Latest "Video Tips" Posts

Why I Love Canadian Accountants

I love Canadian accountants because not only are they some of the warmest people I have met (I speak on identity theft quite a bit in Canada), but they are incredibly eager to learn how to avoid some of the data security mistakes that we have made in the U.S. As accountants, they provide a ton of vital financial advice to their clients, and I can easily see them sharing some of the data security best practices I talked about during the presentation and getting paid well by their clients to do it. And here’s how I could tell their level of absorption: after the speech, they had a slew of detailed follow-up questions. They were curious. You can always tell someone’s intention to act and make changes by their clarification questions. No questions, no interest, no intent to act. Definitely not what I experienced in the charming town of Winnipeg.

Posted in Identity Theft Prevention, Video Tips by Identity Theft Speaker .
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Are You Begging to Get Fired?

We’ve all done it before – left the table to get a coffee refill or go to the bathroom and left our laptop, iPad, smartphone or purse sitting on the table. We justify it by telling ourselves that we are in a friendly place and will only be gone a second. Our tendency is to blame technology for information theft, but the heart of the problem is almost always a human error, like leaving our devices unattended. Realizing that carelessness is the source of most laptop theft makes it a fairly easy problem to solve.

My office is directly above a Starbucks, so I spend way too much time there. And EVERY time I’m there, I watch someone head off to the restroom (see video) or refill their coffee and leave their laptop, iPad, iPhone, briefcase, purse, client files and just about everything else lying around on their table like a self-service gadget buffet for criminals and opportunists alike.

Posted in Burning Questions (Video), Cyber Data Security, Fraud Detection & Prevention, Identity Theft Prevention, Video Tips by Identity Theft Speaker .
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Facebook Can Use Your Photos in Their Ads Without Permission

Did you know that Facebook can use photos you post on the site in advertisements targeted on the right (advertising) side of your contact’s profile?

Unless you customize your privacy settings, Facebook can share just about anything you post with just about everyone. Using your intellectual property for their financial gain is not a new Facebook issue, but one that should be revisited due to recent Facebook Privacy changes. Here’s the funny part: you gave Facebook the right to use any of your content in any way they see fit when you signed up for your account and didn’t read the user agreement. If you visit the Facebook Statement of Rights page you will see the following:

You own all of the content and information you post on Facebook, and you can control how it is shared through your privacy and application settings. In addition:

Posted in Burning Questions (Video), Identity Theft Prevention, Video Tips by Identity Theft Speaker .
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Identity Theft of Social Security Numbers Using Facebook

This recent video from Yahoo shows how easy it is for identity thieves to steal Social Security numbers just by using the information you share online. If you share your birthdate, name, and hometown in your Facebook profile, you are already at risk.

Click Here to learn more about protecting yourself online and on Facebook.

John Sileo is an information survival expert whose clients include the Department of Defense, Pfizer, Homeland Security, FDIC, FTC, Federal Reserve Bank, Blue Cross Blue Shield and hundreds of corporations and organizations of all sizes. He is the author of Privacy Means Profit and earns his keep delivering highly motivational identity theft speeches.

Posted in Burning Questions (Video), Identity Theft Prevention, Online Privacy, Video Tips by Identity Theft Speaker .
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Google Maps Street View: Removing Your House

According to Google CEO Eric Schmidt, if you are looking for more privacy, then you should move.

His callous remark came during a discussion on Google Maps Street View cars, which were found to be illegally collecting e-mails, passwords and surfing habits while photographing your neighborhood. Appearing on CNN’s Parker Spitzer a week ago, Schmidt made a bold statement that was eventually edited out of the broadcast. He said that said individuals who did not want the Street View cars to snap photos of their homes should “just move.” Schmidt then told The Hollywood Reporter, “As you can see from the unedited interview, my comments were made during a fairly long back and forth on privacy. I clearly misspoke. If you are worried about Street View and want your house removed please contact Google and we will remove it.” You can have your house removed from Google Maps Street View. Here’s how (see video):

Posted in Burning Questions (Video), Online Privacy, Video Tips by Identity Theft Speaker .
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Information Security Speaker: 5 Information Espionage Hotspots Threatening Businesses

You and your business are worth a lot of money, whether your bank accounts show it or not. The goldmine lies in your data, and everyone wants it. Competitors want to hire the employee you just fired for the thumb drive full of confidential files they smuggled out. Data thieves salivate over your Facebook profile, which provides as a “how to” guide for exploiting your trust. Cyber criminals are digitally sniffing the wireless connection you use at Starbucks to make bank transfers and send “confidential” emails.

Every business is under assault by forces that want access to your valuable data: identity records, customer databases, employee files, intellectual property, and ultimately, your net worth. Research is screaming at us—more than 80% of businesses surveyed have already experienced at least one breach (average recovery cost: $6.75 million) and have no idea of how to stop a repeat performance. These are clear, profit-driven reasons to care about who controls your data.

Posted in Burning Questions (Video), Fraud Detection & Prevention, Identity Theft Prevention, Video Tips by Identity Theft Speaker .
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FTC Red Flags Rule: Is Your Business Ready?

FTC Red Flags Rule Goes into Effect June 1st, 2010

The FTC  will begin enforcing the Red Flag Rule on June 1st, which states that certain businesses and creditors must help fight identity theft as well as create an identity theft prevention plan. This applies to a very broad class of businesses: those defined as “financial institutions” and those that extend any type of credit to their customers.

In other words, if you don’t receive cash the moment you deliver your product or service to your customer, your business most likely falls under the umbrella of the Red Flags Rule. If you do any billing after the fact (i.e., accounts receivable), you are considered a creditor, and therefore in the group of companies governed by Red Flags.

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This includes:

  • Any Business that Extends Credit
  • All Banks
  • Most Brokerage Firms
  • Credit Card Companies

Posted in Fraud Detection & Prevention, Identity Theft Prevention, Video Tips by Identity Theft Speaker .
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Identity Theft Threat from Copiers

Your business-class photocopier is essentially a computer that can be hacked. It has a hard drive and saves an image of everything you copy. Customer data, invoices, employee records, intellectual capital, personal identity. This is not new information – we’ve been writing about it for years. But the press is finally beginning to pay attention because they have seen for themselves the type of data that can be extracted from corporations by purchasing their used copiers (see the excellent CBS video to the left).

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If you’ve attended on of my Privacy Survival Boot Camps or have seen me speak for your organization, you will recognize the spy terminology used below that I use to train on effectively evaluating privacy risks.  Here is a brief primer to help you get started on protecting your business from this threat:

Posted in Burning Questions (Video), Fraud Detection & Prevention, Identity Theft Prevention, Video Tips by Identity Theft Speaker .
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Breaking News: Google Admits WiFi Data Collection

Breaking News

Google has apologized after admitting that they were “accidentally” collecting users personal information that was sent over unsecured wifi networks. Head of communications at Google, Peter Barron, told the BBC that this was a ‘mistake‘ and more robust procedures will be put in place.

John Sileo became one of America’s leading Social Networking Speakers & sought after Identity Theft Experts after he lost his business and more than $300,000 to identity theft and data breach. His clients include the Department of Defense, Pfizer and the FDIC. To learn more about having him speak at your next meeting or conference, contact him by email or on 800.258.8076.

Posted in Identity Theft Prevention, Video Tips by Identity Theft Speaker .
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