Facebook Troubles – Make Sure You Protect Your Privacy on Facebook

While there has been a lot of press lately regarding security lapses on Facebook and other social networking sites, it turns out the that user’s biggest enemy could be the person in the mirror. A fairly recent undercover study by the security firm Sophos had some results that you may or may not find surprising.

Sophos representatives created two fake Facebook identities. One, Daisy Felettin, is an anagram of “false identity.” The second is Dinette Stonily, an anagram of “stolen identity.” These “people” were able to become friends with a total of 95 Facebook members within the course of two weeks.

Neither “person” claimed to know the people it was trying to friend, and both profiles had pictures of animals on them instead of people’s faces; one a cat and one a plastic duck. There was no reason for the random people who received the requests to believe that they knew either of these “people” personally.

What is more alarming is that when these “people” gained their new “friends” these friends basically offered them their birth dates and other select details about their personal lives free of charge. What is even more alarming than that is that they also shared personal information of other people in their friends lists just by doing so.

According to Tom S. Noda of Computerworld Philippines, “Just under half of the 20-ish crowd, and just under a third of the 50-ish crowd gave away personal information about their friends and family.”
The best way to prevent this from happening to you is to stay off of social networking sites altogether, but if you just need to have your daily or weekly Facebook fix, be very careful who you’re friends with and what you share. Keep information like your address, your phone number and your date of birth off of your profile, even if you only have it visible to friends. You never know when someone will hack into the system and view it, even if you think you have it locked up tight.

Never agree to be friends with a person you don’t know, no matter how harmless this person seems. And don’t connect to brand pages or applications that may share your information with third parties, which, sad to say, is pretty much all of them.

If you need to share personal details with your friends, do it the old fashioned way; pick up the phone. Keep social networking at the level of casual acquaintances. Give very vague details about your life and talk about music, movies and the weather. Also, don’t become friends with people whose names are anagrams of “identity theft.”

Learn more about identity theft protection today.

LIfeLock partners with Symantec On The Apprentice Again

LifeLock, one of the most well-known brands of identity theft protection, recently partnered with Symantec for a second time in a cross promotion deal on Donald Trumps The Apprentice. Potential members of LifeLock were offered for a short time a package deal that included Norton 360. Its too bad it was only for a short time as the two products can easily go hand in hand.

The correlation between antivirus software and identity theft protection packages is a pretty big one. Both are very important to obtaining a sense of security when using the Web. While an antivirus package helps to prevent you from getting spyware and other malware on your machine, a protection package will help keep your information safe if that first line of defense fails.

Also, there are several types of malware that your antivirus program may have little control over, since it does not automatically log them as suspicious. These include:

*Malicious chain letters that you get in your email, either from thieves themselves or inadvertently forwarded from your contacts
*Phishing emails that you get that pretend to be from legitimate companies asking for your personal information
*Emails from people in your contacts list whose computers are infected with viruses

Depending on the antivirus package, some people get more protection from these emails than others. If your software tells you not to open an email or download an attachment, listen. If you think it may be a legitimate email, call the sender and tell him or her what happened.

If something detrimental to your machine does get through, having a protection plan can give you some peace of mind. Even if someone who shouldn’t gets his or her hands on your information, that doesn’t mean that there is nothing you can do about it. If you have the right package, you will be notified the first time that thief tries to use it to open an account in your name – and you can stop that action pretty much right away just by making a phone call.

Once you do that, you should also call the police and make contact with the Federal Trade Commission. Oftentimes that is enough to make a thief think twice before trying it again. He or she would rather move on to an easier target than risk getting caught or get frustrated in the effort of making a quick buck.

If you want to purchase LifeLock at a discount right now, you can simply click here. You don’t have to travel to the store or a buy an antivirus package if you don’t need one. Or, if you decide that LifeLock isn’t for you, check out one of the dozens of other packages available.

