Mar 24
5.5 Million malicious programs were released in 2007 as reported by the Seattle Times. That is 4 times that amount that was released in 2006.
Mar 22
Identity theft is a crime where a person wrongfully obtains and uses another person’s personal information for economic gain through fraud and deception. In most cases the victims losses are not just the financial losses they sustain but also the time, cost and effort it takes for the victim to restore their name and reputation. As quickly as identity theft can destroy your credit it can take you years to repair it.
Dumpster diving, shoulder surfing and trash hopping are all popular methods of stealing your personal information along with online methods such as spam, keylogging and spyware. Whether criminals are hacking into your computer or using simpler methods like grabbing “preapproved” credit card information out of your trash, their\ intentions are the same … to make a quick buck at your expense. Their methods keep changing so consumers need to stay alert.
Remember the work “SCAM“:
S – be stingy with your personal information
C – check your financial information periodically
A – ask for your credit report every quarter
M – maintain careful records of your financial information
more from the Department of Justice …
Don’t stop shopping, don’t keep your money under your pillows and don’t seek out 007 tactics to protect your information. Simply pay attention to your credit and your financial information and don’t give out your personal information. Of course, maintain active and updated Security Software like The Shield Deluxe which protects from spyware and viruses but also make sure you monitor your credit.
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Monitor your credit with a service like IDENTITY GUARD® Total Protection and get comprehensive monitoring of all 3 Credit Bureaus, the Internet and Public Records to fight identity theft.
- credit bureau reports, scores and monitoring every business day
- Email alerts to promptly notify you of certain changes to ensure each inquiry was properly authorized
- Daily Internet monitoring for unlawful use of Social Security numbers, registered credit cards and other sensitive personal and family data
- Daily scan for credit applications fraudulently submitted in your name
- Report on changes to your public record profiles including: addresses, drivers licenses, owned property, civil judgments or other asset listings
- Unlimited toll free personal customer service
Mar 18
With over 76 million consumers filing taxes online already in 2008, the opportunities for fraud and theft are enormous. Just a the time of the year that consumers are putting more and more personal and financial data, virus and spyware writers are busy pushing out more variants of their malicious code. So what is a consumer to do?
First of all if you are filing your Federal taxes online, do not file links that are emailed to you to file taxes, type in www.irs.gov into your browser.
Even if you are not filing taxes online but are preparing your taxes on your PC, you still need to maintain your antivirus and antispyware software. Open your security software and go to the Update section and run your updates immediately.
Advice directly from the IRS will tell you that the IRS will not email you or call you requesting information. The IRS will not email you about a Refund, Rebate, Audit or for news regarding the change to tax laws.
So to sum it up, be careful where you file your taxes, the IRS will not email you and make sure that your security software is updated!
