Identity theft and vacations

With summer in full swing, now is the time families will take vacations since the kids are out of school. However, being away from home can leave you can be just as vulnerable (actually, more so) to identity theft. There are extra precautions you should take during your vacation time to protect your identity (and the identities of your family members) from identity thieves.

This article on MarketWatch gives a few helpful tips regarding protecting oneself from identity theft while you are away from home (especially when traveling outside your home country). These should be used whether you are traveling inside or outside your home country (especially the point regarding leaving a wallet or other key identifying documents in the hotel room. Cleaning staff and other hotel staff have access to rooms, and not all of these people are going to be trustworthy.

I'd like to add a few more that my husband and I have used while traveling. One thing we keep in mind is that the villains will not just be abroad. We can be victims of identity theft in our hometown while we are away from home, so we take some preventative measures. First, if you have a subscription to a local newspaper, either temporarily cancel it or have a trusted neighbor pick up your copy of the newspaper (preferably in the morning). Nothing clues in a potential thief (identity thief or otherwise) that you are away from home than a pile of newspapers collecting on your porch.

If an important bill is scheduled to arrive during your absence, either call the post office and ask them to hold your mail or have a trusted friend or family member pick it up. (Make sure this is someone you trust. Friends and family members can be identity thieves too.) A mailbox full of mail will be an easy target for mail thieves.

Take extra precautions to protect yourself and your family from identity theft while traveling. It will make your vacation experience more pleasurable with fewer hassles to deal with when you return.

Credit Card Companies and Identity Theft

I know this is a touchy subject, and there are companies that may not appreciate this post. However, when I saw this press release, I felt it appropriate to post. One of my first posts on this blog referred to the elimination of junk mail, particularly pre-approved credit card offers, as a way to prevent identity theft. Apparently, the targets vary, and in the case of the press release, people who have spent extensive time in the hospital have become targets for identity theft. Of course, who better to target than someone whose primary concerns are their health, not their credit? Who knows how long it will be before the theft is discovered, if they even survive?

And who is being blamed? Major banks and credit card companies offering free credit to just about anyone without verifying the identity of the person applying. It's as simple as mailing in a form, filling in an online request, or making a phone call. Lending and issuing credit, after all, is quite profitable. And what about those of us affected by identity theft? Cost of doing business perhaps.

A lawsuit is going on to hold these banks issuing the credit responsible.

NextAdvisor Provides "MySpace Identity Theft Protection Guide"

I posted quite a while ago on the dangers of identity theft with social networking sites, particularly one for MySpace, which is the most popular of these sites. I gave a few tips regarding protection of privacy on these sites and how to avoid identity theft on these sites. The danger will always exist as long as some people use these sites dishonestly. Thankfully, there are companies that provide information promoting online safety, and some even make this information available for free.

NextAdvisor, for example, has released a MySpace Identity Theft Protection Guide, which they have made available on their blog for free. This along with their Facebook Identity Theft Protection Guide provide useful guidelines for using social networking sites safely. The tips in these guides should help MySpace and Facebook users keep their time online safe, private, and fun, although I don't completely agree with endorsing and encouraging identity theft protection services.

Some of the information may seem like common sense, but the guidelines would not be necessary if people have not been careless about protecting their identities on MySpace.

Another Identity Theft Scam: Smishing Scam

Since scammers tend to pattern new scams as variations of existing ones, these fraudulent activities tend receive similar names as well. By now most of us are familiar with phishing scams, and yesterday I introduced vishing scams to those who were not already familiar with them. Now, the next "offspring" of the phishing scam is called smishing (I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen the term myself). This particular scam involve text messaging on cell phones. The fraudsters send text messages to cell phone users asking them to verify personal information or to sign up for a service with their cell phones (by the way, these so-called services contain viruses).

With increased technology comes not only increased convenience but also responsibility to educate ourselves in the realm of security. Identity theft is growing, and the methods used to commit identity theft increase as technology makes it easier. By all means, use the technology at your disposal, but do so with caution.

