While delivering an identity theft speech for a group of meeting planners this past week, I was asked a very interesting question:

What if I want to use Facebook to log in to other sites and to keep track of friends, but don’t want to share my information the other direction?

In reality, it’s difficult to just up and quit Facebook completely. You may want to use it like the proverbial fly on the wall that lets you watch what is going on in other people’s lives without them seeing or commenting on what is going on in yours. You might use your  Facebook login credentials to centralize access to other sites (e.g., log in to Twitter with your Facebook credentials). Or you may want to keep it open so that your username isn’t made available to someone else.

So how do you drop off of the Facebook radar without completely closing your account? The video above and the steps below are the closest approximation we’ve found to going underground.

7 Settings for Hiding on Facebook

1. First go to Facebook.com and log in to your profile.  Click ‘Account’ in the top-right corner and then choose ‘Privacy Settings.’
2. From the ‘Privacy Settings’ page, under “Connecting on Facebook” click ‘View Settings’ to see who can search for you, send messages to your account, see your education and work settings and more. Change all of these drop-down menus to ‘Friends Only.’ There is no option in this section to restrict the settings to ‘Only Me’ like there is in other areas.
3. Return to the ‘Privacy Settings’ page and choose ‘Customize Settings’ near the bottom of the page. This new page will load a number of different privacy options, but you’ll want to click through each one and change the setting to ‘Only Me’ so that nobody else can see your Facebook activity.
4. While on the ‘Customize Settings’ page, scroll down to ‘Things Others Share.’ Here, you want to click Edit Settings and disable settings so that your friends are unable to write on your wall, comment on posts and check you in to places.
5. Return to the ‘Privacy Settings’ page and, under ‘Apps and Websites’ in the bottom-left corner, select ‘Edit Your Settings.’ This page shows all of the third-party websites and applications that you have given access to some of your Facebook information. If you see anything on this list that you want to remove, just click to remove it from the list.
6. Stay on the ‘Apps and Websites’ page, scroll down to ‘Instant Personalization’ and select ‘Edit Settings.’ Uncheck the box at the bottom of this page to block other websites from accessing your Facebook interests. Select ‘Confirm’ when a pop-up asks you if you’re sure you want to disable this option.
7. Return to the ‘Apps and Websites’ page, scroll down to ‘Public Search’ and select ‘Edit Settings.’ To keep search engines from finding your Facebook profile, uncheck the box on this new screen.

John Sileo is the award-winning author of The Facebook Safety Survival Guide and delivers identity theft speeches to clients like the Department of Defense, Pfizer and Homeland Security.

Related posts:

1. Facebook Privacy: Hide from Google
2. CNN Article: Job-Seekers Hide Facebook Profiles
3. Facebook Announces New Privacy Settings

Hi John!

I hope all is well!  Before I get to my experience today with Comcast, I just want to say that I’m very glad you’re continuing to partner with Fellowes as our Identity Theft spokesman. Our sales force STILL talks about your presentation from two years ago at our National Sales Meeting!! Your message definitely has an impact…

As such, here is an interesting story that happened to me earlier this afternoon, and it instantly made me think of you.  I tried to set up cable and internet services through Comcast on their website, and at the end of the set-up sheet they inform you that you must “chat” online with one of their analysts in order for them to process your service request.  Which is obnoxious, but apparently necessary.

So I wait my turn in the queue and then the analyst starts asking me some additional questions that weren’t captured in the initial service request.  Things like: do I have any questions, is this the service I wish to activate, what is my social security number.  Of course, I did NOT give it out!  The analyst gave me the standard assurance that it was company policy, and they would never give out my information.  But I could NOT believe they had a live person ask for it in the first place!  The first thing that went through my mind was your “Think Like a Spy” motto—honestly, what would prevent someone from just writing that number down off the screen as I gave it out??  Not to mention the fact that all of those chat conversations are probably logged, for quality assurance purposes.  So who knows how many people have access to that data.

Their solution to me not providing my SSN?  Driver’s License number and birthdate.  To a live stranger on the other side of the screen.

Needless to say, my skin was crawling by the end of the session.  I can only image the number of people that give away their info without even batting an eye. I’m still disturbed by it, and I’m actually tempted to write Comcast a little note telling them as much.

I’m not sure how many other companies have people set up services this way, so if you haven’t heard of this scenario before, it might be something to look into!  Here’s hoping this is not a wide-spread practice…

Unfortunately, asking for your SSN when it isn’t actually needed is a very common practice. The answer? Don’t give it!

No related posts.

I just had the singular honor of delivering an identity theft speech for the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C. In case you don’t understand the humorous irony, let me explain.

The FTC is the arm of the U.S. Government that is responsible for educating you and me about our rights as consumer, including how to fight identity theft. In other words, they are the original identity theft experts! Those of us who are professional identity theft speakers turn to the FTC for information, guidance and materials.

So why did they pay my fee to talk about a subject they know so much about?

Perspective.

Let me use a Taekwondo metaphor to explain what I mean. In many martial arts programs, one level before achieving your black belt, the Master teacher asks the candidate to again wear their white belt to signify that the student is returning to the state of a beginner. The ritual is a symbolic reminder that we only grow and evolve when we are humble enough to admit how much we don’t know. It is related to the Zen principle of viewing life through the eyes of an ever-learning child.

