The idea of going offline and 'quitting the web' can be appealing, especially when it comes to avoiding scams.
We regularly cover new kinds of fraud in an effort to keep readers up to date with new scams, but criminals are constantly finding new ways to steal from both individuals and firms.
On top of that, there seems to be an endless list of companies that get hacked or fail to protect our data, leaving even more of us vulnerable to theft.
Fraud can and does happen offline, of course. Crimes like impersonation fraud and telephone fraud are on the rise. It’s pretty much accepted that online identity theft is part of the online experience, just as the risk of having your wallet stolen is part of walking down a physical street.
But when, like me, almost all your life is online, it’s hard to believe you’re not even more at risk. I decided to work out just how much of my life and finances take place online. Most of it, as it turns out:
- I bank online, including current and savings accounts;
- I pay my energy bills online;
- I submit my meter readings online;
- I manage my phone bill online;
- I order groceries online;
- I choose and buy holidays online;
- I shop for clothes and household items online;
- I bill clients online;
- I socialise extensively online;
- I even communicate with my children’s school online.
My entire life is pretty much online. Every now and again I will get a cheque in the post and have to remind myself what it is.
So I started to think that if my entire life is online, I’m surely more at risk of online fraud than if I pull all my data off the web.
Now read: Scams victims promised better protection against fraud
Can anyone really keep their data offline?
If you’re as much of an internet enthusiast as I am then it won’t be easy to move off the web. However, it can be achieved.
In 2015, a man called Mark Farid gave up his entire digital identity for six months and documented it for The Telegraph.
He wrote: “I’m using multiple pay-as-you-go phones, which I’m replacing every four weeks. I have several different laptops, which I use for different things. I pay for everything in cash, which I take out every month from the same cash machine.
“I buy a daily travel card (in cash). There is still, of course, a digital footprint of sorts, but it’s incredibly difficult to link everything together, and I will be scrambling my IP address and using the laptops only in set locations for specific purposes.”
Undeniably, that sounds hard.
And the payoff isn’t obvious. Farid is concerned about businesses storing and exploiting the data they hold on their customers. I’m personally less worried about that.
Yet his description of the cultural and social isolation he felt while trying to protect himself from the existence of a digital footprint, that all sounded serious and concerning.
However, Farid is right that corporations store incredible amounts of data on us and that we do not have control over how they use that data – or if we do then we often cede control by absent-mindedly agreeing to the terms and conditions.
So will I go offline?
No.
I can see that it is possible to move my life offline with a little extra effort. With the new General Data Protection Regulation that comes into force next year it will even be possible to ensure that firms I no longer use stop retaining my data, limiting my risk.
However, even if I remove myself from the web entirely, I don’t believe I will be safe from computer-based criminals. A substantial number of fraudsters work using data that has been stolen from businesses.
Now read: Online Christmas shopping: how to avoid fraud
It is unrealistic to imagine that such businesses won’t be keeping my information on their databases and that there’s a risk that those databases will be hacked if the information is not properly protected.
However, being offline would prevent me from using a credit checking service to ensure my identity has not been stolen.
Of course, a major credit checking organisation was recently implicated in a massive data theft event, but even so I think I am safer being able to monitor whether my identity is being used without my permission.
And I know that I save money by being online. From comparing grocery prices to finding the best deals to saving money with an online-only energy tariff, the internet saves me a substantial amount each year.
But…
Conducting this digital audit made me very aware of the amount of details I give away for free – all of which put me at greater risk of online fraud.
To Facebook, to Twitter, to that old MySpace page I never got round to closing, to the retailers I allow to keep me on their mailing lists, the web is awash with data of mine that I don’t actually benefit from.
It would be relatively easy to limit the amount of specific data I reveal to such companies without losing any of the benefits.
I could use a different email address for mailing lists and similar things so that it would be less risky if it was compromised.
Now read: Online banking security: the best and worst banks
My social media accounts could function perfectly well without storing my location, my birthday, my ‘relationships’ data that reveals my mother’s details and other sensitive data that could be a help to someone attempting social engineering to access to my accounts.
Life online may make me more vulnerable to fraud but it also saves me money and provides amazing convenience. As with anything, it’s about staying safe by reading up on the developing risks and limiting the dangers.
After all, I won’t give up walking down the street but I do keep my valuables in a zipped up internal pocket and I did learn Krav Maga. I should manage my online risk in a similarly robust way.
Worried you've already fallen victim to fraud? Check your credit report for anything suspicious.