Using an iPad to Your Competitive (and Secure) Advantage
If you received an iPad for Christmas (or already have one), you own the most powerful productivity tool invented in the last 20 years – it’s like command central for your life and work. I use the iPad as a step-by-step, centralized way to keep tabs on everything related to my business. Over a cup of coffee, I consume highly-relevant information (no Angry Birds at this point in the day) in a low-stress way simply by clicking through my iPad apps in a consciously prioritized order. I’m not actually taking action on anything at this point, just getting an overview of the appointments, current events, and communications that will make me more effective. That way, when I get down to work, I know exactly what should get my attention. The routine is always the same, so I never have to remember what I need to do except to open my iPad before I officially start the day. The process takes me about 20 minutes, and by the time I get to work, my brain has sorted most of the information and knows where to start. Here’s how I consciously prioritize my apps (see screen shot):
- Calendar (iCal). I look at my calendar first to remind myself of appointments taking place that day.
Business Killers: Identity Theft and Data Breach Protection FREE WEBINAR
Business Killers: Identity Theft and Data Breach Protection Webinar on November 10
On November 10, I will host an interactive webinar sponsored by Deluxe that will explore how small businesses can protect themselves from identity theft. As someone who lost more than $300,000 and my small business to identity theft, this is a topic I care about deeply. In addition to delivering keynote speeches at conferences, I also provide consulting and guidance to organizations like the Federal Trade Commission, Pfizer and the Department of Defense on how to best protect the sensitive data inside of their organizations.
Register now for tomorrow’s webinar.
During this multi-part webinar, I will provide simple, actionable tools and advice to help small businesses protect their data and retain information privacy. I’ll also explain how the information economy has shifted the competitive landscape and increased our data exposure. Attendees will learn the following:
- The new reality: information does not equal power
- How to think like a spy and apply critical thinking to the power equation
- Manipulation triggers thieves use against your employees and defense techniques
- Interrogation tools to uncover fraud before it erodes your profits and net worth
- Fraud hotspot best practices
- Trends in data theft
- Holiday identity theft prevention tips
Study Shows Identity Theft of Children 51X More Likely
Based on a recent assessment of 40,000+ SSNs of children, it was found that more than 10% those SSNs were being used by someone other than the child, far in excess of the rate of misuse in the adult population. The study points out the major issues that surround child identity theft and why we need to start paying attention now. It is more prevalent than many think and the threat is growing. Here are a few of the statistics that were found:
- 4,311 or 10.2% of the children in the report had someone else using their Social Security number – 51 times higher than the 0.2% rate for adults in the same population
- Child IDs were used to purchase homes and automobiles, open credit card accounts, secure employment and obtain driver’s licenses
- The largest fraud ($725,000) was committed against a 16 year old girl
- The youngest victim was five months old; 303 victims were under the age of five
Parents need to stop ignoring child identity theft. It is one thing to ignore it for yourself, but failing to protect children, who are otherwise helpless to this crime, shows a definite lack of parental responsibility.
Acting now on behalf of your child will protect them from consequences common to child victims. Click on Child Identity Theft Protection Tips to learn more about the steps you should take.
Are You Begging to Get Fired?
We’ve all done it before – left the table to get a coffee refill or go to the bathroom and left our laptop, iPad, smartphone or purse sitting on the table. We justify it by telling ourselves that we are in a friendly place and will only be gone a second. Our tendency is to blame technology for information theft, but the heart of the problem is almost always a human error, like leaving our devices unattended. Realizing that carelessness is the source of most laptop theft makes it a fairly easy problem to solve.
My office is directly above a Starbucks, so I spend way too much time there. And EVERY time I’m there, I watch someone head off to the restroom (see video) or refill their coffee and leave their laptop, iPad, iPhone, briefcase, purse, client files and just about everything else lying around on their table like a self-service gadget buffet for criminals and opportunists alike.
I trust deeply in the honesty and integrity of the people I know well, but if you are trusting your Starbucks crowd with this amazingly valuable data, you are going to get a steaming hot lap full of trouble. Data thieves target places like this because it is an upscale, trusting clientele. Just ask Ben Bernake, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, whose wife got taken at a Starbucks.
