ID Theft - Merchants Information Solutions, Inc.

How Cybersecurity and Privacy Affect Us All

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy) — Fri, 19 Jun 2015 17:10:00 +0000

Data security is a hot topic these days, and with good reason. Whether it’s news of the latest corporate data breach, hackers in foreign countries, or legislation aimed at protecting citizens’ privacy, we’re living in a world that is clamoring to keep up with the technology… and with criminals.

But while we wait for the government to take action and the business world to catch up, there’s no reason we can’t take action ourselves. Cybersecurity all starts with the behaviors that fuel your online activity, and with the right attention to what you share, you can protect yourself from a lot of the threats.

Oversharing – One of the most common culprits in cybercrimes can be oversharing. Whether it’s giving out too much of your personal data to entities that don’t really need it, or posting far too many pieces of your privacy puzzle on social media, oversharing gives criminals the information they need to connect the dots and steal your identity.
Whenever you’re asked for your personal information, ask yourself why the entity needs it and what they plan to do with it. Have you paid attention to how many stores now ask for an email address when you go to checkout at the register? Of course, they’re collecting it for marketing purposes, and truthfully, if you already shop there, you might actually want to receive updates and coupons. But another option is to go to the company’s website yourself and sign up to receive these emails. You’re not risking others overhearing you, and you’ll know where you entered your data. That kind of defensive habit can make you stop and think about who you give your data to.

Online, are you giving out more information than strangers need to see? One of the more common social media mistakes for female Facebook users is to post their maiden names, as in “Jane Turner Smith.” This is obviously so friends who knew her as Jane Turner can find her. But when that information is coupled with the common practice of posting news and photos from your child’s birthday—“My little boy turned six today! He’s growing up so fast!”—you just provided the entire internet with your son’s birthdate and his mother’s maiden name. The pieces of his identity are coming together, all because you gave out information that people really don’t need to have.
Securing your network – Whether it’s from home, on the road, or from a mobile device, are you accessing sensitive information like your bank account over an unsecured Wi-Fi network? Once you’ve accessed that account, are you logging out completely and closing your browser? Or did you just go to a different webpage and continue surfing the web?
If you don’t know the network you’re on, don’t use sensitive accounts. Even your email account can be under threat from a hacker. If a cyber thief accesses your email account and then changes the password, he can lock you out of your email; from there, he goes to all of your accounts, simply clicks “forgot my password” to receive the email to reset it, and changes your Amazon account, your banking account, your credit card account… and you can’t stop him. You may not even realize he’s done it until it’s too late.
Monitoring your statements – Many of us receive paperless statements now from a variety of sources, and it can be easy to overlook them. They’re sitting safely in our inboxes, right? But there are couple of problems there, too.
First, if a thief accesses your email, then those statements contain a lot of information. You need to monitor them, look them over carefully, and destroy them securely, just as you would if they’d been mailed to your house. If you do need them later, download them to your computer and save them on an external hard drive to keep prying eyes away.

But while you’re monitoring any incoming statements, make sure you’re looking for suspicious activity. This holds true for any kind of statement or report, not just your bank or credit card statement. Check your utility bills to make sure someone hasn’t opened up a utility account somewhere else. Check your tax and medical statements to make sure you’re the only one using your identity. And finally, check that credit report throughout the year to make sure nothing funny is going on in your name.

It may seem time consuming to protect yourself, especially if you can’t rely on others to protect your data for you. But by developing good overall habits with regards to your personal information, you can do a lot to keep yourself from becoming a victim of a cybercrime.

FTC to examine privacy issues with 'cross-device tracking'

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy) — Mon, 11 May 2015 18:33:00 +0000

By Mark Pribish
Vice President and ID Theft Practice Leader

Imagine a private investigator watching your every move and listening along the way as you go about your daily activities. Welcome to "cross-device tracking," the digital investigation and tracking of our entire online lives, from social media to general Web searches, regardless of the device or platform used.

Nearly every time you use the Internet from laptops, smartphones, tablets and wearable devices that interact with applications, platforms, publishers, and software, you are being tracked by advertising and marketing companies. This is called cross-device tracking.

It's almost impossible to protect your privacy as a consumer when businesses are targeting you for marketing and advertising purposes, whether you are using multiple devices or not.

The Federal Trade Commission has taken notice. It announced last week that it is going to examine privacy issues related to advertising and marketing companies that track consumers across devices connected to the Internet.

In the simplest of terms, this tracking is done by researching consumers' search engine habits and then customizing a marketer's value proposition for each one.

Big data (as in database research, analytics and marketing) has been going on for decades. One example of big data is the use of cookies, in which marketers target potential customers by tracking their browsing habits, including sites visited, age, marital status and political and religious affiliations.

The beauty of cookie tracking is that it's not limited to when a consumer is on a particular site but throughout the entire time a consumer is browsing. This means that marketers now can direct offers and advertisements that are specific enough to motivate a product purchase.

The FTC is soliciting public comments on these questions:

What are the different types of cross-device tracking, how do they work, and what are they used for?
What types of information and benefits do companies gain from using these technologies?
What benefits do consumers derive from the use of these technologies?
What are the privacy and security risks associated with the use of these technologies?
How can companies make their tracking more transparent and give consumers greater control over it?
Do current industry self-regulatory programs apply to different cross-device- tracking techniques?

Your comments can be submitted online via the following link: https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/crossdeviceworkshop/

The FTC will use your responses to examine the privacy issues and security risks created by the use of cross-device tracking.

Digital private investigators are watching your every online move. Let your voice be heard by submitting your comments to the FTC on cross-device tracking.

Understanding Social Media Identity Theft

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy) — Tue, 24 Mar 2015 22:10:00 +0000

Despite the critics who fear that social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others is making us less connected and less a part of live interactions, the internet really is a great tool for connecting people around the world. Whether it’s catching up with high school friends who’ve moved away or joining an online group who shares a common hobby, career, or interest, the internet is helping us find and engage with people we might have otherwise never met. Social media in a business setting is gaining more popularity, and with that, the opportunity to become a victim of identity theft is rising as well. The potential for compromising your identity is very real, especially if you’re not taking steps to protect it fully.

Even if you have the highest privacy settings set on your social media accounts such as people who aren’t on your friends’ list not being able to see your Facebook posts that doesn’t stop your approved friends from sharing your content. Even if they literally cut and pasted the picture you just posted, they can share it with all of their friends, who can share it with their friends, and so on. Think of every post you make online whether it’s pictures, birthday announcements, or any other kind of personal sentiment, you have no idea where it may spread next.

So does that mean you should never post anything? Of course not. But it does mean that you have to be careful about what content you post, and make sure that it’s only content you wouldn’t mind ending up in millions of strangers’ inboxes.

Another concern about social media involves posts that you see. Whether it is funny questions, online quizzes, or shared articles, many of them are gathering your information. The strange thing is it is information you willingly provided in order to participate. Make sure you stop and ask yourself who is receiving your information and what harm could they possibly do with it before you click.

If you have the highest privacy settings and you behave online in a very safe way, you’re 100% protected, right? Not necessarily. A thief or hacker can still gain enough information about you to take over your accounts and post content pretending to be yours. Even worse, they can create whole new accounts that look like you or your business, only instead of posting your content they’re used to smear your professional reputation, damage your relationships, or otherwise harm you.

Finally, there are a number of scams that are perpetrated on social media platforms. You may not be clicking on content, but what about the messages you receive? If someone reaches out to you through social media and begins a discussion, never share your personal information. This may seem like a harmless interaction, but scammers are adept at confusing people enough to gather the relevant information necessary to steal an identity – your name, location, age, and pet’s name can be enough to break through password security protocol’s and access email, online banking, and files on your business’s server. This is a heartless crime, but a reality. Scammers are using the internet disarm you enough to gather the information they need, and then leave you confused and unsure of what happened.

