http://www.sileo.com John Sileo's Proactive Tools for Protecting Privacy Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:26:50 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en You’ve probably seen in the news that a hacker gained access into Sarah Palin’s Yahoo.com email account. The hacker used a simple scheme and basic social engineering tools (research on Google and Wikipedia, common-sense guessing) to reset the password on the account and assume ownership of her email. [For a ... http://www.sileo.com/2008/09/26/is-sarah-palin-safe-no-identity-theft-and-government-officals/ The Privacy Problem: Thanks to laptops, smart phones, DVDs and a deluge of other data-holding mobile devices, we carry as much sensitive data with us as we keep in our homes and offices. These devices are at a much higher risk of theft when they are in transit. The Privacy Project: ... http://www.sileo.com/2008/09/07/the-privacy-project-protecting-identity-data-in-a-car/ Are you one of the 200,000,000+ Americans (almost 66% of the US population) who had their identity stolen from TJ Maxx, Marshalls, BJ's Wholesale Club, OfficeMax, Boston Market, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority, Forever 21 or DSW? If so, you need to know that 11 people, including a Secret Service informant, ... http://www.sileo.com/2008/08/14/largest-identity-theft-ring-charged/ Some readers might not know that I was a two-time victim of identity theft for losses of more than $300,000. That is the reason I wrote Stolen Lives and that I am now a professional identity theft speaker. I don't promote my services any more than necessary on my blog ... http://www.sileo.com/2008/07/14/identity-theft-speaker/ I just finished giving an identity theft prevention and data privacy speech for Pfizer and one of the questions I received was how to protect your laptop, passports, client files, etc. when you leave them behind in your hotel room. I've blogged on this before, but thought that I would post a ... http://www.sileo.com/2008/07/10/identity-theft-prevention-in-a-hotel/ I've never been a big fan of LifeLock. You can easily implement most of what this identity theft protection service offers by doing it for yourself - for free (see the identity theft tool box). It appears that Ron Lieber of the New York Times is also questioning the validity ... http://www.sileo.com/2008/05/27/lifelock-identity-monitoring-a-fraud/ Since the publication of my identity theft prevention book, Stolen Lives - Identity Theft Prevention Made Simple, several resource links listed in the book have changed. Since the book is not a dynamic document, but this blog is, I'd like to provide updated links here. If you find other links ... http://www.sileo.com/2008/05/16/stolen-lives-book-updates-identity-theft-resources/ Are you an expert at something? In the world of professional speaking, you are expected to be an expert in your topic (to be taken seriously and to make a living). So speakers begin calling themselves experts, sometimes before they deserve the title. It's like giving yourself a nickname - it ... http://www.sileo.com/2008/05/06/identity-theft-expert/ If you receive my newsletter, you've already seen this article on identity theft during tax season, but I thought I would re-post it here. Tax time is like Christmas for identity thieves. Our personal information sits out on desks (ours and our tax preparer's), is mailed improperly, emailed incorrectly and stored ... http://www.sileo.com/2008/03/31/top-tips-to-stop-tax-time-identity-theft/ I just finished speaking to an amazing group of financial advisors at the Lincoln Financial Group Planning Forum. This is a group of people who take the security of their business information, the privacy of their clients and their own personal data safety very seriously. It was an identity theft prevention speech, but ... http://www.sileo.com/2008/02/13/protect-your-laptop-from-identity-theft-while-traveling/