protect your vulnerable points bank and
credit accounts of your identity to reduce your threat of
being victimized by identity thieves.
• Protect Your Virtual Identity.
The Internet is increasing your risk for identity theft
dramatically. If people don't keep their virtual identity
safe online, then it's almost guaranteed they will becom
the victim of identity theft.
7. Cont’
• Take care when creating passwords.
Don’t use something like birth date, last name, and
possible for someone to guess. Have a few different
passwords for different sites, and change them regularly.
• Only keep the essentials in your wallet or purse.
One of the biggest mistakes people make is carrying more
sensitive information than need in their wallet or purse
than needed.
8. WHY PERSONAL INFORMATION IS
IMPORTANT?
• Our personal information is valuable, people should treat it as their would
any other valuable item. With crimes such as identity theft, it is even more
important to safeguard our personal information. Criminals can use our
personal details to open bank accounts, apply for credit cards and get state
benefits in our name.
• If personal information is incorrect, inadequate or out of date, it could lead
to people being unfairly refused jobs, housing, benefits, credit or a place at
college.
• Always think carefully before supplying personal information. Always ask
why an organization is requesting it, as you may not need to supply it.
9. HOW TO MANAGE PERSONAL
INFORMATION?
• Store documents carrying any personal details in a safe
place.
• Shed or destroy all documents containing any personal
details before throwing them away.
• Check your bank and credit card statements carefully for
unfamiliar transactions.
• Be careful when using public computers to access your
personal information. Remove personal details on
screen and uncheck the ‘remember password’ box.
10. HOW TO MANAGE PERSONAL
INFORMATION?
• Check your credit file regularly for any suspicious
applications.
• Always think about who you are giving information to and
why they would need it. Don’t be afraid to ask.
• Protect your home computer with anti-virus, firewall and
anti-spam software before going online.
• When you move house, redirect all your mail and inform
your bank, utilities companies and other organizations of
your new address.
11. How to Correct Your Personal
Information
• If your personal data is inaccurate, you should write to
the organization to tell them what you believe is wrong
with your information and what should be done to correct
it.
• There is no particular form of words that you need to
use, provided that you make clear the following:
who you are and what personal information is wrong, and
what should be done to correct it.
• If you are sending a letter, you should consider sending
it by recorded delivery. You can also email your letter if
the organization can identify you and the personal
information you are referring to from your email.