In order to keep yourself as safe as possible online, remember some basic guidelines. Ensure that you’re using strong, unique passwords on all of your online accounts in order to keep hackers from gaining access. Be sure that the content you post isn’t anything you wouldn’t want shared across the internet. The ITRC will be co-hosting a Twitter chat on April 2^nd with Merchants Information Solutions, Inc. and the Better Business Bureau, sharing more information on social media identity theft.

Tax Season Theft & Fraud

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy) — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 21:08:00 +0000

Tax season seems to be one of the most stressful times of the year. Not only is there a lot of paperwork to prepare, but now we have the added fears of fraud and identity theft. This year, we’ve already seen a significant increase in fraudulent filings, and tax identity theft is one of the most difficult to detect. Usually, the only way you know a crime has been committed is when you attempt to file a legitimate tax return. Instead of receiving anticipated refunds, though, you receive a notice that a return has already been filed under your Social Security number.

In 2014, 34% of calls to the Identity Theft Resource Center involved government identity theft. This is a very specific type of identity theft, as it can encompass any scenario involving using someone’s information to gain government services, benefits, or filings. This type of crime can be anything related to government-overseen services, such as filing a fraudulent tax return with a stolen Social Security number, trying to get a job using someone else’s information, applying for any kind of government issued benefits, and more.

Like most forms of identity theft, you usually have no immediate way of knowing it occurred, giving the thieves a quiet head start. But unlike financial identity theft in which you receive a suspicious-looking account statement within a month or two, government identity theft can remain undiscovered until such time as you file for benefits or file your tax return, and you only learn about it months or even years after your data was stolen.

There are a few steps that consumers can take to reduce the risk of tax identity theft. The first step in limiting any kind of identity theft is always to safeguard your information as much as you can, while the next step is to be on the lookout for any unusual activity. Your Social Security statement, any medical statements or benefits reports, and even your annual W-2s can show you that someone is using your information for fraudulent purposes, but you have to stay on top of it in order to be aware. Report any strange activity immediately by contacting the Social Security office, the IRS’s fraud investigation department, or other pertinent government agencies.

Next, file your tax return as early as possible. Now is the time to begin gathering your necessary paperwork and filing documents so that you can submit your return as soon as possible, beating a thief to the punch. If you wait until the filing deadline and then discover that another claim has been filed under your Social Security Number, it becomes your burden to prove that the scammer is not, in fact, you. Not only is this a major problem to deal with, but if you count on the refund as part of your income, the delay will affect your ability to pay bills and routine expenses.

If you suspect that someone has fraudulently filed a return using your information, you can contact the IRS directly to report the crime by filling out Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit. You can also contact the IRS’s Identity Protection Specialized Unit for assistance.

15 tips to reduce your risk of ID theft

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy) — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 19:11:00 +0000

By Mark Pribish
Vice President and ID Theft Practice Leader

Whether you are a consumer or a small-business owner planning for a great 2015, help yourself by taking charge of your cybersecurity and personal privacy to reduce your risk of becoming an ID-theft victim.

Don't let the near-constant data breach news lull you into "breach fatigue" and therefore be unprepared when ID theft hits you or your business.

To help you reduce your exposure to and the impact of ID theft, here are "Mark's 15 Most Important ID-Theft Need-to-Knows":

Cybersecurity:

Small businesses that ignore the big threat of a data breach are a bigger target for ID-theft criminals.
Businesses need to understand that a data breach is inevitable. Your business profits, brand, and reputation depend on your data-breach response plan.
You cannot stop identity theft and data breaches. Defend yourself or your business by increasing ID-theft awareness, ongoing education and taking actions to further protect yourself.
Create a data-breach response plan to safeguard your business against the insider threat by conducting pre-employment background screening, regularly testing your business and information-security access controls and regularly reviewing your data-retention policy.
Cyberinsurance may be a good option to help your business minimize today's cyber-risks. Work with your insurance broker to determine your cyber-risks and the best coverage for your organization.

Personal privacy:

Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to privacy settings and social media sites.
Be more vigilant and hands-on with your personal-privacy settings and be aware that most apps lack basic security defenses and create some sort of a privacy issue.
Stop ignoring terms and conditions. Read, understand and use privacy settings and be diligent about your social networking. Beware of fake accounts, unless you want to be a partner in your own identity theft.
Protect your vehicle documents as if they were cash and regularly check for unusual activities after purchasing a vehicle or after it's been in the possession of others.
You need to read and understand the privacy policies of every organization you have a relationship with to know how your information is protected, saved, analyzed, sold and/or disclosed.

Identity theft:

Assume you will be an ID-theft victim, even as you do more to protect yourself and are vigilant with all of your personal information.
Synthetic-identity theft and fraud is an emerging threat as well. Check your credit-bureau report quarterly at no cost through annualcreditreport.com.
When you swipe your credit or debit card, there is always a risk of giving ID-theft criminals what they need to steal your money through what is known as "skimming" – when criminals install electronic devices at locations at which we use cards, such as an ATM, a grocery store or a gas pump.
While no password is "unbreakable," don't make it easy for ID-theft criminals by using weak passwords, or the same passwords.
The best defense against phishing is to be aware that it happens every day. Assume you're being "phished" until you verify the source of an unexpected e-mail or call.

Mark's most important: ID-theft criminals are ramping up for 2015. Make sure you know what you need to know to reduce your risk of ID theft.

ID theft criminals love tax season

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy) — Tue, 27 Jan 2015 20:17:00 +0000

By Mark Pribish
Vice President and ID Theft Practice Leader

Internal Revenue Service officials aren't the only ones excited about taxpayer season — ID-theft criminals are, too, because it's one of their most lucrative windows of opportunity each year.

Tax filing season begins soon, and to help you protect yourself and your family, this week's column is focused on guidance and caution in filing taxes, selecting a preparation service and increasing your awareness of IRS-related scams to guard against identity theft.

Since 2008, the IRS has struggled to curb taxpayer identity theft and refund fraud, with more than 1.2 million tax-related identity theft incidents.

A September 2014 General Accounting Office report stated that the IRS paid $5.2 billion in refunds based on fraudulent tax returns in 2013.

Also in 2013, nearly one-third of all ID-theft complaints pertained to taxes or wages.
Identity-theft criminals steal Social Security numbers and taxpayer-related information to file fraudulent tax returns and to steal refunds. When you, the real taxpayer, files, your refund will not be paid until the IRS resolves your individual case, potentially delaying your refund for up to a year or more.

First, ID-theft criminals know a large number of tax-filing documents from employers, financial institutions, financial-services firms, health-care providers and insurance companies often are sent via the U.S. Post Office and/or e-mail.

Thus identity-theft criminals will try to steal your personal information from the U.S. Post Office, your mailbox or by hacking into your personal and business e-mail accounts. Stay vigilant on how and when you receive your tax documents.

Second, research your tax preparer for any negative past history, as there have been numerous news stories of tax preparers being convicted of stealing tax refunds using stolen identities.

Think about it. We give our tax preparer our most personal information, including our Social Security number and those of our family members. Your preparer knows about your financial assets, your bank-account information, information about your kids and even your marital status – so be vigilant on who you trust to do your taxes.

If you believe you are an ID-theft victim or are at risk of becoming an ID theft victim, you can take the following action:

Contact the IRS Identity Theft Division at 800-908-4490.

