Am I Safe Identity Theft: Phished?

Experts warn of risks when using debit cards

NEW YORK -- Your new frugal lifestyle is about to get tested by the biggest consumer challenge of the year -- holiday shopping.

Even if you're among the thriftiest who have pared back spending and paid off debt this year, it's likely you'll open your wallet to decorate a bit and buy a few gifts in the weeks ahead. The National Retail Federation expects people to spend an average $683 on the festivities this season. That's down 3 percent from last year's $705, but it's still a substantial sum.
For many, part of the strategy for keeping on budget includes a plan to leave the credit cards at home and use a debit card at the checkout.

But before heading out to the stores with debit card in hand, make sure you understand the risks

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09331/1016646-68.stm?cmpid=business.xml

Steps to Better Online Security

Have you taken the necessary steps to protect yourself online or are you one of those people that think it won't happen to me? Securing your computer online takes a little work but it is well worth the investment of your time and money. Below I have listed some of the most important ways you can make sure that you will be protected.

1.
Email is still one of the favorite ways for crooks to hack into your computer. Many Internet Providers today provide a spam blocking feature and it cost nothing to use. Turn it on and it will monitor your system and block many of the junk emails that you may receive from even getting to your Inbox.

2.
Live by the rule that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Cyber criminals use phony sweepstakes, foreign lotteries, and other similar methods trying to get you to give them your personal info or send them money.
3.
Monitor the online activities of your children. Parental control software is recommended and the computer they use should be checked regularly for browser and email activity.

4.
Always be cautious if you are on a website that you know very little about. Be especially careful if that website ask you for any personal information such as your mailing address, social security number or your bank account number.

5.
Use encryption software if you are entering data that you do not want others to see. This will garble the data to make it unreadable to anyone who might try to hack into your computer.

6.
If you do any online shopping, make sure that you do it only on a secure website. If the website you go to is truly a secure website, the address will start with "https" or it will have a VeriSign or TRUSTe seal on it. If you don't see any of these, you may be at risk.

7.
Make sure you have a Top Notch Firewall installed on your computer.

8.
Use Corporate Grade Security Anti-Virus & Anti-Spyware
If you are serious about protecting your computer and yourself online, then you should call the person who sent this newsletter to you and ask them how they can help you acquire the kind of protection you need.

http://www.topsecretfreereport.com/makeadifference-z

When You're Using A PC That Is Not Yours

The following privacy information is important if you share your PC with other people and have only one user account, or if you use a public PC for personal activities like checking your email or your bank account. It's always a good idea to make sure that you clean up all of your private data after you use a public computer.

When you're using a PC that isn't yours--pal's computer, library PC etc.--it is best not to check the "remember my password" checkbox when logging into any of your personal accounts. You'll often see this password recall checkbox when checking your web email or logging into your Myspace account, and it's often labeled as "Remember my password" or just simply "Remember Me"; it's a popular web browser option, and it saves you from having to remember a multitude of passwords, as you'll not need to re-enter your username and password the next time you access the website, but common sense dictates that you should not check this option when using a computer that isn't yours, lest you want other people to easily log into your account when you leave.

http://www.topsecretfreereport.com/makeadifference-x

Maintain your Privacy!

When you surf the web, jumping from link to link, checking your email inbox or buying books from amazon.com, your web browser stores certain information about your web activities. Your browser does this information collecting as a means to make your surfing experience more stream-lined and enjoyable, but, in the end, a lot of personal data is collected and stored directly onto the PC, leaving open a gaping privacy hole. Such web surfing information may include data that was entered into web forms, the exact URLs of all websites you've visited, and your download history.

If you desire to keep your web surfing habits private, it's always a good idea to tell the browser to clean up after a web surfing session. When using Mozilla's popular Firefox browser, cleaning up your personal data is easy. Simply navigate on over to the "Tools" menu and select "Clear Private Data"; this simple menu command will discard all of your personal information in one fell swoop.

Unless you have a two way firewall in place, you need to be careful of how you use your privacy. Remember that a computer is compromised with in 15 minutes if is does not have the proper protection.

http://www.topsecretfreereport.com/makeadifference-x

Are you complying with the Red Flags Rule?

The Red Flags Rule requires many businesses and organizations to implement a written Identity Theft

Prevention Program designed to detect the warning signs – or "red flags" – of identity theft in their day-to-day operations.

Are you covered by the Red Flags Rule? Read Fighting Fraud with the Red Flags Rule: A How-To Guide for Business to:

* Find out if the rule applies to your business or organization;

* Get practical tips on spotting the red flags of identity theft, taking steps to prevent the crime, and mitigating the damage it inflicts; and

* Learn how to put in place your written Identity Theft Prevention Program.

Beware the “Bahama” Botnet

Click Forensics researchers have recently discovered one of the most advanced sources of click fraud we’ve seen. the "Bahama botnet" because when first discovered it was redirecting traffic through 200,000 parked domain sites located in the Bahamas. It has since been reprogrammed to redirect through other intermediate sites hosted in Amsterdam, the U.K., and even San Jose, CA, but the Bahama name stuck.
Interestingly, the Bahama botnet appears to be closely related to the recent spate of "scareware" attacks, such as the one perpetrated against The New York Times digital site just a few days ago, reported by ComputerWorld.

Look What's In The News!!

Hacker's indictment won't slow
Examiner.com
Existing account fraud is the easiest type of identity theft to detect. Many credit card issuers detect odd patterns of spending and shut down the credit ...
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clipped from Google - 8/2009

Eight accused in AT&T, T-Mobile
Register
Beizem, Stewart and Montayne also face additional mandatory two-year consecutive sentences if convicted on aggravated identity theft. ...
Related Articles »
clipped from Google - 8/2009

One Tree Hill" actor Antwon
New York Daily News
One Tree Hill " actor Antwon Tanner pleaded guilty Friday to identity theft, admitting he was the middleman in a scam involving bogus Social Security ...
Related Articles »

Woman pleads guilty to identity
Newsday
... worked as a patient services coordinator for Johns Hopkins Medicine has pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft for stealing patient information. ...

identity theft cyber crime hackers
computer security red flag rules
pci compliance credit fraud

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Phished?

It is getting to the point that before you open an e-mail with an attachment, link or request for information you should contact the person who supposedly sent you the message to verify the information actually came from them.

Hackers are developing better ways of disguising their phishing attacks on businesses and innocent people throughout the United States.

Recent headlines like “Online Phishing Attack Exposes Yahoo Accounts,” “Phishing Attack Uses BBB Name,” “Phishing Schemes Targets Area Credit Union,” and “French President Falls for Phishing Scam” illustrate hackers are getting more aggressive and creative in the way the attack.

However, there are more pointed phishing attacks on the rise that personalize the message. For example, phishing attacks today can look like a friendly e-mail from a friend simply asking you to take a look at a video. When you click on the video a pop up asks you to download the latest version of the video. When you click on to download the updated version melicous malware is downloaded on your computer.

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www.rmgrabowski@mainstaycomm.net

Rosemarie Grabowski
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