Electronic Theft

The Internet is a marvelous invention. It helps us shop, pay bills, keep in touch with family and friends, and makes businesses more efficient and profitable.

Unfortunately, it also provides ample opportunities for your identity or important elements of it to be stolen by unscrupulous website owners and hackers. Preventing electronic identity theft begins with knowing how it can be managed.

Your bank account information is available to anyone who knows your user name and password. If you store that information anywhere but your memory, it can be stolen. Computers are hacked or searched by authorized users every day. Wallets and purses are stolen or lost just as often. Drawers, desks, tables and closets are searched as well. No human memory is infallible, but keeping exact information stored anywhere could open your bank account, your cell phone account and even your credit card account or entertainment accounts to anyone who finds or guesses your user information.

Don’t use common password patterns. Birth dates, anniversaries, social security numbers, age combinations, old addresses or zip codes, names or places for your passwords. Instead, use a misspelled version that’s easy to remember. Make security questions based on fact, but don’t use factual answers. For example, if your dog’s name is Rover, you can use the “What is your first pet’s name” security question option, but don’t use “Rover” as your answer. Instead, use a cartoon animal your children like or use “River” as your answer—something that might seem right if viewed but isn’t the exact answer. You see “Rover” written down as a reminder, but you would enter “River” instead.

Vary the characters in your passwords. Characters on a computer are anything that occupies a data space—dashes, commas, periods, numbers, letters, special characters like @ and even the spaces between words and sentences. Most sites don’t allow spaces in passwords, but they do make a difference in security question options. Use a combination of letters, numbers, dashes and special characters when allowed. Use upper-case and lower-case letters, and for maximum security, don’t repeat letters in passwords either.

Don’t share passwords and user names with others, even if trusted friends. Unfortunately, not all friendships last forever or end amicably. If you truly need to temporarily share your password, change it as quickly as possible.

When you access an online account in public, lower your screen’s angle to where only you can barely read it, and never step away from your computer or tablet while logged in on a site. Security questions and passwords can be changed in only a few moments, and you can be locked out of your accounts. Also, always log out of a site then close the window or tab. Don’t just open another website on that tab or window.

Monitor Account Changes and Credit History

US law provides the option of one free credit report per year: Use it. Request a credit report annually without cost, and a $10 investment at the six-month point is well worth the minor expense. Keep tabs of information on your credit report, for those are often the first place you might find evidence of identity theft.

If there are loans or credit cards for which you did not apply that show on your report, contact each reporting agency with a dispute. Contact each creditor with the same dispute and request copies of all application paperwork and signatures. Notify each query organization since the initiation dates that such-and-such entries are not yours and under investigation for identity theft.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking it won’t happen to you. Unfortunately, too many people have and will discover that it can.

The author of this article is Holly Miller, a writer for CouponCroc.co.uk. Shop safely and securely online and save when you use discount codes and vouchers on all of your purchases.

We would like to thank our guest writers on the Online Security Authority Blog! We feel it’s a honor and pleasure, to have others participate and contribute to the great content, advice and opinions on and in this Online World, we all live in… help us, help them, by supporting and visiting their sites!

as always, be safe Online

Your Online Security Authority

Bill Wardell

teach it, learn it, and share it…

© 2006 – 2011 Online Security Authority

OSA Technorati Tags: Ample Opportunities, Birth Dates, Cartoon Animal, Closets, Drawers, Electronic Identity, Electronic Theft, Exact Answer, Factual Answers, False Identities, Human Memory, Mail, Marvelous Invention, Protecting Your Identity, Question Option, Security Question, Security Questions, Social Security Numbers, Ssn, Terrestrial World

Because job seekers are often desperate to get a job, they tend to overlook some basic principles when it comes to protecting their identities.

Job seekers should be extra vigilant in protecting their identities; here are four tips they can follow in order to keep themselves safe while still following through on job leads.

Craft a Secure Winning Resume

The key to getting an interview with a hiring manager is to submit to him or her an application, cover letter, and resume that is a winner, one that stands out from the rest of the pile. Unfortunately, a common question on many of these application forms asks that a job candidate provide his or her Social Security Number.

The hiring manager will use this number to conduct a background check; however, you should be aware that this background check is rarely performed unless you are a finalist for the position. Therefore, it’s perfectly acceptable to write ‘SSN available upon request’ if you are filling out an initial application. This will protect your identity from improper use, especially if the company doesn’t dispose of the documents correctly.

Keep Up Your Guard When Answering Call Backs

Another vulnerable part of the application process is when employees call you back regarding your application or resume or cover letter. Because this conversation may happen in real life, it’s important to have certain answers ready to give on the spur of the moment. For example, if they ask you for credit card information, for whatever reason, you should immediately become suspicious. You’re interviewing for a job not trying to buy a product. In fact, some pyramid schemes will cold call people and falsely refer to an application in the hopes that someone desperate enough to follow up on a job they haven’t applied for.