Secret consumer scores threaten privacy and increase risks for ID theft victims

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy) — Wed, 30 Apr 2014 16:20:00 +0000

By Mark Pribish
Vice President and ID Theft Practice Leader

When it comes to ID Theft and data breach, most people only think about financial ID theft and their credit scores.

According to a new report released last month by the World Privacy Forum (WPF) - a public-interest research group with a focus on privacy and the data broker industry - consumers may want to learn more about their "secret consumer scores."

Consumer scoring, while not new, has increased in size and scope due to big data and technology. At the same time, consumer scoring is "largely unregulated either by the Fair Credit Reporting Act or the Equal Credit Opportunity Act where thousands of pieces of information about consumers' pasts predict how they will behave in the future."

The WPF report continues by stating "the scores are typically secret in some way. The existence of the score itself, its uses, the underlying factors, data sources, or even the score range may be hidden. Consumer scores with secret factors, secret sources, and secret algorithms can be obnoxious, unaccountable, untrustworthy, and unauditable. Secret scores can be wrong, but no one may be able to find out that they are wrong or what the truth is."

This is important to know because "victims of identity theft may be at particular risk for harm because of inaccurate consumer scores," according to the report.

In fairness to financial institutions, retailers and other users of consumer scoring - some of these consumer reports provide benefits that can help individual consumers.

For example, the idea of individual consumer modeling, in which retailers and creditors try to identify and separate profitable customers from unprofitable customers - along with predicting purchasing patterns and customer loyalty - can help consumers save money through discounted pricing and targeted sales.

Another example is the transaction score which is used to identify fraudulent credit/debit card use based on your regular credit/debit card buying habits, including the average dollar amount of each transaction, type of transaction and transaction location. If your transaction amount, type and/or location creates a red flag like using your debit card in China, your debit card company might decline future activity until they have spoken directly with you to confirm your travel to China or your debit card is being fraudulently used.

To conclude, here are some additional examples of consumer scores:

Attrition risk score is a retention tool to help retain existing customers
Bankruptcy score that measures the likelihood of your declaring bankruptcy
Behavior score where good or bad behavior motivates the retailer or creditor to a specific action
Churn score where many companies, such as wireless carriers and cable companies, create scores that predict how likely you are to take your business to a competitor
Collection score determines which delinquent customer will pay off their past due amount
Consumer profitability score predicts how quickly you will pay your debts
Job security score where employment and unemployment data, economic trends and forecasts predict the probability that you will lose your job
Medication adherence score predicts your likelihood of following a prescription plan and your doctor's orders
Response model score can help a retailer anticipate purchasing patterns, enhance the customer experience, and cross-sell new products/services
Revenue Score can predict how much revenue and profit will be generated through each customer

Not all consumer scores are bad. Consumer scoring offers benefits to both users and consumers. But regulators like the FTC need to make consumer scores public and transparent to the consumer.

ID Theft is the Number 1 Consumer Complaint for the 14th consecutive Year

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy) — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 20:57:00 +0000

In February of each year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) releases an annual report on identity theft and fraud complaints called the Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book.

The 2014 report, reflecting 2013 statistics, reported Identity Theft was the top consumer complaint for the 14th consecutive year.

Specifically, government documents / benefits fraud (34%) was the most common form of reported identity theft, followed by credit card fraud (17%), phone or utilities fraud (14%), and bank fraud

Other significant categories of identity theft reported by victims were employment-related fraud (6%) and loan fraud (4%).

One of the more interesting findings is that the mature market (50 years and older) now represents 37 percent of all ID Theft victims, thus making it the single largest demographic of victims.

The FTC report also included the following highlights:

While 37 percent of individuals at 50 years of age and older are victims of ID Theft, 47 percent of individuals 50 years of age and older are victims of fraud
30 percent of the identity theft complaints are related to tax or wage-related fraud
The top 5 states for ID theft in order were Florida, Georgia, California, Michigan, and Nevada
Children 19 and younger represent 6 percent of all victims
Victims spend numerous hours straightening out their lives following an incident of identity theft
Online identity theft is popular, with a target demographic of individuals between 20-29 years of age, who are posting information online
Data breaches at organizations are happening more frequently
Phishing emails are at an all-time high
For military consumers, Identity Theft was the number one complaint category

In addition, Javelin Strategy & Research released its 2014 Identity Fraud Report in February and reported that 13.1 million Americans were victims of ID theft in 2013.

While ID Theft has been in the news over the last decade, the total number of 13.1 million ID Theft victims last year was the second-highest total since the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) began counting victims in 2003.

Finally, the FTC advises anyone who spots a scam, is the victim of identity theft or other fraud-related issues, to file a complaint online with the agency's Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (877-382-4357).

For more information about identity theft, you can go to the following links:

Identity Theft Resource Center
http://www.idtheftcenter.org/artman2/publish/c_guide/Solution_16.shtml

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
https://www.privacyrights.org/

FTC ID Theft Consumer Page
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/feature-0014-identity-theft

Online Holiday Shopping Gone Awry by Merchants - Scam Central

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy) — Thu, 09 Jan 2014 20:12:00 +0000

One of the greatest conveniences the internet has brought us is online shopping. Rather than having to get dressed, drive in traffic, or face hostile crowds in a popular storefront, you can find what you need much quicker through the store's website. You can also easily compare prices between stores to find the best value for your money. Depending upon how much you spend, you may also receive free shipping and often receive your order in just a few days. For those of us that do not like to shop, this is heaven!
Scammers and thieves are quick to find ways of exploiting these modern conveniences to their advantage, and they are often quite good at fooling consumers. You need to be ever vigilant in their online activity to stay ahead of the criminals. This is especially true during the holiday seasons. Scammers are quickly creating websites designed to fool the user into thinking they are shopping at one of the better-known websites, when they are actually using a fake site designed to take their money.
How It Works:
In this particular case noted by the Better Business Bureau here, scammers are using the keyword "overstock" in their domain names to fool people into thinking they are actually shopping at the popular online website Overstock.com. The shopper believes they are the official website and shops away, only to wind up supplying their credit card information and pay for goods they will never receive. Once the thieves have that credit card information, they can use it at their whim.
Your Defense:
Thieves are using slight-of-hand tactics to trick you all the time. While today's target is Overstock.com, tomorrow it could be Ebay.com, Amazon.com, or any other popular online shopping site, so vigilance is needed.
Some handy techniques to lessen your risks and avoid fraud, provided by the BBB in the same article, include:

Do not click on links provided in emails, even from those that appear legitimate. Do not take that risk.
Type the URL of your online shopping destination directly into your browser's address bar, or search for the store if you are not sure of the exact URL. If you misspell the company name, some search engines will ask if you meant to type in another, more prominent name and point you to the official site, as they usually advertise with search engines.
Ensure that "https" is in the URL, and verify the certificate by clicking the lock and viewing the certificate. If the certificate is not issued to the retailer you are visiting, leave the website immediately.
Make sure you shop with a credit card. Credit cards offer greater protections against fraud than debit cards. And, if you give your debit card information to scammers, they can clean out your entire bank account and leave you with nothing.
If the site has the BBB Accredited Business seal, click on it. If it does not link directly to the BBB company review, leave immediately.

There are other ways to ensure that your online shopping experience is a pleasant one, but the main idea is to keep your eyes open and keep track of where you are. With screens changing left and right as you click links, you can easily find yourself on a site you had no intention of visiting. If you find yourself on a site that seems suspicious, leave it immediately. It is better to be safe than sorry.

