Top 5 Reasons Corporations Educate Employees on Identity Theft
Why do corporations care (and spend money) to educate employees about protecting personal identity?
After all, most businesses are profit-driven and only have time and resources to concentrate on initiatives that affect their bottom line. In effect, that is the answer to the question…
Tax Time Identity Theft Prevention Tips
Identity theft speaker John Sileo shares his tax-time identity theft prevention tips.
This past week, I have been helping a gentleman recover from the theft of all of his tax records. Before it is all over, this gentleman will have spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars simply preventing any further fraudulent use of his identity. That doesn’t account for any damages already done to his finances, criminal record, medical records or social security benefits. There is very little that is more damaging and dangerous to your identity than losing your tax records. After all, tax records generally contain the most sensitive personally identifying information that you own, including Social Security Numbers (for you, your spouse and maybe even your kids), names, addresses, employers, net worth, etc. Because of this high concentration of sensitive data, tax time is like an all-you-can-eat buffet for identity thieves. Here are some of the dishes on which they greedily feed:
- Tax documents exposed on your desk (home and work)
- Private information that sits unprotected in your tax-preparer’s office
- Improperly mailed, emailed and digitally transmitted or filed records
- Photocopiers with hard drives that store a digital copy of your tax forms
- Copies of sensitive documents that get thrown out without being shredded
- Improperly stored and locked documents once your return is filed
Cybercrime on the Rise: Reported Losses over $550 million!
According to a new article in the Wall Street Journal, cybercrime has significantly risen 22.3% in 2009 from 2008. Identity thieves and white collar criminals have taken to the internet and caused over $550 million in reported losses. There were also over 60,000 more complaints of cybercrime in 2009. Many experts say the plummeting economy is responsible for the great rise last year.
The article goes on to discuss the new and more technologically savvy way that criminals are stealing our information.
Criminals’ tactics also are changing, with a growing number of crimes involving malicious applications installed on mobile devices and embedded in news and celebrity gossip Web sites. In this type of crime, Web criminals are using search-engine optimization to allow fake Web sites to rise to the top of searches. When users click on the links or pop-ups, malware or key loggers infect their computers, usually with the intent of hijacking personal and financial information such as bank passwords and account information. Scam artists also are switching from email to social-networking sites to perpetrate “phishing” scams designed to steal sensitive information from victims.
Top scams now include nondelivery of ordered merchandise, fraudulent emails claiming to be from the FBI seeking personal and financial information, identity theft, credit-card fraud, online auction fraud, and job and investment scams. Online auction fraud, which was a top complaint in the past, has declined and losses have fallen as awareness and auction-site security protections have improved, officials said.
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Identity Theft Prevention and Recovery Workbook
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The #1 recommendation to prevent Identity Theft is Education. Know what to look for and the steps to take to fight Identity Theft. If you have been a victim, learn which steps to take and in what order to recover your Identity quickly, accurately and safely!
Identity Theft is on the rise and according to Javelin Strategy & Research there were a staggering 11.1 MILLION Identity Fraud victims in 2009 alone. The cost of this handbook is well worth the price of protecting your most valuable asset, your Identity!
This 20 page Workbook includes:
Part I – Prevention
This 10 phase process of Preventing Identity Theft Includes:
- Protecting your credit.
- Knowing what is in your wallet.
- Securing databases and physical documents.
- Being safe when mobile computing.
- Protecting Online presence.
- Travel Safely.
- Social Engineering awareness.
Part II – Recovering from Identity Theft Basics
This 17 step process to recovery your Identity includes:
- Top 15 ways to detect Identity Theft.
- Contacting banks, creditors and credit reporting agencies
- How to keep an accurate Dossier.
- Credit Freezes, Fraud alerts and credit monitoring services.
Lifelock Pays the FTC $11 Million to Settle
The Federal Trade Commission and 35 state attorneys general filed a complaint against the company that “charged that the company used false claims to promote its identity theft protection services,” according to a March 9th FTC press release. LifeLock will be responsible for paying the FTC $11 million dollars as well as an additional $1 million to the 35 state attorneys general.