Avoid Work-At-Home Scams

If you’re a job seeker who is trying to stay at home while you work, for whatever reason, you should have you antennae up even higher, keeping on the lookout for work-at-home scams. These come in many shapes: usually they require the person who works at home to buy materials and then assemble and ship them out. Then the company fails to pay the worker and disappears. A good rule of thumb regarding work-from-home jobs is this: if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Be Wary of Potential Threats Once You’re Hired

Finally, you should be aware of potential threats to your identity even after you’ve taken a job. Any employer who requests your credit card information to help buy company materials, for example, is definitely not acting legitimately; instead of using employee credit info, the company should have its own accounts to conduct transactions. You should not allow loyalty and your graciousness towards a company that gave you a job to keep you from protecting your own identify and bank accounts.

By-line:  This guest post is contributed by Lauren Bailey, who regularly writes for best online colleges. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: blauren99 @gmail.com.

We would like to thank our guest writers on the Online Security Authority Blog! We feel it’s a honor and pleasure, to have others participate and contribute to the great content, advice and opinions on and in this Online World, we all live in… help us, help them, by supporting and visiting their sites!

as always, be safe Online

Your Online Security Authority

Bill Wardell

teach it, learn it, and share it…

© 2006 – 2011 Online Security Authority

Do the basic’s and protect your Identity at all costs!! Tools to USE!

OSA Technorati Tags: Application Forms, Application Process, Available Upon Request, Background Check, Call Backs, Cover Letter, Credit Card Information, Credit Information, Extra, Hiring Manager, ID theft, Identity Theft, Initial Application, Interviewing For A Job, Job Applications, Job Candidate, Job Leads, Job Seekers, Pyramid Schemes, Social Security, Social Security Number, Spur Of The Moment, Winning Resume, Work At Home Scams

Before entering an access code at banks, store checkouts, or ATM machines, insure that no one is observing from behind you. Warily watch your back while logging onto websites or inputting personal identifying data from your job, as well. After concluding your transaction, clear the browsing history to avoid unauthorized access via inadvertently stored passwords.

Shred Sensitive Stuff

Low-tech identity theft still abounds. Dumpster-diving thieves can retrieve discarded documents from your trash. A paper shredder is perfect for preventing expensive careless errors.

Be Selective About Your Social Security Number

Never reveal it via phone or email. Do not use any part of it for a PIN or carry a Social Security card in your purse or wallet. If you must enter it on any electronic or online form, make sure it is properly masked to foil full display of the digits.

Verify Accuracy of Account Statements

Carefully peruse all paper or electronic billing and banking statements. Ensure that all charges or transactions are indeed legitimate and accurate. In this same vein, never divulge bank account numbers by phone or email.

Credit Monitoring

Several subscription-based services offer automated monitoring of your credit file for a nominal fee. These financial “watchdogs” watch your credit report for major changes. Unusual account activity, purported creditor inquiries, or drastic dips in your credit score will set alarm bells clanging. You are duly notified of such discrepancies via immediate email alert.

Delete Digitized Data

Upon sale or disposal of computer components, totally destroy any previously-stored data. Specialized software can accomplish its irrevocable obliteration. Physical destruction of storage media such as CDs, tapes, or DVDs is also prudent.

Pare Personal Data Displayed on Checks

Omit driver’s license and Social Security numbers from your checks. Consider establishing an alternative address via a “mail drop” such as Mail Boxes, Etc. to avoid residence location revelation. Use only an initial instead of your full first name.

Use Photo ID

Instead of signing your credit cards, write the phrase “See Photo ID” in the signature strip. This shields your signature from disclosure to dishonest shysters.

Pay Bills at The Post Office

Do not leave statements with checks enclosed inside your mailbox for pickup. Deposit them into the nearest postal receptacle. Mail thieves can gain easy access to your signature, credit, and banking information from personal mailboxes.

Be a Careful Online Consumer

Do not input sensitive financial or personal data at unfamiliar websites. Well-established sites like Amazon or eBay are safe. For all others, do not conduct business online unless the “Pay Pal Verified” and “SSL Encrypted” logos are displayed.

Protect your personal information from exploitative monetary motivations. If you find yourself victimized, don’t surrender in silence. Put up a fight. Wage a worthy war on crime by standing up for your rights. Recent legislative enactments have evolved to rectify ruthless villains‘ wrongs. Ultimately, right always prevails.

About the Author
Crissie C. Luckey, JD is a freelance writer for MyCollegesandCareers.com. My Colleges and Careers helps people determine if an online education is right for them and helps them understand which online college courses they can choose from to reach their goals.

OSA Technorati Tags: Account Statements, Alarm Bells, Atm Machines, Bank Account Numbers, Careless Errors, Checkouts, Credit Score, Digitized Data, dumpster diving, Dumpster-diving thieves, Electronic Billing, Fall Prey, Last Decade, Obliteration, Paper Shredder, Physical Destruction, shoulder surfers, Social Security Card, Social Security Number, Specialized Software, Storage Media

Documents
Once you no longer need those receipts or bills, don’t simply throw them away. Purchase an inexpensive shredder that hangs over a trash can and shred them. Include envelopes, canceled checks and credit card receipts. Include notepad paper and sticky notes as well. When the can gets full, take the shredded paper to a recycling center.