Sileo Deflates ePickPocketing Hype on Fox & Friends
John appeared on Fox & Friends this morning to set the facts straight about the real and perceived risks posed by Electronic PickPocketing.
It is true that Identity Thieves are able to steal your credit card information without even touching your wallet. The technology exists, is readily available and can be assembled for under $1,000. But that doesn’t necessarily make it an efficient means of stealing credit card numbers.
RFID, or radio-frequency identity technology was introduced to make paying for items faster and easier. All major credit cards that have this technology have a symbol (pictured below). It means that your card can communicate via electromagnetic waves to exchange data (your credit card number) between a terminal and a chip installed inside of your card (or passport). Thus, by getting within a few inches of your credit card, a thief is able to obtain your credit card number, expiration date and maybe your name.
So we have established that stealing credit card numbers this way is possible, but is it feasible?
The Electronic Pickpocketing video circulating around YouTube makes it look that way. But the reality is a bit different. First, take into account that the news story in the video was focused around a gentleman and a company that makes money by raising your fear about this type of theft. The gentleman they interview runs a company that makes shields for your credit cards and passports to stop electronic pickpocketing. I’m not saying that the products don’t work or aren’t somewhat valid; I’m saying that you have to take the context of the story into consideration before buying the hype.
Electronic Pickpocketing Hype Banks on Your Fear!
Electronic Pickpocketing is Possible, but Over-Hyped.
There is a new wave of hi-tech identity theft that allows thieves to steal your credit card information using inexpensive technology to intercept credit card (and sometimes even passport) information without even touching your wallet. Watch the video to the left or read our Electronic Pickpocket post to learn the basics.
And make sure you pay attention to the fact that the person they are interviewing for the news piece in the video MAKES MONEY FROM YOUR FEAR OF ELECTRONIC PICKPOCKETING! The gentleman they interview runs a company that makes shields for your credit cards and passports to stop electronic pickpocketing. I’m not saying that the products don’t work or aren’t somewhat valid; I’m saying that you have to take this gentleman’s perspective into consideration before buying the hype. He benefits from your fear, so do a little more research before you go gettin’ all paranoid.
The amount of hype this old form of theft is receiving (yes, this has been possible for years, despite all of the attention it’s getting now) is a bit overblown. Here are just a few reasons why:
- The person being interviewed in the video benefits from your fear of electronic pickpocketing.
Identity Theft Scam Stole Millions – Pennies at a Time
The FTC just busted a long-running internet scam where offshore thieves set up virtual companies and stole millions of dollars from US consumers one small charge at a time.
“It was a very patient scam,” said Steve Wernikoff, a staff attorney with the FTC who is prosecuting the case. According to him, the scammers found loopholes in the credit card processing system that allowed them to set up fake U.S. companies that then ran more than a million phony credit card transactions through legitimate credit card processing companies.
The fraudsters were able to fly under the radar for so long because they only charged consumers between $ .25 and $9 and set up over 100 fake companies to pull off these transactions. In this specific case they charged over 1.35 million credit cards a total of $9.5 million dollars – those nickles and dimes really add up! Shockingly, 94% of these charges went undetected by the credit card holder because they didn’t notice an unusual charge on their credit card statements and fraud detection agencies rarely detect anything under $10.
With more and more credit cards being accepted for smaller purchases (e.g., soda machines and parking meters) thieves have taken this opportunity to cash in on the frequency of these charges. While 6% of the charges were detected and reported, the huge number that didn’t even realize they had an unauthorized charge shows how lax we are about checking our statements. Here are some simple steps you can take to catch fraud early:
New Item: Identity Theft Prevention and Recovery Workbook!
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.
Auto Document Storage
SentrySafe AutoSafe
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: To help you better protect identity-bearing devices while they are being transported and stored in your car (RV, boat, etc.). The solution…
Sileo In the Media
Privacy Project Newsletter
Tools and tips for bulletproofing yourself against identity theft, data breach and corporate espionage. Subscribe to the newsletter and get John Sileo's 7 Survival Strategies for Starving Data Spies for FREE!
