Fraud Expert John Sileo in Woman’sDay

The latest scams to steal your personal information are scarily simple—and effective. Learn how to protect yourself.

You thought shredding documents was enough to protect you from having your identity stolen, but thieves have found new ways to rip you off. No wonder 9 million Americans fell prey to them in 2010, according to the most recent data from the Federal Trade Commission. The average out-of-pocket cost to the victim? About $3,000! Here’s how to safeguard your identity—and your cash—from the three newest scams.

THE SCAM: Trolling social networking sites

HOW IT WORKS: Thieves check out Facebook and Twitter looking for any piece of personal information they can use to search for your address, such as your name or phone number. “Once they know where you live, they can submit a change of address form and have your mail sent to their P.O. box,” says fraud expert John Sileo, founder of ThinkLikeaSpy.com, a Denver-based identity theft prevention company. Thieves can even figure out your passwords using the seemingly innocent information you post online, like your pet’s or kids’ names—terms many people often use as passwords. Once they have all that information, it’s easy for them to siphon money from your bank account.

Read the full story here: Prevent Identity Theft – How to Outsmart Identity Thieves – Woman’s Day

John Sileo is an award-winning author and international speaker on the dark art of deception (identity theft, data privacy, social media manipulation) and its polar opposite, the powerful use of trust, to achieve success. He is CEO of The Sileo Group, which advises teams on how to multiply performance by building a culture of deep trust. His clients include the Department of Defense, Pfizer, the FDIC, and Homeland Security. Sample his Keynote Presentation (he shares how he lost $300,000, 2 years and his business to data breach) or watch him on Anderson Cooper, 60 Minutes or Fox Business. 1.800.258.8076.