identity theft expert: Catching Criminals With a DNA “Spray”
- 11/29/10 09:25 PM
Security is all about layers of protection. The more layers that are put in place the more secure you and your family will be. For example, if you lock your doors that is one layer, but not enough. A home security system which includes an alarm, security cameras and even signage are all additional layers of protection.
An axiom of the security professional is to “predict and prevent”. This means by having the foresight to visualize the possibilities of crime happening, how and why, will help that professional to prevent such a crime by putting the security layers in place.
Much … (1 comments)
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identity theft expert: Using Social Media Passwords With Critical Accounts
- 11/27/10 10:12 PM
Last year, 32 million passwords were posted online after a data breach at RockYou, a company that creates applications for social networking sites. The breach revealed the weakness of most people’s social networking passwords.
InformationWeek reports, “All the major sites–Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn–have the same minimum password length of six characters. And password complexity checks are few and far between. Facebook and LinkedIn have no complexity checks. For MySpace, some complexity checking is enabled; however, users can enter a password of ‘123456.’ Twitter has a basic complexity check based on a static word list that’s viewable through the HTML source of … (5 comments)
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identity theft expert: How to Prevent a “Wikileak” of Your Data
- 11/23/10 08:28 PM
“Wikileak” is turning into a verb. This is when sensitive information in office document files such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Textpad, or PDF files can be easily copied, transferred, sold and leaked, all without the owning organization’s knowledge.
It is easier than ever for sensitive information stored in electronic documents to be copied and publicly released without the owner’s knowledge or consent, thanks to WikiLeaks, an international activist organization that publishes documents that have either leaked or been provided by anonymous sources.
Politics aside, releasing confidential intelligence to enemy combatants puts lives at risk. Geoff Morrell, press secretary for the Pentagon, … (1 comments)
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identity theft expert: 18 Year Old Enters “Dumb Criminal Hall of Fame”
- 11/22/10 09:53 PM
There’s dumb criminals and then there is this kid.
A family was away from their home and had someone take care of some items around the house. Apparently the caretaker was doing some work on the exterior of the home and opened some shutters around a window and saw someone inside who wasn’t supposed to be there.
As soon as he realized it wasn’t a family member he called the police. And somehow the burglar was able to get out of the home and flee before law enforcement arrived.
When they entered the home to secure it they found a backpack, … (3 comments)
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identity theft expert: What Security Issues Should You Worry About?
- 11/21/10 08:46 PM
First thing I tell my seminar attendees is “The chances of anything bad ever happening to you is very slim. So don’t worry about. However you should still put these systems in place.”
Are you a helicopter parent? An “alarmist”? Or Chicken Little: The sky is falling, the sky is falling! I heard somewhere along the line that 90% of what we worry about never happens. It might be even closer to 99%. But there is still that one percent that concerns.
Deciding what to worry about may be a conscious or unconscious (or sub-conscious) decision.
Often what we worry about … (2 comments)
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identity theft expert: Google Assembles “Best Of” Family Safety Center
- 11/16/10 08:57 PM
Teaching kids internet safety and security is an evolving and complex issue. The goal is to achieve a level of trust with your kids while providing a long enough leash to foster growth and responsibility. Google’s Family Safety Center is a new site compiling the best of resources for advice, guidance, direction and action items to provide parents with the necessary tools to help kids navigate the wild wild web.
“Google Family Safety Center works alongside many organizations in the US to promote action and awareness around Internet safety. They offer resources and advice on cyber bullying, child protection and online … (1 comments)
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identity theft expert: Botnets Lead to Identity Theft
- 11/16/10 08:39 PM
When a virus recruits an infected PC into a botnet, a criminal hacker is able to remotely access all the data on that computer.
Robot networks, or botnets, have a varied history. A bot, which doesn’t necessarily have to be malicious or harmful, is essentially a program designed to connect to a server and execute a command or series of commands.