Everyone that has a computer that they use for really any reason should have both an antivirus product and an identity theft protection plan. This is especially true of persons who perform online banking or any type of Internet commerce. And since both programs are so affordable, there really is no reason not to. The FTC reported 1.2 million identity theft complaints last year. You can save lots of money by not becoming one in a million.

TrustedID Adds Identity Threat Score to Their Identity Theft Protection Service

TrustedID introduced a new service called Identity Threat Score, included in its regular service at no extra charge a little while back. This service lets members know exactly what their risk profile is via a score of 0 to 500, and what they can do about it. This service gives you an accurate picture of where your vulnerabilities lie, and how much you are at risk in different areas.

Trusted ID is able to accomplish this through another service in their identity protection package, known as Identity Scan, in which TrustedID reviews your credit profile, and additional public and private records and compares it to patterns of information that make people more likely to be victimized by identity theft. This scanning and analysis process is similar to the systems some financial institutions use to determine risk based lending and credit worthiness.

Trusted ID then presents your identity threat score to you with a number between 0 and 500 with 0 being not at risk for identity theft. Now that is simple to understand. But they don’t just tell you how much you are at risk for identity theft they also tell you what you can do to improve your score. “ It’s one thing for us to show you that you are at risk, but the Identity Threat score goes one step further to help you reduce that risk” said Scott Mitic, CEO of TrustedID.

In addition, they will also notify you if your score moves into the medium or high range allowing you to take notice of your vulnerabilities. You also have the option to contact a specialist that will help you identify and address your risk with a step by step plan.

In addition to this new service, Trusted Id offers Data Breach Response Service and IDFreeze. IDFreeze helps stop identity theft before it happens and protects you well beyond what credit monitoring can offer with over 15 different protection points. This is much better than credit monitoring services which only alerts you after there is a problem. Data Breach Response Service helps companies protect their customers and employees if somehow their data is leaked to the public.

With 10 million American identity theft victims each year it is important to not take this issue lightly. It really has become a situation where its a matter of when, not if, you will experiance this potentially disastrous crime. Please don’t sit idly by waiting for something to happen before you take action. Learn what you can do to protect your identity and consider an identity theft protection service today.

At less than $10 a month it certainly is worth the price to have TrustedID assess your vulnerability and provide you with some concrete tips to keep those thieves at bay. Of course they do far more than that both on the protection and insurance front.

ID Theft Victims Lose More Then Money

People may not think identity theft is such a big deal because in many cases victims can get fraudulent charges forgiven and they don’t end up out any money. However, they fail to think about an even bigger cost: the amount of time that victims have to spend cleaning up their credit. This could be two hours; it could be 200 hours, it could be 1000 hours or more.

Last June blogger Tyra Damm ruminated on this topic when she thought about a recent time that she was victimized. An unidentified woman created a driver’s license with her own picture and signature but Damm’s license number, birth date, name and address. She also made an employee badge with the same information. She proceeded to use these IDs to take out loans.

Damm quickly became aware of the crimes, but it was too late to stop some of the new accounts from being processed, which made it necessary for her to spend several hours at the bank, to start, with visits to the police station, calls to the credit card companies, and a lot more research ahead of her. She estimates that she has already spent three hours and that she has only just begun all of the work she will have to do.

While time does not cost money, per se, it does cost precious minutes you could be spending playing with your kids, working, shopping for groceries, or even sleeping. Economists call this the opportunity cost, which means the sacrifice you are making to do one thing over another. Face it; no one likes spending time on the phone with credit card companies, even if it is just to make a regular inquiry. It’s even worse when you’re trying to prove you’re you and get the company to realize it has made a mistake.

Don’t want to deal with this kind of situation? There’s another type of company you can talk to instead, before the dreaded identity theft happens: a company that offers identity theft protection such as LifeLock or TrustedID. And, you can follow the advice that Damm offers at the end of her blog. Tell representatives at any financial institutions you do business with that you would like to initiate a password plan, meaning no one will be able to take action on your account, no matter how much they look or sound like you, unless they know a secret code word you choose.