If you think you might be a victim of smishing (or vishing for that matter), do not hesitate to report it.

Vishing Scams on the Rise over the Past Few Years

Apparently, a new form of identity theft scam that has surfaced a few years ago is on the rise. I've posted in the past about phishing scams, and these slightly newer variations of these scams are quite similar. The scams are called vishing scams, or VoIP phishing scams. It involves scammers using VoIP telephone numbers to trick consumers. The most common scenario involves a recorded message from a so-called credit card company saying there is a problem with your account and asking you to call back. When you do call the number (which is a VoIP phone), you are asked to put your credit card information into the system, therefore providing information the scammer needs to steal your identity.

I've emphasized this before, and I'll say it again. Be suspicious of any company asking for credit card information through an email or voice mail message. Legitimate companies don't operate this way. You make identity theft so much easier when you willingly hand over information.

Could new cell phone legislation pose identity theft threat?

While some legislation works in favor of consumer privacy (or attempts to), other laws slowly peck away at the privacy that should be yours. Some of you may have heard that the Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy has approved legislation requiring those who sell prepaid cell phones to photograph or photocopy one or more forms of identification. This includes the store keeping record of the name and address of the purchaser for two years as well as the serial number and manufacturer of the phone and the cell phone number.

Could this pose a possible identity theft threat? Absolutely. You're leaving a copy of at least one identifying document, including your name and address with a retailer, which means employees of this retailer (some trustworthy, others possibly not so trustworthy) will have access to this information. Identity theft is definitely a possible problem here.

Granted, this is to help track down phones that are used for criminal purposes then (probably) discarded, but there has to be a way to do this without endangering the identities of honest people who also purchase these phones.

Two Million in Danger of Identity Theft after Records Are Stolen

This may seem ironic following the post regarding data breaches, but this honestly wasn't planned. This particular data theft, though, was of the low-tech variety. According to a recent news report, the billing records of more than two million people was stolen at the University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics. The theft occurred when backup information tapes were taken from a vehicle when a courier failed to take them to a storage center.

The records were said to include the Social Security numbers of more than one million people treated at the university over the past 16 years. It is reported that all those in danger of identity theft would be notified by letter, costing about $500,000 just for stamps and envelopes. The hospital has also pledged free credit monitoring. The courier, as you may have guessed, was fired.

Yes, carelessness with delicate information is costly to everyone involved. There is no guarantee that the thief was able to access the inf0rmation on the device, but that is little comfort to those who trusted the hospital with this information. While the hospital is paying quite a cost to warn its patients, any patients whose data may have been compromised may be paying as well (identity theft can take months or even years to recover one's financial status and credit). We can only hope that everyone was notified before any serious damage was done.

Could data breaches be prevented?

According to a report by Verizon Business, almost nine out of ten corporate data breaches could have been prevented if appropriate security measures been taken. The 2008 Data Breach Investigations Report covers a span of four years and over 500 forensic investigations, including three of the largest data breaches ever reported.

Some of the findings include the fact that only 18 percent of data breaches come from insider threats while most came from outside sources. Third parties discovered 75 percent of the data breaches, not the organizations that were victimized, and they can go undetected for a lengthy period. The study goes on to not only give statistics and insights behind these data breaches, but also goes on to offer companies recommendations for prevention of data theft.

While not all of the information turned up in the Verizon Business study will be surprising, prevention is key to companies looking to protect customers and associates from identity theft, and the information revealed in this study can provide guidelines for protection of private data in the future.

Relaunch of Identity Theft: Are You at Risk?

Greetings to all those concerned about privacy and identity theft. As you can guess from the title of this post, I am announcing the relaunch of Identity Theft: Are You at Risk? after a long hiatus dealing with personal and career issues. I am now back to post news and resources regarding identity theft and personal privacy.

For anyone who has a request regarding a topic or a question, I have set up new email address especially for this blog, which you can view on my profile. Please feel free to ask questions or drop me a line.

Thank you for reading