Know the ‘life’ of the documents in your business
January 27th, 2012
Protect your kids from ID theft
January 25th, 2012According to a study by Analytics Inc., there are about 140,000 identity frauds committed against children each year in the United States. Thieves use the information to obtain credit cards and are involved in wireless financial activities about 60 percent of the time, once they’ve obtained the child’s information. Criminals value the Social Security numbers of children, especially, because the thefts often go undetected for years, until the child attempts to establish credit. But by then, the thief is long gone.
How does a thief get a child’s Social Security number? Since the 80s, children have been issued a Social Security number at birth, a measure designed to prevent thieves from applying for a number before it can be given to a child. But it didn’t work.
Instead, thieves have figured out a Social Security number using a government-issued sequence based on when and where the child was born.
Last year, the Social Security Administration began issuing random numbers, which will help. But it does nothing to protect those who received a SSN before then – their numbers are still at risk for identity theft.
If you suspect your child has been targeted, watch for red flags like getting calls from collection agencies or receiving bill notices or offers from credit card and loan companies. You may also wish to check your child’s credit report – if there’s a report, it’s likely you have a problem.
Child safety – It’s every parent’s responsibility
January 23rd, 2012Some people think they can do what LifeLock does for themselves – and they can do it for free. But in order to monitor your information just as LifeLock does, you’d have to invest a considerable block of time. And if you’re also concerned about the identities of your family, then it will require even more time and energy.
Think about it. Child identity theft accounts for about 5 percent of all identity thefts reported each year. But that’s only the ones that are reported – there are many more that aren’t reported because the ones perpetrating the crimes are family members or friends, and it gets sticky when you point the finger at family or friends. Then there are thousands of cases each year that occur, but aren’t reported because child identity theft can go undiscovered for years.
But monitoring your children’s identities is incredibly important, because their Social Security numbers are given out almost as often as yours.
If you have LifeLock, then consider adding your kids for just a small amount per month. You can pull your child’s credit report each year as well, but the peace of mind you’ll get from knowing that LifeLock is checking 24/7 to be sure your child’s information is safe is worth the extra couple of bucks you’ll pay per month.
It’s a parent’s responsibility to watch out for the welfare of his kids. We all know to make sure they are fed, clothed, get an education and are healthy. But how often do we think about protecting their personal information? It should be on the forefront of every parent’s mind. Ignoring the possibility won’t make it go away. If you already are signed up with LifeLock, take the extra step to protect your whole family today.
Look for shredding events near you and take advantage
January 20th, 2012Social media posts can be used by thieves – and employers
January 18th, 2012It’s not just criminals who are trolling social media sites for information on you these days – potential or current employers do it as well.
More than half of employers are estimated to have looked at the social media sites used by current employees to check out their “off-duty” activities, concerned about how postings and implied behavior might reflect on the company. Potential employers have also jumped on this bandwagon, also checking information to see whether a person is a good hire.
Ironically, 27 percent of those surveyed said they would feel uncomfortable if this were done to them. Thirty-seven percent said people change their persona online, so it doesn’t matter what you see on social media sites – it’s phony anyway, they maintain.
So if you are looking for a job, or value the one you’ve got, you should make sure there’s no “incriminating” posts on any of your social media profiles. Check out your photos and comments from friends, as well as your own commentary.
As for employers, they should be aware that they must comply with the law, and make sure they don’t violate anyone’s rights, and that they avoid dismissing someone unfairly because of social media content. This could result in a lawsuit with a discrimination charge. And if a company is pointed out as a “snoop and a snitch,” it could damage its reputation.
It’s not enough to guard your identity these days – you’ve also got to guard your reputation. Watch what you post.
Online risk to your identity on the rise
January 16th, 2012So you got yourself a shredder, and you shred all documents bearing your personal or financial information before you throw them out. Good for you. Think you’re doing all you can to protect your identity? Think again.
Every time you turn on your computer, you put your personal and financial information at risk. Cybercriminals are working harder every day to find new and innovative ways to get at your information online, and they’re getting better at it minute by minute.
Most people have heard of hacking and phishing, and they understand how these techniques work. But many people don’t know about the black market, and how criminals use it to commit crime.
The black market is an online place where criminals can literally purchase parts of your identity or the whole ball of wax. They can then sell the information they’ve purchased to criminals all over the world. The buying and selling of personal and financial information is big business, and millions of identities are stolen each year to fuel the fire.
One of the hottest tickets on the black market is Social Security numbers. It’s crucial that you protect yours. Don’t carry it with you – keep it stored in a safe place, and only carry it when you need it for a specific purpose.
If you are asked to provide your SSN, find out why it’s needed and how it will be handled after you have given it. If you are uncomfortable with what you hear, ask if an alternative form of identification can be used.
When online, never enter your SSN in response to an unsolicited e-mail. If a site requires your SSN, don’t give it unless the site is secured.
Tips on protecting your information from threat of tax fraud
January 13th, 2012Don’t let Google give away your ‘goodies’
January 11th, 2012A Georgia teenager is facing felony charges after he unknowingly stole the Social Security number of a senior White House official and tried to apply for a Discover card.
The teen has been charged with identity theft, even though he had no idea whose identity he had stolen. He apparently googled different areas and eventually came up with a random Social Security number, which he used to apply for the card. The card didn’t match the applicant, so a credit agency alerted the Secret Service, once it realized who the number really belonged to.
The boy’s attorney said the 17-year-old isn’t a “terrorist,” but also expressed that since this number was so easy to obtain, she’s concerned about what other personal or financial information is easily attainable via the Internet.
So if you discover your Social Security number or some other personal information is available via Google, what do you do? Google will remove your Social Security number or government ID number, bank account or credit card number, an image of your signature, or your name or business name if it appears on an adult content site. Any other information and Google will point you toward contacting the offending site and requesting the information be removed on your own.
You can file a Web page removal request with Google at tinyurl.com/7zm3576. You can also read more about Google’s removal policy at tunyurl.com/84r4wpx.
Be careful with your personal or financial information. Only enter it on secured sites, and never on social media sites.
How does debit card skimming work and is it preventable?
January 6th, 2012Beware of like jacking in Facebook
January 3rd, 2012Beware of tricksters on Facebook.
This is not a new warning, but at year’s end, 2011 was the year of social engineering tactics being used to trick Facebookers into going to affiliate marketing sites in order to fill out surveys. And users of the social media site did just that by the millions.
In the past, online criminals used Facebook for identity theft or phishing scams. But these days, it’s much more profitable to use the site for the defrauding of affiliate businesses. These scammers directed their victims toward the affiliate marketing sites in three out of every four scams attempted last year.
The scam works like this: links are posted on Facebook, asking Facebook users to go to the fake sites to fill out various surveys. These surveys generate affiliate payments for the scammers, and cost the legitimate businesses that pay the fees.
Legitimate affiliate sites are big business, and a popular way to generate user traffic. Businesses pay sites a fee for referring visitors to the site, often offering rewards. When a scammer gets in on the action, they get paid and the business gets nothing.
The catch is that when a person fills out one of these surveys, the scammer can hack in and get the personal information found there, and use it to commit identity theft.
And the scary part is that the cybercriminals are getting smarter about how they conduct this scam. They’re now tricking users into sharing the link, called “like jacking.” By clicking on the link, a user unknowingly unleashes a malicious script which makes it appear that he or she has “liked” the link, and shares it with his or her Facebook friends.
Be careful when it comes to these links. Don’t click on any links that are unsolicited. Better safe than sorry.