To clarify a couple of points that aren’t currently being covered by the media:
- LifeLock did make misleading claims about how completely their product protected individuals, but to their credit, they toned those claims down considerably starting about a year ago. In essence then, the ruling pertains to LifeLock of old, not the current company, marketing materials or product offering.
- At about the same time as they changed advertising, LifeLock began adding features to its product that bolstered the quality of its monitoring services.
If LifeLock continues to support and bolster the “engine” underneath its product (namely, the sophisticated identity monitoring services that it has already started adding), it will serve as a very worthwhile product in the identity monitoring space.
Here are a few of the charges in the FTC’s complaint that were in the press release:
Read about John Sileo in the Denver Examiner
The Denver Examiner just published a new article featuring John Sileo entitled; How to avoid the nightmare of identity theft by Ed Hickok.
Local Denver author, John Sileo, embezzler, thief, cyber criminal, felon . . . but in name only, and that’s the point. Identities have power. Accused of crimes he did not commit, Sileo sought to clear his good name by learning everything he could about identity theft, a crime that consumed his life, his business, and threatened to take away his freedom. Now that he has emerged not guilty, he’s become America’s leading professional speaker on identity theft prevention and corporate data privacy. His experiences led him to write the critically acclaimed, award-winning book, Stolen Lives, which was recently chosen as the #1 Business Book at the EVVY Awards….
Click Here to read the entire article.
John Sileo became one of America’s leading Social Networking Speakers and sought-after Identity Theft Experts after he lost his business and more than $300,000 to identity theft and data breach. His clients include the Department of Defense, Pfizer and the FDIC. To learn more about having him speak at your next meeting or conference, contact him by email or on 800.258.8076.
Health Insurance Fraud: Why pay when you can steal?
Why pay for Health Insurance when you can steal it?
As the economy dropped severely in 2009, the instances of Identity Theft continued to rise. With desperate times and individuals struggling, Medical Identity Theft and Health Insurance Fraud reports by emergency rooms have been higher than normal over the past several months. According to Javelin Strategy and Research, in 2009 Medical Record Theft had the longest length of time, 493 days, between the theft and detection by the insured. This also led to the highest fraud amount of $18,480 and the largest mean consumer cost of $2987. That means the average consumer that suffers from Medical Identity Theft pays almost $3000 of his own money to resolve the theft! This shows how the financial repercussions of Medical Identity Fraud are the largest among Identity Fraud types.
There are more than just financial risks to Health Insurance Fraud. If your name is linked with another person’s medical records, their blood type, medical history and medications are recorded on your chart. Inaccurate information can lead to ER and hospital mix ups with health complications that could prove deadly.
2009 Identity Theft Statistics
Statistics can be dry but these figures could prompt you to zealously guard your most valuable asset, your identity. According to Javelin Strategy and Research, Identity Fraud continues to rise, but mean customer costs and resolution time have decreased. In their latest 2010 Identity Fraud Survey Report they found that Identity fraud has risen to 11.1 MILLION US victims, which is up 12% from 9.9 MILLION in 2008. That is a significant climb.
What Can we learn from these new statistics?
To prevent identity theft, it’s imperative that you think critically about what you share freely over the internet and through social networking sites. What you post is permanent, public, and exploitable. Also, remember that early detection of Identity fraud is key to a swift recovery. Electronically monitor your accounts and be aware of what is on your credit report.
Identity Theft Involved in Dubai Assassination
Click below to read the full article.
Eyeing Israel, EU condemns identity theft in Dubai assassination
John Sileo became one of America’s leading Social Networking Speakers & sought after Identity Theft Expert after he lost his business and more than $300,000 to identity theft and data breach. His clients include the Department of Defense, Pfizer and the FDIC. To learn more about having him speak at your next meeting or conference, contact him by email or on 800.258.8076.
Sileo In the Media
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