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Protect yourself from identity theft by shredding daily
By Michael Berg
Modern criminals may be stealing personal information electronically through sophisticated online data mining tools, but small-time crooks sorting through food wrappers and dirty diapers in the quest for discarded paperwork ‘still lurk.
In fact, not shredding potentially sensitive documents before you dispose of them is almost like begging to become one of the Federal Trade Commission’s estimated 9 million victims of identity theft in the United States every year. And with adequate shredders available for as low as $50, there’s almost no excuse — every household should have one.
Posted in Identity Theft Prevention by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: CreditCards.com, Data Breach Speaker, Fellowes, identity theft expert, Identity Theft Prevention, John Sileo, Paper Shredders
How long has it been since you wore a white belt in your area of expertise?
I just had the singular honor of delivering an identity theft speech for the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C. In case you don’t understand the humorous irony, let me explain.
The FTC is the arm of the U.S. Government that is responsible for educating you and me about our rights as consumer, including how to fight identity theft. In other words, they are the original identity theft experts! Those of us who are professional identity theft speakers turn to the FTC for information, guidance and materials.
So why did they pay my fee to talk about a subject they know so much about?
Perspective.
Posted in Identity Theft Prevention by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: Federal Trade Commision, Financial Speaker, FTC, Government, Identity Theft Speech, John Sileo, Privacy
As of last week, Facebook has added two new ways that you can connect to things you care about. The problem with these changes is that they takes away the user’s ability to control who can see these connections. The first change made is the addition of Community Pages described by Facebook:
Community Pages are a new type of Facebook Page dedicated to a topic or experience that is owned collectively by the community connected to it. Just like official Pages for businesses, organizations, and public figures, Community Pages let you connect with others who share similar interests and experiences.
The addition of these new pages mean that certain parts of your profile, “including your current city, hometown, education and work, and likes and interests” will now be transformed into “connections,” meaning that they will be shared publicly. If you don’t want these parts of your profile to be made public, your only option is to delete them.
Posted in Identity Theft Prevention, Online Privacy by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: Facebook, Facebook Changes, Facebook Expert, facebook privacy, John Sileo, Privacy, Privacy Facebook, safety, social networking
I found out a way to get yourself off spokeo.com!
Go to the website and look yourself up, then click on your name… once you have done that copy the URL in your web browser. Now, go to the bottom of the page. In small faded blue text, click privacy (third from the left). At the bottom of this page, you will find an “Opt Out form” link. Select that and then paste the URL link you copied from the page you found yourself on and enter your email and the “I’m not a robot” box. This is a case where I would use a second email account (your designated junk-email account), not your main email to avoid the build up of possible spam emails that follow. It will then send you an email confirmation where you must click the URL to confirm removal. Voila! You have been removed.
Posted in Identity Theft Prevention, Online Privacy by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: Identity Theft Prevention, Information Control, John Sileo, Online Safety, opt out, Spokeo
The number of identity theft victims rose 22% last year! Although it’s important to always protect your identity, tax season makes people more vulnerable to this crime and you should be especially cautious.
H&R Block identity Theft
A recent article in the New York Times uncovers an H&R Block office in the Bronx that was infiltrated by identity thieves (apparently it was not the only office affected).
Last year, Kevin Johns, a construction worker in the Bronx, did his taxes at the H&R Block store on Riverdale Avenue that he had used for the past 20 years or so. The next day, though, he got a call from the tax preparer: his return was rejected because he had already filed. Or at least, someone had filed in his name. That someone helped himself or herself to a $8,499 refund.
Posted in Fraud Detection & Prevention, Identity Theft Prevention by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: Data Protection, H & R Block, Identity Theft Prevention, Identity Theft Speaker, John Sileo, tax fraud, Tax Season
Just in case you’ve been spending a lot of time with the less comical sides of identity theft (I know I have), here is a video to lighten it up. Thanks to everyone at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart!
Posted in Identity Theft Prevention by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: Daily Show, Ed Helms, Humor, Identity Theft Speaker
Information control will be at the heart of the next major war waged between nations. None of us yet knows if the battlefield will be virtual or actual, but it’s liable to be both. From this point forward, every business person (and individual) must understand the discipline of CIA, Controlling Information Assets. That’s where the profits are, and that’s where their battles will be fought.
Take Tuesday’s decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals, as summarized here by the New York Times (emphasis mine):
A federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that regulators [Sileo Note: the FCC] had limited power over Web traffic under current law. The decision will allow Internet service companies to block or slow specific sites and charge video sites like YouTube to deliver their content faster to users.
Posted in Identity Theft Prevention by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: Chinese Government, Comcast, FCC, Google, High-speed Internet, Information Control
Along with the many benefits of the Census come some privacy risks. While Privacy Rights Clearinghouse does not focus on Census issues as one of its core missions, we encourage you to visit the website of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC). EPIC has extensive resources about the Census posted at http://epic.org/privacy/census/.Census Scams. There have been reports of scammers attempting to defraud the public by posing as Census workers. The Census potentially presents an opportunity for con artists to collect personal information about you to commit fraud. Typically, scammers will seek to obtain information such as your Social Security number or financial information. Don’t fall for the trap! Keep the following tips in mind to make sure that you don’t fall prey to a scammer:
Posted in Identity Theft Prevention by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: 2010 Census Scams, census, Identity Theft Prevention, John Sileo, Privacy Rights Clearing House
Young job-seekers are hiding their Facebook pages.
In today’s economic climate, more and more individuals are searching for jobs. Many job-seekers are just beginning to realize that managers looking to hire them can easily Google their name to find Facebook profiles, tweet history and vast quantities of online information that they would probably rather keep a bit more private. This is even more prevalent with recent college graduates who are entering the job market for the first time. With tough competition from so many qualified candidates, employers are turning to Facebook to help them sift through resumes. While some profiles are innocent, many have pictures, posts, and more that could possibly disqualify them from getting a job before they even walk into the interview. A new article by CNN discusses how more and more job-seekers are choosing to hide their Facebook profiles by changing their names (assuming an Alias, in spy terms) in order to keep a clean digital image of themselves on the web.
Posted in Identity Theft Prevention, Online Privacy by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: Facebook, Facebook Expert, facebook privacy, John Sileo, Privacy, Privacy Facebook, safety, social networking, Social Networking Speaker