As reported by a McAfee study, networks of bots, otherwise known as drones or zombies, are often used to commit cybercrime. This can include “stealing trade secrets, inserting malware into source code files, disrupting access or service, compromising data integrity, … (1 comments)
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identity theft expert: Travel Security Tips for Turkey Day
- 11/16/10 08:32 PM
Thanksgiving is coming quickly and it is one of the most traveled times of the year. Burglars know this. There are unfortunately many unsavory characters that are anticipating you are heading to a Thanksgiving Day football game or going to grandmas house and some of you might be helping the homeless at a soup kitchen.
To ensure an uninterrupted feasting of the fowl and a safe return home, I suggest you consider the following:
Here are a few tips to help protect the safety of your home while you are gone:
If you are traveling by car make sure it’s running … (3 comments)
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identity theft expert: Protecting Children on the Internet
- 11/15/10 02:30 PM
Today’s kids don’t even know what it’s like to not be connected to the Internet. But being technology savvy doesn’t mean they are safe and secure.
Since the Internet as we know it was born in the early 1990s, it has become an integral part of our and our kids’ lives. Online shopping, social media, mobile web, and computers in the classroom are as normal to them as riding a Huffy bicycle was to me. For these kids’ parents, the online world often feels too fast and too complicated. Nevertheless, it is essential that parents educate themselves on safe, secure online … (3 comments)
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identity theft expert: Colorado Supreme Court: Using a Stolen Social Security Number is Not Identity Theft
- 11/15/10 01:41 PM
I feel like my head is going to explode.
The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled “that using someone else’s Social Security number is not identity theft as long as you use your own name with it.”
The defendant in this particular case had admitted to using a false Social Security number on an application for a car loan, and to find employment. The court ruled that since he had used his real name, and the Social Security number was only one of many pieces of identifying information, he “did not assume a false or fictitious identity or capacity,” and “did not … (0 comments)
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identity theft expert: Using Video To Catch a Nasty Neighbor
- 11/14/10 06:12 PM
Living in the Northeast has its pros and cons. We have the four seasons, great food, entertainment, sports, everything is at your fingertips, and for me it’s where business gets done.
Drawbacks include lots of congestions, crime, traffic, bad attitudes and nasty neighbors. Most people I know have a neighbor they are in some kind of entanglement with. It’s everywhere. When houses are stacked on top of each other people get territorial and stuff happens.
A New York Times article highlights a few of these nasty scenarios that I’m talking about. One person from the article was quoted saying “I’m not … (5 comments)
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identity theft expert: 5 Tips to Help Prevent Home Invasion
- 11/14/10 06:03 PM
Warning: This is about to get very graphic. The Boston Globe reports “A woman hacked to death with a machete and knife in her home was alive for all 32 slash and stab wounds that split open her skull, sliced through bones and pierced organs, a medical examiner testified.”
Steven Spader, 17 years old at the time formed “Disciples of Destruction” a gang, “pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and burglary and witness tampering. He was 17 when prosecutors say he plotted the home invasion and rounded up the three other young men who accompanied … (3 comments)
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identity theft expert: 15 Facebook Fiascos to Watch Out For
- 11/14/10 05:47 PM
The following 15 activities, all of which are facilitated by Facebook and other social networking websites, are causing lots of heartache and headaches:
1. Posting illegal activities. In the little town where I grew up, 30 kids recently faced the wrath of their parents, school officials, law enforcement, and the Boston media, all because someone posted their party pictures, which depicted underage drinking, on Facebook. It’s never okay to show illegal behavior.
2. Account hijacking. Phishers imitate the Facebook email template, tricking victims into believing they have received an official Facebook message. Once you enter your login credentials, criminals can take … (30 comments)
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identity theft expert: Home Security Has Never Been Easier
- 11/13/10 07:48 AM
Home is where you look forward to towards the end of a vacation. Home is where you rush to at the end of a work day. Home is where you’d rather be when you are somewhere else. After all, as Dorothy said tapping her ruby red slippers, “there’s no place like home”.