If you decide to go the code word route, don’t pick your dog’s name, your maiden name or anything else completely obvious. Also, test the bank’s employees a few times to make sure they follow the rules. If they don’t even check when it is you, chances are they won’t when it isn’t. With nearly 10 million Americans victimized last year this is one instance in which you do not want to take chances.

Damm didn’t have her wallet stolen or see a thief digging through her trash. In fact, she is completely unsure about how her personal information got leaked out. All she can do is speculate. So basically she did nothing wrong but the thieves still found a way in, so to speak. Don’t get a false sense of security. That’s the easiest way to open the door. Find a credit protection service today.

Twitters, Tweets and Identity Thieves

It seems that identity thieves have been making the rounds of the social networking sites lately. One of the latest victims was Twitter, a site that lets you add one sentence updates as you go about your day. The scam reeks of a phishing attack and uses a similar method to lure in victims.

Twitter members get a message in their private account inbox that asks them to check out a specific website and then helpfully provides a link to said site. However, the site is really just a spoofed site that looks like the Twitter login page. The thief’s hope is that you will think you got logged out and reenter your user name and password. That way he or she gains access to those two pieces of information plus anything else you’ve posted to your account. Then he or she can log in as you and try to draw personal information from your real Twitter friends.

Unfortunately, it turns out that a lot of people fall for scams like these. This is because there is an inherent trust of online “friends.” While this personal touch is what social networking sites strive for, it can be dangerous when identity thieves exploit and break that trust.

Although it is not the ideal choice for many a social butterfly, to prevent this type of scam from hurting you, you have to be discerning and protect your online privacy. Don’t accept friend requests from any old person who offers. Instead, only choose to be online buddies with people you know in real life, or at least people who are acquaintances or friends of friends – basically those who you’re sure are who they say they are. You have to always be thinking of identity theft protection.

If you get an email that sounds friendly and casual, it doesn’t automatically mean it is from a friend. Identity thieves have been using emails with subjects like “check out this website” or “boy will her boyfriend be mad” or even “I love you” for years to try to trick readers into thinking they are legitimate. Check the screen name before even reading the message to make sure it is from someone you actually know. If not, delete it.

Another thing you can do to try to stop these Web 2.0 thieves is to change your password – a lot. There’s nothing wrong with doing this each and every week. Just make sure you remember you did it or could find yourself locked out of your account and wondering why. For a more secure password, go with one that contains both letters and numbers and is not completely obvious, like your house number or birth date. Identity thieves can guess those after about two minutes of research.

Lastly, if you think you already fell for the Twitter scam, you are not alone. Some organizations say as many as one in 20 people that get phishing messages are duped. Instead of stewing about it, contact the FTC and then change your password right away. Then change it again in a week or so. Consider using TrustedID to protect your identity, with 15 points of protection including anti-keylogging software and sophisticated database scanning that alerts you to changes in your credit, it could be the one thing that saves you from a financial or emotional disaster.

Check’s out of the mail

Though people may think they are beyond the reach of identity thieves, most everyone has a metal target right in front of their house or at least in their neighborhood. That target would be their mailbox. While there’s been a lot in the news about phishing attacks and other electronic forms of identity theft, some still prefer the old fashioned way: committing a little postal fraud.

Don’t start suspecting your mail carrier of shady business. Most identity thieves grab your account statements and other sensitive mail after they’ve been delivered properly. They will either take them from unlocked boxes, find them on the ground if you drop them or they blow away, or wait to get them when they’re on their way out after being delegated to the garbage can or recycling bin.