Consumers Rank Identity Theft the Second Highest Risk Factor

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy) — Tue, 26 Nov 2013 16:35:00 +0000

By Mark Pribish
Vice President & Identity Theft Practice Leader

According to InfoSecurity Magazine (please see here) ID thieves are getting more successful at leveraging stolen data for ill-gotten gains. Of the 16 million victims notified in 2012 that their payment card information was compromised in a data breach, more than 25% of them also suffered identity theft.

The above InfoSecurity article referenced a September 2013 Javelin Strategy & Research report titled Data at Rest is Data at Risk (please see here) which revealed that payment card and Social Security number data breach victims suffer the highest rates of related fraud, especially in the retail, financial and healthcare sectors.

Of the 16 million consumers receiving data breach notification letters, Javelin Strategy & Research highlighted the following:

4.4 million consumers were notified that their payment card information was compromised resulting in ID Theft specific to their existing credit or debit cards.
1.26 million consumers were notified that their Social Security numbers were compromised and became victims of identity theft.
270,000 consumers were notified that their online banking credentials were compromised and experienced ID Theft related to their checking and savings accounts.
324,000 consumers had their bank account numbers compromised and became ID Theft victims related to their checking, savings or other financial accounts.

Based on the above, it is easy to understand how consumers rank identity theft the second highest risk factor (just under financial concerns but more interestingly above health concerns and personal safety) as a significant consumer risk factor (please see here).

The Travelers Consumer Risk Index is a new, annual survey of the risks Americans believe are most prevalent in their lives.

For example, just a half of a generation ago, identity theft and distracted driving did not exist. On the other hand, some risks stand the test of time such as financial concerns.

While you can read the Travelers Consumer Risk Index report here (click to read) I have listed below the Top 5 Risks including:

Financial Concerns and Risks - 68%
Risk of Personal Privacy Loss/Identity Theft - 64%
Risk of Serious Health Problem - 60%
Personal Safety Concerns and Risks - 44%
Extreme Weather/natural disasters - 43%

Whether you are an individual consumer or a small business owner, you need to think about new and old risks and how to be proactive in protecting yourself, your family and/or your small business.

Name Game Shame, Who's to Blame? Don’t be a victim to piracy by Merchants - SCAM CENTRAL

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy) — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 21:34:00 +0000

It takes a lot of effort to build a brand name and get your company the recognition it deserves. A name is everything. If customers are unable to remember the name of your company, you lose business to whomever they are able to remember. Creating a name for your company can take a great deal of thought. For example, a name like "Joe's Plumbing" is direct and helps to identify who owns the company and the type of business. However, potential customers may not find that name as appealing as "Tri-City Plumbing Services", which sound more official and professional. Both companies may very well offer the same level of quality service, but the names imply a different level of professionalism. Sometimes a name really does say it all.

Now imagine that after years of hard work building your brand image and becoming a household name that someone comes along and uses your company's name for their gain, without your consent. Commonly known as "hijacking", some unfortunate companies have already fallen victim to this piracy.

How It Works:

According to a recent Scam Alert from the Better Business Bureau (read article here), scammers are creating fake websites using real company names and logos to steal information, plant malware, capture credit card information, and even redirect traffic to another fake site to sell knockoff products. Perhaps even worse than that, these same scammers are even using real company names to order large and expensive items which are then sent to an address that is different from the real company's address. To add icing to the proverbial cake, the real business is stuck with the bill.

Your Defense:

The key to recovering from this type of scam is to first identify that your company name and brand is being used without your consent. The article from the Better Business Bureau lists some warning signs to help identify if your company has been the victim of a "hijacking":

You receive a request to verify orders you didn't place
You receive calls from someone trying to verify an address for your business that is not associated with your company
You receive invoices for storage or shipping services that you didn't place

If any of the above have already happened to you, it may already be too late. If they have not, you should consider regularly searching for your company on the internet. Using your favorite search engine, you might be able to identify sites masquerading as your company. You can also set up Google Alerts for your company name here http://www.google.com/alerts. Google Alerts will send you an email alert any time a keyword you provide (in this case your company name) is used on a webpage on any website that is crawled and/or cached by Google's search bots. Some alerts may be about your own company's website, but at least you will know it is yours, and not some scammer's site.

If your company has become a "hijacking" victim, gather as much information as you can and notify your local law enforcement agencies and file a complaint with the FTC (https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/).

PC Performance - Paying the Price for "Free" Security Scans

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy) — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 18:27:00 +0000

Personal computers have certainly blessed our lives over the last few decades. Now personal computing devices, such as tablets and smart phones, are starting to change our lives again right before our eyes. Being able to complete papers for school or doing research, paying bills online, keeping in touch with family or friends all from the comfort of wherever you may be is a convenience that did not exist not too long ago. In the past, you could have easily used a typewriter for your papers and letters, but then you had to check your own spelling, and corrections were a bit tedious. You could also actually write checks and send them in the mail to pay your bills, but then you had to wait for the bill to be processed and the funds removed from your account. That process could sometimes take a few weeks. You may even get the next bill in the mail before they take out the funds for the last month's bill! Being able to see results instantaneously is what we have come to expect. We want results now.

For many, this experience is often hampered by slower and older computers or computing devices. Devices can slow down for numerous reasons: not enough storage space, not enough processing memory, out of date software, malware, viruses, etc. Conveniently, as you surf the internet, many websites seem all too eager to fix your computer's woes. These websites are smart enough to tell you that something is wrong with your system, even when you do not think there is. For a price, and sometimes free of charge, these sites will conduct a quick scan of your system and offer to fix those errors. The price you pay, however, may be far more than you intend, as your computing device may be left in even worse shape, or completely unusable.

How It Works:

When you visit a malicious website, an alert message may pop up and tell you that your system is infected with a virus or other malware, or that your system's performance may be increased by deleting old registry keys or temporary files that have piled up and are hogging up space. It sounds simple enough. You click on a button, install some quick scanning software program, and away you go. They will tell you what is wrong, and offer to fix it for you. You are on your way to computer bliss. That old system of yours will be spinning like a top in no time.

Scammers have developed clever ways to provide fake alert messages to scare you into thinking something is wrong with your system. This tactic of preying on a user's fear to install software to remove security threats is often referred to as "scareware" because the scammer scare the user into thinking something is wrong with their system and that they need to fix it as quickly as possible. Choosing to install the offered software may result in the installation of viruses, spyware or keyloggers, and your system may be left in an unusable state and you will then have to seek help from a real computer professional.

In another similar type of scam, the installed software will hold your system for ransom until you pay to fix the issue (known as "ransomware"). Choose not to pay the price, or ransom, and your computer will remain completely unusable.

Your Defense:

Never click on random popup windows. According to an article from the FTC Consumer website (see the article here) the best defense against this type of scare tactic is to not click anything other than the "x" in the upper-right corner of your browser window to close the browser itself. By clicking on any part of the popup message, you may inadvertently start the installation process and leave your system vulnerable.

The best way to avoid these malicious websites is to install a good, trustworthy internet security anti-virus software utility. There are many available with varying benefits and costs, some even free. Some of these helpful utilities have features that can even prevent you from visiting a known malicious website in the first place. More importantly, they provide real-time monitoring of all of your systems files in an effort to remove adware, spyware, ransomware, and any other viruses it can find. Schedule a nightly scan when you will not be on for several hours (a six-hour window is suggested) and let the system scan itself. If you need help finding the right utility for you, visit this site suggested by the FTC article (see the article here) and select the type of features you desire.

A good anti-virus and internet security software package is worth its weight in gold! Surf safe!

Are You Ready for October - National Cyber Security Awareness Month?

