To this somewhat hopeful cyber security expert, it appears that Mary Jo White, the new chairwoman of the SEC, is interested in making investors’ online security a priority. Will it make you safer? Not without action. Shortly after being officially confirmed in her new role this week, White held a meeting to establish stricter identity theft prevention measures – an initiative that was started back in 2011. Specifically, the measures encouraged businesses to disclose their security vulnerabilities and any history of prior cyber attacks for the purpose of better informing constituents.
White’s initiative was sparked in part by West Virginia Senator John Rockefeller, who has reached out to her to increase efforts in this area. In a letter to White sent this week, Rockefeller urged the SEC to put stronger regulations in place to help enforce cyber security. His statements of concern requesting “formal guidance from the SEC” hit the nail on the head.
One billion people worldwide use Facebook to share the details of their lives with their friends and may be unaware their Facebook Privacy could be compromised. Trouble is, they also might be unintentionally divulging matters they consider private to co-workers, clients and employers. Worse yet, they may be sharing their privacy with marketing companies and even scammers, competitors and identity thieves.
Here are six ways Facebook could be compromising your private information and how to protect yourself:
1. The new Timeline format brings old lapses in judgment back to light. Timeline, introduced in late 2011, makes it easy for people to search back through your old Facebook posts, something that was very difficult to do in the past. That could expose private matters and embarrassing photos that you’ve long since forgotten posting.
Check washing is so simple, you must learn to prevent check fraud
Are check fraud and check washing still relevant in the age of digital payments? If you’re like the average person, chances are you don’t write too many checks anymore. With the convenience of online payment options, nearly universal acceptance of credit and debit cards, and the proliferation of ATMs offering you easy access to money at every turn, why resort to the archaic, labor-intensive method of writing a check?
The simple answer—sometimes we have no other choice! Some places still don’t accept credit cards (Costco if you don’t have an American Express), or they charge an extra fee for them. Some retailers don’t offer online payment options. And frankly, sometimes it’s just an old habit and we haven’t made the effort to find a safer option because we’re stuck in the mindset of “it’s never happened to me” when thinking about check fraud.
Check washing, a highly common form of check fraud, is the practice of removing legitimate check information, especially the “Pay To” name and the amount, and replacing it with data beneficial to the criminal (his own name or a larger amount) through chemical or electronic means. One of the many ways to protect yourself against check fraud is so important that it deserves its very own article.
A foolproof way to protect your checks from being altered, whether by washing or by electronic means, is to use security checks offered by most companies.
Here are some of the features of Deluxe High Security Checks that safeguard you not only against check washing, but other high tech forms of check fraud as well:
Safety security paper (visible and invisible fluorescent fibers, chemical-sensitive)
It can't be said enough: these days, any of us can become a victim of identity theft, and those in power are even more at risk. Whether they want to or not, many of America's most familiar faces are being forced to realize the reality of what hackers can do.
You heard it from the leader of the free world himself. This week, President Obama told George Stephanopoulos of ABC News that "we should not be surprised" at the abilities of hackers to access our personal data. Still, you have to wonder if he was at all surprised when AnnualCreditReport.com (the credit monitoring site that is a joint venture between Equifax, Experian and TransUnion designed to help consumers like you and me to make sure we aren't the victims of identity theft) revealed the credit reports, Social Security numbers and other pieces of information on many noted public figures, including the First Lady. In a bitter chunk of irony, even the tools we use to protect ourselves against identity theft are being targeted by hackers.
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