The bad thing about this type of identity theft is that it’s very common. But the good thing is that it can be easily prevented. Some things you can do to keep the thieves at bay are:

• Slice, shred or ink out: Don’t throw away papers with the personal information intact. The best option is to shred, but you can also slice through the info with a knife or letter opener or cross it out by using a pen and some pressure. Note that writing over the info with a marker isn’t good enough. The thieves can still read it if they hold the paper at the right angle.
• Grab the mail ASAP: If you’re home, don’t let it sit in an unlocked box. If you’re not home and you know you’re expecting a sensitive item, ask a trusted neighbor who will be to retrieve your mail for you. Same goes for when you’re on vacation.
• Look for the big blue box: If you need to send a letter that you don’t want identity thieves to see, don’t gift wrap it for them by placing it in your mailbox and then putting up the flag. Find an official USPS box and drop it there instead. If nothing else, it will give you peace of mind.
• Go for electronic statements: The less paper statements you get, the better. This not only keeps them from getting in the wrong hands since they don’t make that arduous trip from company to mailbox to trash, but it can also help to save some trees, which is a pretty good thing to.

If it’s too late for the advice and a thief has already nabbed your mail, report the crime to the United States Postal Inspection Service. Mail theft is a felony and if the thief is caught you best believe he or she won’t be trying it again soon.
Sadly, not all thieves are found out though, so signing up for an identity theft protection serviceis probably in your best interests at this point. That way you can be alerted right away if anything funny tries to get past your credit file.

Defining identity theft

Sally goes to the bank and apply for a mortgage, certain that she’ll qualify for a reasonable loan and soon will be moving into that dream home she’s been eyeing. That’s until the bank representative returns from doing her credit check. Strangely she has $25,000 in delinquent payments on a boat loan that has completely demolished her credit rating. What’s even stranger is that she doesn’t even own a boat.

Okay, so how does this define identity theft? It’s basically a textbook case. Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes of the 21st century. To accomplish this crime, thieves get a hold of a victim’s personal information, such as his or her name, address, Social Security number, birth date, credit card numbers or account passwords. They then use this information not to run up accounts this person already has but instead to create new ones. That way, when the victim checks his or her statements, there’s nothing out of the ordinary. He or she only finds out when the accounts the thief has created show up on a credit report or when denied new credit or even employment because of negative marks.

Other types of identity theft include medical identity theft, where the thief uses someone else’s personal information to obtain treatment, either to hide a medical condition or take advantage of insurance benefits. Another type occurs when a person uses another individual’s identity to establish U.S. citizenship or to commit crimes and not get apprehended.

Another popular form of identity theft is criminal identity theft in which a criminal uses an innocent persons identification to escape the law. Law enforcement is well aware of this tactic but unfortunately some still slip by an innocent people end up in jail until they clear up the mess. LifeLock is the best identity theft protection service when it comes to protecting you from criminal identity theft.

Identity Theft Protection Services Worth The Money

Identity theft protection services just got a hearty promotion from Ray Martin on CBS Money Watch. While these services sometimes get a bad rap as being a waste of money, Martin has this to say, “I think that if you are concerned about ID fraud and prevention, then the nominal fee for these services is well worth the cost.”

He goes on to explain that it is especially important, according to consumer advocates, for people in the following situations to have such a policy:

*Past identity theft victims
*Those who rarely check their credit reports
*Individuals with a lot of money in the bank
*People who regularly travel abroad

These are individuals that either have the most to lose or are at a high risk of being victimized, either because their information is already out there for thieves to see or because they don’t keep credit monitoring as their top priority or it proves to be difficult for them.

The article also brings up the fact that people can have problems getting reimbursed by a protection plan if identity theft happens to them before the plan gets put in place. This means that it’s important to sign up for a plan not when you realize you’ve been a victim of identity theft, but now – so that you can use the plan as a preventative measure.

You may get into an argument with someone who says that you can monitor your credit on your own for free. You could also – maybe – check and see if people are using your information online through a private search agency. This would not be an easy task, most likely, and it would certainly be time consuming to do.

Martin offers the following words to use against naysayers, “I can cut my own lawn but I might be inclined to pay for the convenience of having someone do it for me.” You could also bring up the fact that there are 10 million victims in the United States each year, and it’s likely some of them were trying to monitor their credit on their own too.