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy) — Tue, 08 Oct 2013 21:56:00 +0000

Whether you are an individual consumer or a small business owner, everyone needs to keep track of their Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and/or the PII of their small business customers and employees.

A great way for consumers and businesses to be proactive in protecting their information is to participate in the 10th Annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) this October (read about it here).

NCSAM was created as a collaborative effort between government and industry to help consumers and businesses have the resources to be more safe and secure online.

That said, NCSAM is providing a different cybersecurity theme for each week in October including:

Week 1, October 1-6 Theme: 10 Years & Beyond: General Online Safety & STOP. THINK. CONNECT.
Week one is to raise online safety awareness among all Americans and reinforce the simple measures everyone should take to be safer and more secure online and their understanding that cybersecurity is a shared responsibility.

Week 2 October 7-13, Theme: Being Mobile: Online Safety & Security Week two highlights the need to maintain a focus on safety and security wherever and whenever we use the Internet.

Week 3: October 14-20, 2013 Theme: Cyber Education and the Next Generation of Cyber Leaders Week three highlights the importance of cyber education and workforce development, including the advancement and opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education.

Week 4: October 21-27, 2013Theme: Cybercrime Week four will highlight how people can protect themselves against cybercrime and how to get help.

Week 5: October 28-31, 2013 Theme: Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Week five highlights the need to take every step necessary to protect our critical infrastructure.

Unfortunately, the reality is that consumers and small business owners are challenged everyday by a constant barrage of attacks such as hacking, phishing, pharming, spoofing, caller ID spoofing, spyware, and more on their personal and financial privacy.

At the same time, consumers and small business owners have to be equally aware of the insider threat including family members, friends, and current/former employees and vendors.

While keeping track of where your PII is located can help protect your personal and small business information, there is no one company that can prevent any one individual from becoming a victim of ID Theft or from preventing a data breach of your personal or small business information.

In summary, consumer and small business identity theft can happen at anytime so take advantage of National Cyber Security Month to increase your education and awareness on how your PII and privacy can be compromised.

If it can happen to the U.S. Government...

noreply@blogger.com (J. Crismon) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:36:00 +0000

Ever wonder what could possibly happen if you click on a link within an email you receive from an unknown and untrusted source? The U.S. Chamber of Commerce found out the hard way, many years after the fact. Read details about the spearphishing attack here.

It seems that an employee of this government branch was the victim of a "spearphishing" email back in 2009. "Spearphishing" is when an email is sent to a specific individual, rather than a general "phishing" email which casts a wide net to any user. The desired result of opening the email is that the user can be duped into clicking links or downloading spyware which is then used to gather personal information, such as passwords or bank account numbers. This employee either clicked a link within the email, or opened a document which did contain spyware and gave the hackers access to the servers.

Over the course of the next year, Chinese hackers were able to collect passwords which granted administrative rights. This then allowed the hackers to place additional software code, known as a "backdoor", onto the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's servers. This code would then allow the hackers to steal data.

The lesson here? If it's this easy to dupe a government employee into opening a document or clicking a link within an email, you, as a private citizen can be just as easily deceived into putting your own organization or your own personal information at risk. Anti-virus protection remains a must, even more so now than ever before. These types of attacks are becoming increasingly popular. ID thieves will stop at nothing to get any type of information they can use to commit fraud at any level.

The next time you receive an email from an untrusted source that wants you to click a link or open a document, "just say no." You have plenty of other junk mail to read.

Busted in a Medical Gown

noreply@blogger.com (J. Crismon) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 21:27:00 +0000

Talk about getting caught with your pants down! A recent article in the Sacremento Bee highlights the humbling arrest of a Bay Area woman who stole the identities of several employees from one company that she obtained while working as a benefits clerk for Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers office. She went on several spending sprees and was even arrested once, but managed to get out on bail, only to rack up thousands more in stolen property. She even racked up $300,000 in one person's name.

What eventually led to the arrest of this individual was the $12,000 payment for a liposuction appointment using a credit card she opened in the name of one of these employees. Authorities were able to catch up with the identity thief while she was in a surgical gown waiting to have the liposuction. That walk to the police car must have been a bit drafty! Probably not the best outfit for a mugshot either. Nevertheless, she was sentenced to 12 years and 4 months in prison. Meanwhile, other victims are just now beginning to feel the results of this individual's actions and coming forth.

I hope that restitution is forthcoming for the remainder of her victims. It seems to me that some justice must be served for those victims who have yet to be identified or notified that something is wrong with their credit or unexplained bills, etc.

Identity Theft - An Inside Job

noreply@blogger.com (J. Crismon) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 17:36:00 +0000

Identity theft is quite often an inside job. That is to say, that when a data breach or identity theft event occurs, it is often not the result of a hacker breaking into a secure data system and stealing sensitive information. Rather, the threat comes from employees (disgruntled or otherwise) within the company who have access to sensitive information and have a motive to steal that information to use for their own nefarious purposes. This type of threat is not merely limited to large corporations and does not always involve data. Inside jobs can happen at the smallest of companies and often involve the theft of money, products or company belongings. Even our public schools are not immune to inside jobs.

An article in The Daily Stamford I read today illustrates just this point. A teacher's aide apparently took the same "we need to learn to share" idea our parents try and impress upon us while we are young, just a little too far. She helped herself to the purse of the teacher to whom she was providing aide and managed to take the cash and a credit card when the teacher was not looking. Share and share alike! She then decided to pay a cellphone bill and then do some online shopping.

Luckily, the observant teacher noted the disappearance of her items and alerted the authorities, also noting that only herself and the aide would have had access to her purse at the school where the items seemed to have disappeared. It didn't take authorities long to trace the online purchases to the aide, the prime suspect, who was then promptly arrested, though not before she racked up $700 in online purchases at Victoria's Secret.

So does this story illustrate that we should not trust our co-workers? Hardly. It merely points out that there will always be some bad apples out there, so keep your eyes open. Although you'd like to trust those you work closely with, you should still exercise caution and develop some habits of your own to secure your belongings and Personally Identifiable Information (PII) while at work. Here are just a few simple and helpful suggestions. Had this teacher applied just some of these, this inside job could have been avoided.

When it comes to your purse or wallet, leave these items either locked up or in your pocket when possible and out of the site or reach of those with prying eyes, and hands.
If you have a lockable drawer in your desk, use that to secure your belongings and keep it locked at all times.
If you have an office and need to leave for whatever reason, lock the door when you leave for any length of time.
Lock your computer with a secure password when you step away from it for any period of time. Your email and other digital files may provide that sensitive information someone can use to open up new credit accounts and steal your identity, leaving you with damaged credit and hefty bills to pay.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Identity Thieves -- A Family Affair

noreply@blogger.com (Jaycee Fox) — Thu, 13 May 2010 02:30:00 +0000

Remember Bonnie and Clyde? They weren’t family exactly but they were a couple, young and unmarried, with a scandalous reputation on many levels. Bonnie and Clyde were famous outlaws notorious for bank robberies and also killing nine policemen and several civilians. They were both killed in Lousiana by law officers at the ages of 23 and 25. Arthur Penn’s 1967 film made their reputation firm within the American pop folklore.

