Has your computer or smart phone become a resource to commit malicious acts against other persons and companies? By taking advantage of a wide variety of computer vulnerabilities, your device may become a zombie that is under the control of a criminal that conducts crime using electronic devices (e-criminal). Once an e-criminal has control, not only is your device being used to attack other systems, anything stored on, or typed into, that device is also compromised.
In the past the malware focused on causing harm to the
device such as making it crash or capturing keystrokes for the purpose of
gaining access to bank accounts or credit card information. As e-criminals continue to evolve their
destructive goals and increase damage to their targets, they realized the need
for substantial computing resources and a way to avoid being detected. To achieve both of these goals, malware was
developed enabling e-criminals to take over network-attached devices; a very
cost effective solution!
The most recent total from the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse’s Chronology of Data Breaches shows more than a half billion sensitive records breached since 2005, leaving Americans vulnerable to identity theft.
Employees losing laptop computers, hackers downloading credit card numbers and sensitive personal data accidentally exposed online -- the Chronology of Data Breaches shows hundreds of ways that the personal information of consumers is lost, stolen or exposed.
The Chronology of Data Breaches, a project of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse since 2005, lists incidents involving breached consumer information, such as personal medical records, credit card numbers and Social Security numbers.
The most recent total, published August 24, 2010, is a wake-up call to consumers who think identity theft can’t happen to them.
The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse estimates that the Chronology shows only a fraction of the total number of data breaches.
One
story stands out from those early day in the mid-1990s. An elderly woman from
the Bay Area phoned. She had been mugged in front of her home a few months
earlier, and her purse was stolen. She survived the mugging, and was able to
take care of her stolen credit cards and her checking account. But she
explained that it was far more difficult to deal with the brand new credit
accounts opened in her name.
She
told me that she kept notes on the steps she had needed to take in order to
clean up her credit report. Was I interested in what she had learned?
I
said “yes, of course!” I copied down
each of her steps, added other information from our files and logs – and that
became our first guide on identity theft – a guide that has been updated and
revised dozens of times since.
Nobody likes to think about the possibility of a natural
disaster or a terrorist act. But as
victims of natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina can attest, it’s
important to prepare for a disaster before it happens. Certainly, your first
concerns in an emergency should be your safety and basic needs such as shelter,
food and water. While there are
many resources that can assist you with those concerns, this alert will focus
on protecting your privacy and personal information during and after a disaster.
It’s important to realize that different types of disasters
are likely to result in different consequences.
You may be asked to shelter in place, to evacuate to a facility in your
own community, or possibly to relocate to a far-off location in another
state. Or you may choose to stay with a
relative or friend. Likewise, you may be
able to return to your home after a short while, or there may be an extended
period of absence. In the worst case,
your home and its contents may be completely destroyed.
In today’s digital world, false or unflattering information attached to
your name could haunt you for years. For jobseekers competing in a
tough economy, an unprofessional online presence could be a hindrance to
landing a good job. More employers are using the Internet to learn
about job candidates, with a recent
Microsoft survey showing that 70% of hiring managers have rejected a
job applicant because of information posted online.
Some jobseekers are turning to Online Reputation Management (ORM) firms to help
them improve their digital personas. Before you pay for an ORM service,
be aware that ORM firms do not have the ability to remove unflattering
information from the Internet any more than you do. If you are willing
to invest the time, you can manage your own online reputation at little
or no cost.
While websites like Facebook and MySpace make it easy to share vacation
photos with old classmates, the personal information on social networks
is also attracting people besides friends and family members. Scam
artists, identity thieves, debt collectors, stalkers, hiring managers,
and companies looking for a marketing advantage are turning to social
networking sites to gather valuable information. Before you publish your
next status update, take care that you aren’t risking your identity,
security or reputation.
Below are eight
things you shouldn’t give to a social network – when signing up
for an account, posting content or interacting with your contacts
through the network.
When you travel, your risk of exposure to fraud
and identity theft may increase. It’s a fact that people tend to let
their guard down while on vacation. Identity theft is often a crime of
opportunity. Don’t be a vacationer who presents a thief with that
opportunity. Your personal information,
credit and debit cards, driver’s license, passport, and other personal
information are the criminal’s target. By spending a few minutes
planning before you travel, you can help reduce the risk that a thief
will ruin your vacation. You can also help avoid unnecessary problems
with your financial institution. Here are some tips for an enjoyable
vacation.
In adopting the final HIPAA
Privacy Rule (Privacy Rule) in 2003, OCR included a section
outlining a patient’s right to receive an accounting
of protected health information (PHI) disclosures. As adopted,
however, the Privacy Rule includes many exceptions to the kinds of data
that must be included in an accounting, one of which is that an
accounting need not tell patients about disclosures made for treatment,
payment, and healthcare operations.
If you’re losing sleep over bad credit, ads
promising a quick fix can seem like a dream come true. But, hook up with
the wrong company and your dreams of clean credit can quickly turn
into a living nightmare.
While the economy
has faltered in recent years, credit repair companies have flourished. As
is often the case, hard times for consumers create opportunities for
scammers. An unscrupulous credit repair company may collect upfront
fees, may make you pay for things you can get for free or may even
persuade you to break the law.
If you are knee-deep in debt and thinking about a
credit repair service, read out guide to find out how to recognize a dishonest credit repair service.
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