Keep sensitive documents secured in a locked drawer, wall safe or fire safe while you need them. Don’t keep them longer than required, however. The longer they lie around, the greater the chance of them being casually discarded or stolen.

Mail
Always shred junk mail and credit card applications you did not specifically request. Identity thieves love trash cans.

Get a private mail box for mail delivery. If that isn’t possible, have a trusted neighbor remove your mail from the box shortly after it’s delivered. Be sure to give them a Power of Attorney to do so to protect them against mail theft allegations.

Stop home mail delivery if gone for even one delivery day. The post office will gladly deliver it when you are home again; just don’t forget to restart delivery.

ID and Credit Cards
Keep your driver’s license and your bank and credit cards separate from your wallet or billfold. While carrying them in the compartments and slots may be handy, they are also figurative ‘sitting ducks’ for pickpockets.

Keep them bound together with a rubber band and put them instead in a pocket or pouch and carry them on your person.

Should they get lost or stolen, immediately notify law enforcement and the credit card companies.

When purchasing something online, take care to ensure the site is SSL certified. That heightened security protects the transmittal of your card information against redirection or theft. Take special care to hide the screen from others when you enter your personal information and your credit card information.

Quick cell phone photos or concentrated scanning can capture enough of your data to potentially steal your identity or your credit card.

Sole Use
Never lend anyone your credit card–even if you trust the person. That person may not directly steal your information, but someone else may steal it from the receiver.

Additional Protection Tools
Periodically review your credit report. Familiarize yourself with what is noted. Verify each legitimate listing. Quick detection of incorrect or unauthorized use is paramount in protecting your financial future.

Most banks offer identity theft protection programs. If affordable, enroll in one as quickly as possible to help prevent a thief from destroying your finances and your reputation. If necessary, hire a professional firm to resolve the identity theft issue.

If you find that your identity has been stolen or suspect that it might have been, contact law enforcement, your bank, the credit card companies and the credit reporting agencies. You are allowed a 120-word dispute on each entry on the credit reports.

Summary
Whether offline or online, protect your personal information and your credit cards. It’s always easier to prevent theft than it is to recover from it.

About the Author:
JC Ryan is a freelance writer for MyCollegesandCareers.com.
My Colleges and Careers helps people determine if an online education is right for them and helps them understand which online courses, they can choose from to reach their goals. My Colleges and Careers also provides information on culinary arts schools.

We would like to thank our guest writers on the Online Security Authority Blog! We feel it’s a honor and pleasure, to have others participate and contribute to the great content, advice and opinions on and in this Online World, we all live in… help us, help them, by supporting and visiting their sites!

as always, be safe Online

Your Online Security Authority

Bill Wardell

teach it, learn it, and share it…

© 2006 – 2011 Online Security Authority

OSA Technorati Tags: Better Business Bureau, Billfold, Card Co, Credit Card Applications, Credit card fraud, Credit Card Receipts, Documents, Government Estimates, Home Mail Delivery, How To Avoid Identity Theft, Junk Mail, Mail Box, Mail Theft, Private Mail, Recycling Center, Rubber Band, Sensitive Documents, Shredded Paper, Sitting Ducks, Trash Cans, Victims Of Identity Theft, Wall Safe

It is normal for law firms to provide the legal services necessary to help you with debt relief. It is important that you include in your potential search for debt relief all law firms that offer services to assist with bankruptcy issues. Confining your search to just debt counselors may not be as beneficial for you. Selecting the right bankruptcy lawyer is a very significant process. It is key that you select the right attorney. Irreparable financial damage and losses may result from the choice of a bad debt relief specialist.

One important thing an ideal counselor will have is experience in dealing with applications like yours. If you want to expand your options in dealing with your bankruptcy and the legal issues affecting your finances and assets, you’ll need a legal expert on the ins and out of bankruptcy. The only way a debt relief counselor can gain this kind of experience is through years of experience dealing with debt applications like yours. Seeking out a law firm that specializes in debt relief is key.
It is also important to consider the state that you are a going to file bankruptcy in. Each state has its own specific laws and statutes that apply to filing bankruptcy and they may vary from state to state. It is of utmost importance that you make sure that the debt counselor you choose is familiar with the pertinent laws and regulations that apply to filing bankruptcy in your state.

Next, you should consider the cost of your potential debt relief counselor’s legal services. It is typical for your debt relief counselor to bring up this subject during your first discussion. It is imperative that you agree on legal fees and charges for the legal services you wish to receive, otherwise there is no point in continuing discussion. Creating a mutually beneficial payment schedule of utmost importance for both parties.

Also during your initial discussion with you bankruptcy lawyer, it is smart to observe the behavior and posturing of your bankruptcy lawyer. It is important the you are thoroughly impressed with his performance and if not, you may want to consider another lawyer. It is also key that you have a thorough understanding of how your lawyer plans to handle your case and the amount time he plans to spend on it.