So that was the 1930’s. Today we still have the bank robbers but within our society we have other kinds of thieves. As our society has grown and progressed so have the different ways to steal. Yes there may be a slight risk that we could be held up at gunpoint at a bank, but do you know what our real risk is as an ordinary citizen? Having our identity stolen. I remember when I first heard that term, I imagined someone dressed up and masquerading as me -- perhaps donning a wig and driving my make of car. But it’s not even as sophisticated as that. Let’s look at a current story -- not even a famous one, but more an ordinary story that can happen everyday and to anyone whether you’re in your home, bank or local grocery story. So Bonnie and Clyde were kind of like family. What about mother and son? In Long Island back in March, a mother and son stole more than 60 identities. Their scheme was pretty simple: The mother, Tonia Cheeseman, worked at a doctor’s office where she would gain patient information from files and then Tonia and her son, Michael, would get credit cards in their victims’ names. They’ve been accused of stealing the identities of at least 63 people but these victims stretch far beyond the borders of Long Island, even as far as Florida. They’re both being held on bail for about $140,000 each. The most disturbing fact of our modern-day robbers is that they look like ordinary people -- no different to your neighbor next door. The Cheeseman’s neighbors even assumed they were nice innocent people.

What can we do? How can we know if we’re being duped? As sad as it is, a lot of thieves are well known to their victims. These kinds of thieves know our daily routine, they may have access to our financial information, and they even know such passwords as our mother’s maiden name. There are certain personality types you must be extra vigilant around:

Addicts who are sometimes desperate for money to get their next fix whether it be drugs, gambling or a number of other vices.

High living spenders whose job doesn’t match their lifestyle. They tend to rationalize and have little impulse control. They have to have the materials that go with the lifestyle, and they want it now.

Intrusive friends who are always asking questions that are none of their business -- especially financial questions. Beware if they claim they need your SSN to add you as a beneficiary to a policy etc.

A tarnished past of already stealing identities could be a vibrant red flag.

Watch your back with strangers who have access to your home and personal information. This could be when you have a party or your housekeeper’s son comes for a visit.

There are some signs to identify an identity thief, but as thieves have found different ways to rob us, we’ve found different ways to protect ourselves. We must be aware of the people in our life who have special access and then we must still be vigilant and even educate our children. Don’t ever give anyone else your credit card or PIN, always password protect your computer, and definitely lock up all important financial paperwork. If we do get duped -- and even if we don’t -- one way to protect ourselves is by subscribing to some kind of identity theft protection service. We may get tricked or fooled even when we know the signs and we’ve been extra cautious, but even after that we can protect ourselves by monitoring so we can catch these criminals before they cause years of damage to our lives and credit. Education and then putting into motion active protective measures is our way of catching the modern-day thieves.

Public Trust

noreply@blogger.com (Jaycee Fox) — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 03:37:00 +0000

Trust is fragile and powerful. Trust allows insecurity in life to be tolerable, changing our perspectives to view challenges as opportunities as opposed to threats. Time builds trust but yet trust can be shattered almost instantaneously. Human nature is a dichotomy of sorts, tugging us emotionally and rationally at the same time. Logically, we analyze and scrutinize the pros and cons and then decide whether someone deserves our trust. Emotionally, we feel it in our gut when we trust someone which seems to be the most common method and also the very reason why trust is so delicate.

In an organizational setting, trust is the driving strength. We only tend to acknowledge such a force when this cornerstone is missing. In a trustworthy organization, there is productivity, calmness, loyalty, teamwork, delegation, empowerment, and reciprocity. Compare it to a child. There’s a point in parenthood when we give our children our trust. If it’s used wisely, they grow and more responsibility is entrusted. If not, trust is removed and the quality of relationships may deteriorate. Walking through life, we observe. People can make promises emphatically but until their behavior matches their words, trust can be breached. We learn to listen half-heartedly, watching actions while ignoring images that are portrayed and expressions. We know the ones who keep their promises; those are the people we trust.

There are some professions who have gained a collective trust such as doctors or policemen. What about lawyers and politicians? Some professions have a steeper hill to climb to gain the public’s trust. Listen to me appeals aren’t enough. Trust needs to be rebuilt by professions through actions. Trust in politics, public service jobs, and business management is one of the most important issues today.

Public office is a public trust. Those who manage the government and run the various departments must be candid, accountable and loyal. It’s only then when they are worthy of the public’s trust. Public servants are entrusted to provide services that are efficient, dependable and free from dishonesty and misconduct. What are some of the locales that provide such services?

Those providers that are given a monopoly by the government: Bus and railway companies.

Public regulatory organizations within the financial and real estate sectors.

Organizations that spend and disburse public funds: Universities, hospitals.

Mass media Organizations: Television and broadcasting.

And any other organization that performs public service functions: Land development, charities etc.

Public service and administration needs to be recognized, stemming from the desire to care for others. We can be idealistic about our public servants but still we mustn’t be naïve. When trust is breached, no one wins. We can exercise our trust in those public servants, but yet we can still use preventative measures to protect ourselves. This isn't pessimism but more hope with a safety net.
Take the example of a retired clerk at the Department of Taxation. His breach of privacy earned him time in jail. He stole the identities of taxpayers, deceased family members and children where he wracked up credit card charges of over $200,000 and which ultimately gave him six months in jail and a bill of $220,000. Ultimately, he gained 90 credit cards from 20 banks using the fake ID’s he obtained using the stolen identities (Read the full story here).

We can hope that those organizations or employees that require our social security numbers are trustworthy -- after all in public services we have no choice -- but our safety net here,where we are in control, would be identity theft protection. The government’s safety net could be employee screening, teaching and promoting ethical behavior, and other similar methods. The moral of the story? Let’s be as cautious and trusting as we can be and must be, but let’s trust using wisdom. Life is not foolproof so there will always be outliers among the norm.

Hacking and Ways to Protect Ourselves

noreply@blogger.com (Jaycee Fox) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:38:00 +0000

Hacking information from computers is a broad way of gaining information illegally. Some of us may not be familiar with the term hacker. A hacker is a computer expert who’s main goal is to find ways to break into other computer systems and gain information. They can then steal information and cause problems for the system. In today’s high tech world, these hackers are becoming more of a dangerous nuisance.

Recently the Wall Street Journal came out with a new article discussing the detection of a new hacking attack. A computer-security company discovered a breach of information in 2,411 companies and government agencies where large amounts of personal and corporate information were stolen, ranging from credit card transactions to databases and email account access. Apparently it had been a coordinated global hacking attack that had taken place over the past 18 months in both Europe and China. It’s still unclear how far the damage spreads. Sometimes these criminal groups have even stolen information of employees’ criminal involvement and used it for extortion. So how was this done? Spyware was used to control computers remotely. These attacks are not blocked by the standard antivirus software. Obviously, there are some weaknesses in the security of cyberspace (Read the full article here).

What lesson do we need to learn from this? Almost everyone uses a computer whether it’s to write emails or purchase products or store information. We need to understand how our machine or network can be attacked and then educate ourselves on how to best protect ourselves from these hackers. Here’s a little more information on how hackers can control computers remotely. There are scanner programs that ping IP addresses of networked systems to see if the system is running. Firewall software can show these repeated pings when reviewing the log. Weaknesses can be revealed through some of these scanning programs and hackers can spy on the information passing between the machines. These hackers can then use the internet to share lists of exposed IP addresses where there are security breaches. Sometimes the owner has no idea that this is occurring.

How can we protect ourselves?

Firewall. When hackers are probing to see which systems are up, a firewall will mask this so it appears as if your system is not up.

Antivirus Software, including anti Trojan software. A Trojan virus installs other software on your computer system. Run it every week so that you can detect any new viruses.

Anti-Spyware Software. Spyware installs on your computer without your knowledge. These software programs can track your activity and even cause pop-ups on your computer. Sometimes several anti-spyware software programs will have to be used to rid the variety of spyware programs out there.