Speaking to the FTC was a mutual act of humility – an admission that neither of us “experts” have it totally figured out. If we did, identity theft would no longer be the fastest growing crime in America. From the FTC, I learned a great deal about the education and regulation process: where we are failing in our efforts and where we must focus our energy. From me, the FTC hopefully has a living, breathing reminder of how drastically this crime can affect a human life as well as some broader skills on how to prevent fraud inside of corporations. We shared our different perspectives, and for that, we are both closer to our goals.

Shedding the black belts of expertise that we work so hard to craft for the more vulnerable and open-minded symbols of rank isn’t easy, but neither is becoming a true black belt. You see, earning a black belt isn’t about the belt, it’s about your ability to act with integrity even when no color, no reward, is involved. In an act of cooperation, let me share the wise resources of my fellow students and teachers at the FTC:

• The FTC’s Official Identity Theft Site
• Take Charge: Fighting Back Against Identity Theft
  
• FTC Reviewing Technology Changes to Protect Kid’s Online Privacy
• All victims should File an ID Theft Complaint with the FTC
• Businesses should know how to Deal with a Data Breach

If you are interested in having John Sileo conduct fraud training and social engineering workshops for your organization, contact him directly on 1.800.258.8076. His satisfied clients include the Department of Defense, the FDIC, Pfizer and the Federal Reserve Bank.

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1. Identity Theft Speech: Email Privacy
2. Motivational Keynote Speech
3. Google Maps Street View: Removing Your House

Do users of personal (not job related) email have a right to expect privacy? Does an email communication constitute a form of publication?

Email Privacy

Unless you own the servers that the mail is being processed on and transferred to, you have no right to expect privacy. For example, let’s say you sent a personal email to me. When it left your home, it went to your Internet Service Provider (Qwest, Comcast, Verizon, etc.). They now have a copy of the email that they consider to be their property (more or less).

The government can subpoena this email from them without your even knowing it (and by the way, you signed an agreement with them when you signed up for service that you agreed to this). They then send the email through a series of technology jumps (routers) to my ISP. During that transmission, technically speaking, the email could be intercepted and read. Eventually, after a micro-second, it lands on the servers at my service provider. The email can then be subpoenaed from them as well.

Practically speaking, your emails are probably not being intercepted and read. Technically speaking, it’s easy to do. The answer? Encrypt your emails. And that is an entirely different subject that I will address in an upcoming post.

As to your question about email being a form of publication – I wouldn’t go that far, as there are fewer people who have access to it than would a publication. That said, I’ve seen many emails that show up in publication. If you follow ABC’s The Bachelorette, you probably saw all of Ed’s “secret” emails (and text messages) to women other than his fiancee, Jillian. So are emails really confidential? Only if someone doesn’t want to find out more about you.

John Sileo delivers identity theft speeches around the world. His recent clients include the Pentagon and the Department of Defense, Pfizer, Lincoln Financial Group, the Federal Reserve Bank of NY and the FDIC. To bring John in for an identity theft speech, contact him directly on 1.800.258.8076.

Related posts:

1. Identity Theft Speech at the FTC – Removing the Black Belt
2. Eglin AFB Stumps the Identity Theft Expert

Is LifeLock identity theft monitoring service truly free to military personnel, or is it just for certain personnel?

I may be an identity theft expert, but I don’t automatically have all of the answers (at least the correct ones). I had heard several weeks ago on a different base that LifeLock offered this service to all members of the military. But following my own advice to verify my sources, I thought I had better research what I had heard before I officially passed it along.

As it turns out, LifeLock is not free to all military personnel. It is only free to deployed personnel in Afghanistan or Iraq while they are actually deployed. In addition, LifeLock offers the service free to members of the Air Force Sergeants Association.

To read more about LifeLock’s service as it pertains to the military, take a look at this USA Today article.

During my speech, I promised to give you easy-to-complete action steps to protect your identity against theft, as well as that of your loved ones. I’d like to deliver on that promise by directing you to a full page article I’ve written specifically for you: John Sileo’s Military Identity Theft Protection Kit. If you have additional suggestions for protecting military IDs that I haven’t covered in this article, please include your comments at the bottom of the post. With your input, this conversation should contribute to the financial stability of our armed forces – which is vital, because, as you are aware, financial readiness is mission readiness.

For those of you who asked to purchase a copy of my book, Stolen Lives, you can do so at www.ThinkLikeASpy.com. Be sure you choose the Speaking Engagement Shipping option in your shopping cart as it will give you free shipping.

There were several questions that were asked after my speech was over that I wanted to address here:

1. Does freezing your credit affect your ability to make charges on your credit card? Absolutely not! It only affects new accounts being set up (car loans, home loans, etc.) using your credit profile. It will not affect any existing accounts that you have. You will still be able to make purchases on your credit or debit card without any additional hassle.
2. How do I protect my kids? I recommend that you simply monitor your kid’s credit reports, much like you would your own. To learn how to get a free credit report for a child, read this excellent article from creditcards.com.
3. To add children to your identity monitoring service (such as CSIdentity) visit the Child Identity Monitoring Section on their website.

John Sileo
ID Theft Expert

Related posts:

1. Identity Theft Expert John Sileo on 60 Minutes
2. Identity Theft Expert at Pentagon
3. Electronic Pickpocket Video – Identity Theft Expert