| How many of you bank, shop, or transact other | | | | purporting to be from your creditors or financial |
| business online? There are at least 4 million | | | | institutions asking you to validate your account |
| Department pf Defense employees that access their | | | | information. Call them instead, if you believe it is valid. |
| pay records online only. Even offline, stored financial | | | | Most financial or credit organizations will never send |
| data can be placed at risk in computers that are used | | | | you an email unless you have asked to receive |
| on the Internet as well. As one of the fastest | | | | account updates. The last thing you need to be |
| growing crimes in America, identity theft is a concern | | | | aware of online is who you are doing business with. |
| for everyone.A criminal gaining access to your bank | | | | Be careful about providing your credit card numbers |
| or credit card accounts or personal information can | | | | online. While ensuring the site is secure is absolutely |
| wreak havoc with your credit and leave you holding | | | | the bare minimum, ensuring the vendor is honest and |
| the bag. Protecting your personal data at home and | | | | keeps your data secure is necessary too.Offline, you |
| online is not too painful and lowering your risk for a | | | | should secure any financial, health, insurance, or other |
| reasonable effort level is well worth it.Before we | | | | documents containing your personal information by |
| tackle the computer and online environment, let's | | | | using encryption and password protection. Most |
| take a quick look at your other home risks. Your | | | | financial software packages have this feature built in. |
| garbage can and mail box are prime targets for | | | | Use it as well as Windows encrypted folders to |
| identity thieves. Bills, old checks, financial statements, | | | | make your private data secure from undetected |
| credit offers, the list goes on. All of these documents | | | | Spyware, or short term physical access to your |
| need to be shredded with a crosscut shredder | | | | computer by a criminal. Don't use Windows |
| before discarding and mail should never be left in the | | | | auto-logon features and always use complex |
| mail box for long. Arrange for someone to pickup mail | | | | passwords that are at least eight characters long, |
| if you are going to gone from your home for more | | | | contain numbers, letters, and both upper and lower |
| than a day. In short, anything with your full name | | | | case. Never use a common word, name, or other |
| combined with any other sensitive information should | | | | easily guessed password. Something like T8$f~lly can |
| be shredded before discarding.Phishing and social | | | | be easy to remember, though very hard to guess |
| engineering are methods to get you to divulge your | | | | and extremely time consuming to hack. Finally, |
| data to a criminal by making you believe the criminal | | | | change all of your passwords frequently and use a |
| represents an organization or interest with access or | | | | secure password manager to keep them |
| rights to your information. Any phone call you receive | | | | organized.The last thing you need to do is monitor |
| from someone requesting your personal information | | | | your accounts and credit. Keep on eye on your |
| or credit card numbers should be suspect. Request a | | | | financial account activities and your credit record. If |
| way to call them back via the organization's published | | | | you notice something amiss, call the financial |
| numbers and verify the number is associated with | | | | organization or credit reporting agency and report it, |
| the organization before proceeding. Suspect good | | | | change your passwords and pat yourself on the back |
| deals that come to you out of the blue via the | | | | for catching it early.My own Yahoo account was |
| telephone or any other method. If it sounds too | | | | recently compromised. While this wasn't a costly |
| good to be true, it probably is.Now for your | | | | identity theft situation, it did put my name on some |
| computer, there are a few things you should do here. | | | | rather unsavory low-level spam operations. A |
| Your online activities pose the greatest risk. You | | | | password change was all that was needed to shut |
| need a hardware, or good software firewall. You | | | | down the activity.Follow the directions I've provided |
| need good Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware software. | | | | and you will lower your risk of identity theft and |
| The software versions will need regular updates to | | | | fraud related debts to almost zero. Keep in mind that |
| keep ahead of the hackers out there.You also need | | | | if you have Bill Gate's level of assets, you are in a |
| to take some precautions with your own personal | | | | different class of high risk targets and should hire a |
| online and offline habits. Online, you should use | | | | security team to manage those risks and lower your |
| different, complex passwords for each identity | | | | insurance rates. You can also call me and I'd be happy |
| related account you access. You should set your | | | | to help you put that together. ;-)Lyle Sharp - |
| browser security settings as high as possible for | | | | President Advotech, LLC |
| general surfing and avoid clicking advertising links from | | | | A small to medium business IT services provider |
| unknown vendors, or links in emails that come from | | | | that specializes in affordable secure systems and |
| unknown senders or are out of character for the | | | | practices. |
| known sender. Never follow links sent via email | | | | |