Caution with Emails and use Passwords. Nowadays I routinely get emails from strangers claiming they’ve inherited a fortune and they really need my help in spending it. Don’t ever give personal information away to strangers in emails and never open email attachments with executable files unless you can trust the sender. There are always new upcoming scams when it comes to emails. But follow these two rules to protect yourself.

Routinely backup Important Material. This will protect you if you ever were to lose sensitive files, documents or photos.

Use Identity Theft Protection Services. This enables us to monitor our personal information -- credit scores, new accounts opened -- so in the worse-case scenario, if our information has been compromised, we will know immediately.

With the advance in technology, there are so many incredible benefits. You can send photos or letters thousands of miles away with the touch of a button. Information about any subject is at our fingertips, no longer requiring you to sift through countless books at the library or pulling the dusty encyclopedias from the shelves. As with any promising progression, there’s always the darker side. And in this computer-savvy modern society, they can come in the form of criminal hackers. Just use caution and the good guys will continue to find ways to protect us from the bad guys.

Important Financial Steps when a Loved One Dies

noreply@blogger.com (Jaycee Fox) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:34:00 +0000

Identity thieves are becoming craftier. No longer do they merely steal from the living, but now they’re targeting even the dead. There’s a familiar saying don’t kick ‘em when they’re down. That’s exactly what these thieves are doing to the family of the deceased.

We’ve all dealt with death and depending on our connection to the deceased, the emotional stress varies. The emotional stress is what these thieves exploit when they take advantage of the delay when family members don’t immediately do the necessary paperwork. There are also bureaucratic delays and this lag is exactly what the thief needs to accomplish his goal. And on a side note, if financial institutions aren’t notified of the death then the accounts of the dead can stay active for up to 10 years.

So what do these thieves then do? They may search the obituaries in the newspapers or steal death certificates or they may even seek out the numerous websites that enable them to check the social security death index. Whatever the case, they could end up with a real social security number and a name that goes with it. Both the obituaries and the social security index will have information on the deceased. At this point they may either sell the information to other crooks or keep the information to apply for loans, access more credit and therefore make more money. There are some guidelines that we can follow as family members of the deceased to protect both ourselves and our loved one’s name.

When writing an obituary, don’t share unneeded information such as the date of birth or the address of the deceased.

Obtain at least 10 copies of the official birth certificate. This will provide the needed proof to the financial institutions, such as credit bureaus and banks and any other establishments, even the motor vehicle department.

Now with the official birth certificate, you can begin to personally notify stock brokers, banks, loan holders, mortgage companies, financial institutions, credit card companies and any other establishment where the deceased had an account. When notifying, include name and SSN of the deceased, last 5 years of addresses, including the last known, and the dates of birth and death. Any outstanding balances will have to be transferred and then close all accounts with a note that the account holder is deceased. This is added protection so that no new accounts will be opened in the deceased’s name. Keep copies of any communication with these businesses.

The death should be reported to all three credit bureaus as soon as possible. Put a deceased alert on the credit file. Request a credit report with any active joint accounts. These may potentially have to be closed. After about 2 months, request a copy of the credit report of the deceased person from all three credit bureaus. This will ensure that the death was reported on the credit file and no other transactions have occurred since then.

Contact the social security management and inform them about the death. Do this as soon as possible.

Contact the motor vehicles department, requesting the cancellation of the driver’s license.

Shred any important documents which hold the deceased person’s name such as utility bills, credit card bills, bank statements and any other similar papers.

Sadly though, these thieves aren’t only strangers but may be other family members. Take the recent case of a Utah County man, David Frank Pflegl. In 1987, David Frank Pfegl II was killed in a car crash in Canada at the age of 19. His father, the elder David Frank Pflegl, then used his son’s name to gain jobs, multiple licenses and even purchase a home. After a Utah investigation, Pflegl was arrested and booked in the Utah County Jail on suspicion of identity theft, communication fraud and forgery (Read the full story here).

When we’re grieving, the last thing we want to do is take care of such seemingly meaningless items of business. As hard as it may be, following these steps may prevent further pain caused by such shameless identity thieves.

Identity Theft Victims: Guilty until Proven Innocent

noreply@blogger.com (Jaycee Fox) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:16:00 +0000

You'd think as a victim of identity theft, you'd have people bending over backwards to help you in your crisis. Just the opposite it seems, at least when it comes to creditors. The thieves can be idiots, even misspelling your name when signing as you, but you however have to be faultless, proving your innocence via your perfection. Because if not, those creditors will continue to harass, assuming you’re a lazy deadbeat and unwilling to pay your bills. Obviously the best scenario is to prevent such a situation: Take all the steps to protect your identity such as not carrying your social security card in your wallet, having a lock on your mailbox, using caution when using credit cards (ie. Stay with the card when paying at a restaurant), travel with limited credit cards -- even prepaid cards -- and be guarded when giving out personal information. Another crucial precaution is to routinely check your credit score and even better; be enrolled in an identity theft protection program. In this way, you'll be alerted when suspicious purchases are made on your credit card and if your credit score changes drastically and even if you've opened up new accounts. Being enrolled in such a program is the best prevention and also provides current information on identity theft resources. We need to be continually updated on the new scams as identity thieves are getting sneakier and more creative. There's even a recent trend of stealing children's identity, demonstrating that these crooks will stoop to any level.

Just before Christmas, a story came out in Spartanburg, South Carolina where a mother learned that someone was using the social security number of her deceased son. Imagine a Christmas present that consisted of the IRS sending you a letter informing you that someone had filed a tax return under your dead child's name. Ricki Escalante's son died at ten months from SIDS. Now it's up to Ricki to send as much information about her son to the IRS(Read the full story).

Social security numbers of children are valuable resources for thieves. Why? It is assumed parents don't check the credit reports of their children. Once again the best defense is to have your children's credit reports monitored and even place a freeze on their credit files. So with any newfound scam, monitoring is always the best way to secure your name and credit.

Identity Thief at Work

noreply@blogger.com (Jaycee Fox) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:30:00 +0000

Identity theft is a societal problem and can occur in many places and by many means, including in the workplace. At work, it can happen by stealing vital information from employer's records. These records can be payroll and employment information and even customer lists. And those employees that can obtain these records can sometimes be at the very bottom of the totem pole.
Whether we're an individual working for a company or we are the company owner, we need to be aware of this growing trend and what we can do about it.On a large scale, if a big company is affected, it can result in negative publicity which would in turn affect sales, hiring and retention.

What can we, as an individual, do about this growing trend? We probably already know the obvious: shed documents with personal information, don't carry our social security card in our wallets, have locked mailboxes, and even monitor our credit reports. But the problem -- which seems to be beyond our control -- lies in crooks who obtain this information from businesses that have collected personal information for legitimate reasons and then they sell this information to more crooks that use it and steal our identity. And then with this new identity, thieves can open new credit card accounts, apply for loans, write bad checks, rent apartments and the list goes on. Individuals who have been educated on identity theft or who have had this occur in their life will scrutinize those companies that have their personal information. Because of the bad seeds, companies need to raise the bar both for their employees and clients.

So if we're looking at identity fraud from a business owner perspective, what can we do about it? Informed employees and clients know that their personal information is only as safe as the association protecting it. A solution would be to offer identity theft protection as a benefit, much like health insurance. This offer would be unique to the company, whether the company pays for part of it, all of it, or merely provides the information of how to obtain this protection. The key is in the offering so employees/clients are aware of their choices and can then make an educated decision whether to accept or decline. Too much cost, we may think. But actually, it can lower our costs whether the employee has coverage or not. With coverage, there will be less time spent in restoring their identity. Without coverage, our liability has changed. We've done all in our power to protect our employees by informing and offering. Well almost . . . There are still numerous ways where we must be proactive in protecting our employees and clients.

