The numbers are up, don’t be a statistic
Identity theft is a very real threat, it’s gotten a lot easier for someone to steal your identity, and not just online either, it can happen at a restaurant, when you pay for gas or just about any other transaction, it only takes someone a few seconds to copy your credit card numbers. The nightmare doesn’t end there, using basic information most of us put on social networking sites, any crafty ’social engineer’ (or hacker if you prefer) can glean enough information to effectively impersonate you. Then there are of course the dumpster divers, you may not think that there’s anything in your trash that anyone would want to get you hands on, but keep in mind that it can take at least 4years of week in week out calls to repair your name with the various credit institutions. I can tel you first hand that it’s a long a frustrating process.
These days it’s not just credit cards either, they’ve now started steal your insurance information…imagine opening a letter to find out that you owe $250,000.00 for surgery you’ve never had? A nightmare before Christmas indeed! My point is that each and every one of you should be careful about what you put online, avoid using your real name for unofficial online activities, avoid putting things like your school history, resumes are any other distinguishing information on any publicly viewable sites, instead us abridged info, you can always be contacted by whomever for full details. For this of you with credit cards and/or social security numbers consider a high security credit card like the American express blue (they call you for everything), or a service such as LIFELOCK (I use it myself, costs $10 per month) they monitor your personal info 24/7 for any major purchases or suspicious behavior and guarantee your good name or they’ll foot the bill (up to 1 million dollars). However I’m not here to advertise products, just to remind all of you to be careful.
Please remember this holiday season that a little paranoia won’t hurt, this is an excerpt from a recent article that any of you you have a credit card or social security number would be wise to pay attention to:
Taken from: http://techtalk.pcpitstop.com/2008/12/10/identity-theft-be-scared/
there's more than just viruses and spyware to worry about on the internet
Are you worried about having your identity stolen? I am. It has happened to two people that I know. My mother and a friend of mine in Myrtle Beach. Once your identity is stolen, your life is forever changed. Even after you spend weeks upon weeks squaring everything away with your credit card company, things will never be right. You begin to dread answering the phone because it may be someone that erroneously thinks you owe them money. My mother was close to tears still getting phone calls 5 years after the alleged deed took place. It certainly wears on you.
In my view, there are two types of identity theft. The first and easier method is to steal someone’s online identity. When you steal someone’s online identity, it enables them basically pretend they are you. For example, this person could pretend to be you in an online forum. But much more malicious, if they assume your identity and start buying things in your name.
This is in fact what happened to both my friend and my mom. They high jacked their credit cards. Worse yet, the authorities have no clue. Still today, neither knows who perpetrated these crimes upon them. There is only sure way to avoid identity theft – extreme caution.
The fact is that it is very easy to hijack someone’s online identity. In order to do a credit card transaction in someone else’s name, typically, the perpetrator would only need the following information:
If someone has your credit card in their hand, they can know 4 out of the 5 critical pieces of information. They are only missing the zip code, and they are ready to do transactions in your name.
Now here is the scary part. Guess where all this information is stored? In your computer. That’s why we made our identity assessment theft tool – to see what personal identity information your computer is storing. We had each employee at PC Pitstop use the online tool, and the results were shocking. Over 1/2 of our employees had their personal identity information stored in their computers.
Note: our online tool is NOT a major advancement in technology. In fact, the opposite, it is a simple form using commonly known field names. I suspect the identity theft professionals have far more sophisticated tools. The bottom line is that you don’t want your computer storing this information. I don’t have a problem with my PC knowing my browsing habits, but when it comes to my credit card and billing information, I don’t want it in my computer.
But let’s take the next step. The second, and more nefarious, level is when thieves can pretend they are you on the telephone. When doing telephone transactions, they usually have several security questions to establish that it is indeed you.
If the thief can establish they are you, they can truly ruin your life. They can transfer money out of your bank account. They can cancel your cell phone. They can change all of your passwords. And on and on. Then, when I personally ran the our online tool, I see that my social security number is inside of my computer, as is my email address and telephone number. Yikes!
This has become a major awakening for me. Yes, it slows you down, but so is putting on your seat belt, and the risks of not doing so are just about as bad.
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The article continues on the website with some practical tips to avoid the problem in the first place, so in closing, be safe and happy holidays.
