Computer Security, The Internet and ID Theft By: Fred Kahn ... www.FredKahn.com
200 years ago we purchased goods on a handshake, our name identified us as a good person and our word was our bond. Today we all have a social security number, a driver’s license, multiple credit cards and bank account numbers. Most of us have a home phone number, a work phone number, a fax number, a cell phone number, an e-mail address or six, a Yahoo ID, Facebook account, gmail, skype, and on and on and on. Now when we want to borrow money or rent an apartment we have show three forms of ID and our past credit history, the electric bill, employment history and maybe even our underwear size. With so much information about us in public records we have to take care that some of this information does not fall into the wrong hands. How do we do that? How much information is safe to keep on our computers and how easy is it for someone to hack into our computer and steal that information. Why would they even care, what will they do with that information?
As it turns out, people who are bent on stealing your identity for the purpose of stealing your money or stealing money from someone else can cause financial ruin and a great deal of problems. Your good name and credit can be ruined and it may take you years to recover. Here are some ways that I try to protect my personal information.
First I keep as little personal financial data on my computer as possible. I never keep bank account numbers or credit card information on my PC. I never store passwords. Speaking of passwords, they should be strong, using both upper and lower case letters as well as a number or two and maybe even certain punctuation marks such as a period or dash. Your password should be at least six characters long, longer is better. Try to pick one you can remember without having to write it down, Never give anyone your password.
The next step is to do your best to keep unauthorized people from gaining access to your PC with good internet security programs. Yes I said programs with an s at the end because one is not enough. There are several good anti-virus programs that are free such as AVG. I am not the expert in this field but fortunately I know who the experts are. Here is list of some websites where you can get an intelligent and unbiased opinion about internet security:
Michael Horowitz, who knows a great deal about computer ssecurity has an excellent website which offers great tips for securing your PC as well as backing up your data and a host of other computer related topics. http://www.michaelhorowitz.com/
Michael is the webmaster for the PC Radio Show (WBAI, 99.5 FM in NYCC, 8 pm Wednesdays) and Hank and Joe, offer up some great tips about internet security and internet security programs. You can visit their website for some great tips at www.PCRadioShow.org
Would you like to know how well your PC is protected? Click on this link to Shields Up and test your computers defenses. http://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?rh1dkyd2
Third step. Pray! While you are sitting there worrying about protecting your personal information and identity most of the information is already out there in the public domain. Credit reporting agencies such as Experian, Equifax and TRW probably know more about you than you do! You should obtain the free credit report you are entitled to once a year and make sure the information is accurate and up to date. Why do I say that you need to hope and pray that your data remains secure? Because your data is kept on secure computer systems which all have one serious flaw; the data can be accessed by the people who work for the data companies. People input the data, people request the data, people guard the data, people output the data. People are seriously flawed! They can be bad, they can be bribed, they can (and often do) make serious errors in judgment. People make mistakes all the time, every minute of the day. As long as people are in charge of your data, your data is at serious risk. My favorite response to people at banks and other companies who tell me that my data is perfectly safe on their highly secure computer systems is this; "Can people access the data when they need to? Then it's not perfectly safe. Not until they invent perfect people!"
Where do you turn to when you realize that you have been a victim of any type of internet fraud?
Here are some of the government agencies that may be able to help you:
The Internet Crime Complaint Commission (Part of the FBI) www.IC3.gov
The Federal Trade Commission: http://ftc.gov
Another FTC Website called ONGUARDONLINE http://www.onguardonline.gov/#
If you are not sure which federal agency has jurisdiction over your inquiry or complaint, contact the Federal Citizen Information Center’s NATIONAL CONTACT CENTER at: 1-800-FED-INFO (1-800-333-3646) or go their website http://www.consumeraction.gov/
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