Perform background checks on employees who have access to personal information on other employees/clients, even temporary workers. And limit this access where we can.

Use employee identification numbers that are different to social security numbers to recognize employees on paychecks etc.

Shred confidential documents and have specific guidelines for all employees to adhere to.

Use passwords and encrypted codes when confidential files are stored on the computer.

Be vigilant in educating staff on identity theft.

The Bank of New York and its employees are a perfect example of a workplace where large scale identity fraud has occurred. Adeniyi Adeyemi, a computer technician employed by a contractor who worked for the Bank of New York, has been charged with allegedly stealing the identities of over 150 employees and then with these identities, stealing over a million dollars from non-profit groups and charities and the employees themselves. Adeyemi now faces up to 25 years in prison. He obtained his information from the Technology department, opening additional bank accounts with this information to receive the stolen money. This all occurred over a seven and a half year period. The Bank of New York spokesman says that they are fully cooperating, but I wonder what the long-term ramifications of this will be (Read the Wall Street Journal article here).

It's always best to be insightful. But having insight is useless unless we take action by protecting ourselves, our employees and our company with our eyes wide open.

Red Flag Enforcement Delayed Fourth Time (until June 1, 2010)

noreply@blogger.com (MGM) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:18:00 +0000

The enforcement of the Red Flags rule under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) has been delayed again for the fourth time. The next implementation date is June 1, 2010. The enforcement was due to take place yesterday November 1st, 2009.

It is clear that many businesses are having difficulty getting ready for Red Flags as evidenced by the fourth delay. Many businesses falsely assume that if they are not a bank nor a credit card company, they are not subject to FACTA or Red Flags. Such is not the case. FACTA and Red Flags apply to most businesses.

The delay is good for businesses as many need additional time to get systems and procedures in order, but not good for consumers (whose identities may still be exposed for fraud for another 6 months).

Credit Card Identity Theft

noreply@blogger.com (Jaycee Fox) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:48:00 +0000

Police of Morgan Hill, California received a call for a potential DUI, but instead three people were arrested for numerous incidents of identity theft. The driver of the Camaro, Charles Allen, didn't have a license and the passenger, Arena Adanandus, had a suspended license and neither one had ownership documentation of the Camaro. Allen was arrested on suspicion of driving with a suspended license. In the meantime, they impounded the Camaro and found merchandise totaling $800+ from Home Depot. The passenger, Adanandus, had used a customer's account number where she had fraudulently added her own name and the grand total of charges is suspected to be around $3,400. Not only that, but the Camaro was rented using a stolen credit card. During this time a third party, Aaron Fields, came to the station to meet with Allen and Adanandus and the kicker -- he drove to the station in a Ford Fusion which he rented using stolen credit card information. All three were arrested and booked (Read the full story here).

Identity theft is a recognized problem and credit card identity theft is one of the forms it may take. As in the prior case, the thief can use details of another person's credit card and wrack up debts which the unsuspecting customer ends up with. They may also use the person's name and information to open up new credit cards where they charge to the victim's name. So how can they even get this information? Through stealing mail from your mailbox or trash, credit card skimming, or stealing information from records where your details are kept (such as a crooked employee or a thief breaking into hospital records etc).

Some simple tips to prevent identity theft are:

Shred any documents with personal information before putting in the trash.
Opt out of mailing lists where credit card offers are sent through the mail.
Keep your eyes on your credit card at all times especially at stores and restaurants. It's not just on the internet where you need to be careful.
Identity theft insurance services.

Identity theft is a growing problem but gradually people are becoming more aware of it and are protecting and educating themselves against these types of crimes. As in the case cited, some of these losers do get caught and we're all happy when they bring their 'friends' along for the ride.

The Identity Theft Victim & Their Rights

noreply@blogger.com (Jaycee Fox) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 15:37:00 +0000

So here's an ironic story for you about identity theft. The last blog I wrote on identity theft was on a Friday. I wrote about what steps you can take to protect yourself from identity theft -- especially mail identity theft. I then went to a nice barbeque party and watched my kids swim with their friends. Didn't really enjoy my turkey dog -- an attempt to be healthier -- but have decided since then that I'll stick to all-beef franks. On the way home, I grabbed my mail, tucked the kids in bed, and then read my mail. And to my horror, received a letter from my credit card company who was putting me on alert as one of their former employees had stolen personal information from some accounts and mine happened to be one of them. I looked at my husband, thinking perhaps this theory of Law of Attraction might actually be valid, and then began a scenario of what-ifs with this villain using my very name to open up accounts, buy a home etc. After wallowing for seconds, I called the fraud alert hotline. So they've caught the thief but the investigation is ongoing and who knows if he's sold the information already. What I realized is that it's one thing to discuss identity theft and the steps to take, and it certainly is another to feel yourself vulnerable and at risk -- and of no fault of your own. My husband saw the rainbow of it all -- well, now you'll have another article to write -- so here I am.

There are certainly many steps you can take to protect yourself from not carrying your social security card in your wallet to having a secure mailbox. But what about if you give trusted information to a company -- like a credit card company -- and one of their employees steals it. There's nothing you can do after that point. You hope that the company has done background checks, employment screenings, behavioral assessments, but there are always risks -- which is what I discovered. What is immediate action you can do once you've realized someone has stolen your information? Of course if it's a stolen wallet, you notify banks, credit card companies, social security etc. But what else should you do? What are your rights?

Immediately call the nationwide consumer reporting companies and place a fraud alert in your file. Everyone has the right to do this and this lets potential creditors know that you may be a victim of identity theft. Therefore, this makes it much more difficult for someone to get credit in your name. There are three nationwide consumer reporting agencies and if you contact one and place a fraud alert -- they'll contact the other two. They are Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com, Experian: 1-888-397-3742; www.experian.com, and TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com. These fraud alerts will be in your file for 90 days. Extended alerts are also possible, but an identity theft report is required. For more information, go to www.consumer.gov/idtheft.
You have a right to obtain a free copy of your file disclosure. What is a file disclosure? This is the information in your file at each of the 3 nationwide agencies and will help you detect if fraudulent accounts have been opened in your name. Go to www.ftc.gov/credit.
If fraudulent accounts were opened using your information, you have the right to get hold of those documents. Go to www.consumer.gov/idtheft.
You have a debt collector harassing you? And if you believe these debts were racked up by an identity thief, the debt collector has an obligation to tell you the amount of debt and the name of the creditor. You also have the right to have the consumer reporting agency to block file information which is a direct result of identity theft. Of course you must prove this with your identity and a copy of your identity theft report. Once this is done, a person or business with notice of the block can't sell, transfer or place the debt for collection. But even before this, you have the right to prevent businesses reporting information about you to consumer reporting agencies. You must then provide information to the businesses -- via a specified address given by the business that reports information to the consumer reporting agency -- by providing an identity theft report. So whatever step you are on -- via the business, the consumer reporting agency and even the debt collector -- you always have rights.

Clearly, no one wants to be a victim of identity theft, but if you have tools in hand and are aware of what actions need to be taken and what rights you have -- you can reverse the scenario and stop the thief in his tracks. An even simpler way is to set up with a company who provides identity theft services. There they will help prevent and also monitor your accounts if any significant changes occur. A word of caution, I'd do your research first -- before and if you become a victim. There are companies out there who provide the same service but for a much better cost. When we're desperate, we'll take the first monitoring bidder whatever the cost. So the message here? Prepare, prevent and monitor.