Identity Theft Often Happens Close to Home

When you look to the causes of identity theft, it’s an unfortunate fact that you sometimes have to turn your head close to home. Friends and family, or more commonly, ex-friends and family, can sometimes be the cause of the problem. It makes sense considering these people are most likely to have access to your personal information, but it often packs a more painful blow than if the theft occurred due to the actions of a faceless stranger.

An anonymous contributor to the November issue of Money magazine was one such victim. Her ex-husband ran up $453 on a fraudulent Comcast cable account he opened in her son’s name. The fraud wasn’t discovered until her son attempted to acquire a credit card at a department store.

Luckily, in this case, the amount of money was relatively small and the case was resolved fairly quickly. However, in many cases, it may take years for the theft to even be found out, especially if the victim is under 18 when the crime occurs.

Why does the victim’s age make a difference? How many ten year olds do you know that check their credit histories? This is because they don’t have credit histories, or at least, they shouldn’t. That makes them excellent targets for thieves because it gives them years to develop fraudulent accounts unnoticed and plenty of time to spend, spend, spend!

Now we are not suggesting that you cut off all contact with friends and family and lock up your wallet when you’re entering your home. What we are suggesting is that you take precautions to protect yourself, even if you don’t divulge your information online or hold many credit accounts. And, don’t forget to think of your children as well, even if your son or daughter is less than a year old. Be it due to a friend, family member or stranger, identity theft is nothing to be messed with.

So how do you protect yourself? Identity theft insurance is a good bet. You can get coverage for as little as pennies a day for you and for your family. TrustedID and LifeLock identity theft services are two great options to consider, but there are also many others that could possibly fit your needs. There’s sure to be a plan that is perfect for you.
It’s sad to think that you need to protect yourself from people you know, but in the identity theft game there are no rules. The people with the best identity protection plans are the ones that come out the winners.

You’re not the only one screening your mail

We all get too much mail these days, both in electronic and in paper form. If you’re anything like me, you’ve taken to sorting through it quickly and making pretty much instant keep and toss piles just judging by envelope shape. Those long, skinny envelopes are probably bills. The boxy ones are cards. And so on. Well guess what? Identity thieves do the same thing. And they may be going through your mail too.

The thieves are looking for your bills, but not because they want to pay them for you. They know that they contain account numbers that can be very valuable to them. Other things they look for are bank and credit card statements, unsolicited credit card offers, checks, pay stubs and any communication from the government. (It may have a Social Security number on it.)

Of course, you don’t invite identity thieves to look through your mailbox. They just seize the opportunity whenever it presents itself. If they can’t find mail in your mailbox, they may also check the trash can and the recycling bin. If you’d rather keep prying eyes off of your post box, here are some things that can help:

*Take important mail (i.e. any with sensitive information) to a locked mailbox to send it out. The post office is best since you are cutting out the middlemen. That’s less people to lose or drop things.
*Get your mail as soon as you can. Don’t let it languish lonely in the mailbox and give thieves a “red flag” that it’s arrived.
*Have someone you trust pick up your mail when you’re out of town or ask the post office to place a hold on it.
*Switch to e-statements for your bills and have your paper statements stopped.
*Report any mailbox tampering to your local post office as soon as you notice it.
*Shred any documents even remotely personal in nature before you throw them out or recycle them.

If you frequently have problems getting your mail promptly because you work long hours, consider having the address of the most important correspondence changed to that of your business. That may give you some peace of mind as you toil into the night knowing your information is safe on your desk. Of course, check with the boss first to make sure this is okay.

Good news is all of these things will help. Bad news is it still may not be enough. Although the U.S. Postal Service is fairly reliable, we’ve all had things lost, stolen, misdirected or shredded at some point, so we know there are no 100% guarantees that every piece of mail will reach its destination without being intercepted. Even with diligent shredding, you really have no idea where some of your information may end up.

That’s where an identity theft protection plan comes in. It can give you that extra ounce of security. Follow the tips above and get a plan, and some thieves will be sorely disappointed. They may even have to get real jobs, hopefully not as postal workers.

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