“Given a choice between dancing pigs and security, users will pick dancing pigs every time.” –Edward Felten

Dancing pigs and identity theft…it would seem the two have nothing in common. But they are related when it comes to Internet use. Surfers will choose fun over keeping their computer and personal information safe time and time again. Users are often tricked into choosing unsafe sites by animation and fancy Flash pop-ups.

In a recent study by computer security specialists, 22 participants viewed 20 websites and were asked to choose the spoof sites. Forty percent of the time, the users chose the spoof or dangerous sites. Some of those sites contained animation like dancing bears, along with a warning, but users chose them anyway. The study proved that visual distraction can fool even the most sophisticated Internet user.

The study shows that even though a person may consider himself computer savvy, he may not be. It also teaches us that we need to pay attention to browser-based clues to determine if a site is legitimate – not the dancing pigs in the pop-up window.

Avoiding identity theft doesn’t have to be that difficult. To determine if a site is legitimate, check your address bar. The link and the site address should match. For example, if you receive an e-mail from PayPal that includes a hyperlink, when you run your cursor over the link, the correct PayPal address should show up in your status bar at the top of the page. If not, the e-mail and site are very likely not legitimate.

Identity thieves often use scams like these to “phish” for your personal information. When you click on the link, you will be taken to an “official” looking site where you are required to enter personal information or update your information. Once you’ve entered the information, the thief makes off with your most sensitive data.

Don’t fall victim to a scam because of clever design or animation

Tags: Identity Theft, LifeLock

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 26th, 2010 at 2:34 pm and is filed under Identity Theft. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.