Our homes become a place of comfort unlike any other worldly possession. It’s where all our stuff is, in all the places we put it, in the order (or disorder) we create. It’s where our kids sleep, dog naps and where we eat.
Most people take for granted the … (2 comments)
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identity theft expert: Cybersquatting Scams Aren’t Over Yet
- 11/13/10 07:12 AM
Cybersquatting, simply put, is the act of procuring someone else’s trademarked brand name online. The Anti-cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, a U.S. federal law enacted in 1999, describes cybersquatting as registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else.
Cybersquatters squat for many reasons. Some squat for fun or because they like the brand or name, while other squatters use the domain to advertise competitors’ wares, or for stalking, harassment, or outright fraud. Most cybersquatters offer to sell the domain at an inflated price to the person … (1 comments)
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identity theft expert: Facebook Beefs Up Your Security
- 11/11/10 08:43 AM
It is obvious to many that Facebook has got the message and is becoming more responsible for their users security. For a few months now I have enjoyed a security feature they implemented that allows you to say in control of your logins.
Login notifications: This feature sends you an email or text telling you someone has just logged into your account.
To set up and enable notifications
1. go to “Account” upper right hand corner
2. in the drop down menu to “Account Settings”
3. in the main menu go to “Account Security”
4. click “Yes” next to “Would you … (8 comments)
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identity theft expert: Losing Control of a Digital Life
- 11/11/10 08:22 AM
We have heard it all before, once you post it on the Internet; it is no longer in your control.
Anything digital is rRepeatable. Re-peat’ a-ble: “To say again. To utter in duplication of another’s utterance. To tell to another. To do, experience, or produce again. Capable of being replicated.”
In very simple terms whatever kind of digital file it is; picture, video, audio file, email, IM, Office doc or text, it can be copy/pasted, reposted, emailed, forwarded, MMS’d. You name it.
In some cases this can be a good thing. For example if you are a musician and you aspire … (0 comments)
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identity theft expert: Criminal Hackers: The Soldiers of the Web Mob
- 11/11/10 07:18 AM
Today’s criminal hackers are very different than those who hacked for fun and fame a decade ago. Every week, I see stories about more criminals in faraway lands, making millions from various scams, emptying the bank accounts of small businesses or draining the financial reserves of entire towns.
High-tech crimes can be committed by lone individuals, by small groups, or by organized web mobs. These web mobs structurally resemble the longtime operation of the Russian and Italian mafias, the Irish mob, the Bandidos, and the Hells Angels.
The Anti-Phishing Working Group has noted the success of Avalanche, a particularly large and … (0 comments)
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identity theft expert: Leaked Social Security Numbers Put “Personal Security and Safety at Risk”
- 11/07/10 05:46 PM
Allen West, a Republican Congressional candidate, is speaking out after a mailing from the Florida Democratic Party releases his Social Security number and his wife’s federal employee number. “It’s an attack against me and I think it shows the weakness of the character of Ron Klein and definitely the Florida Democratic party, to put a person’s personal security and safety at risk,” said West, “And also affects my family as well.”
The Florida Democratic Party responded by stating, “We apologize for the oversight of not redacting this information from the public record included in the mailer,” and by offering West two … (0 comments)
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identity theft expert: Whats Next: “On Demand Burglary”
- 11/07/10 04:45 PM
Generally when a burglar or thief sets out to break into a home their motivation is to steal any item they can sell at pawnshops or to those on the “black market”. The phrase “black market” has always intrigued me. It means doing business “in the dark” or out of the view of law enforcement. Any underground economy where business is done illegally or with illegal goods or services is considered the black market.
There has always been a black market demand and there always will be. Certain things like illegal drugs are a staple of this economy. “On Demand Burglary” … (2 comments)
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Security is all about layers of protection. The more layers that are put in place the more secure you and your family will be. For example, if you lock your doors that is one layer, but not enough. A home security system which includes an alarm, security cameras and even signage are all additional layers of protection.
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