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3 Snipers Targeting Your Private Data

The U.S. is being targeted at the highest levels of our nation’s critical infrastructure. You’re a target too.

Sadly, there are at least three privacy snipers out there, who have our valuable data in their sights. You can choose to ignore them, deny them or avoid them; however they are relentless and they aren’t  planning on going away any time soon. Informed security experts clearly acknowledge this reality. We should too.

I recently watched two compelling TED.com talks given by security gurus Bruce Schneier and Mikko Hypponen. Their distinct messages and points of view shared a very common theme. Digital crime has emerged as one of our nation’s greatest security threats. These rogue attacks are neither diminishing, nor are they under control.

Bruce Schneier believes that our preconceived notions of security have lulled us to sleep. We believe that the hotels we trust, the food we eat, and the planes we board are safe. According to Schneier, that feeling of security bears little resemblance to actual security, we have just talked ourselves into believing that those activities are what he refers to as “models of safety”. Those models, Schneier says, are hard to dislodge. This thinking makes us more vulnerable to the tactics of relentless identity thieves and hackers.

Hypponen on the other hand, sees value in identifying the three types of online attackers who rule the digital underworld. They are: Continue Reading…

February 14, 2012 in Cyberwar, Data security, Federal Government, Financial Crime, Privacy

Ahoy Matey! Piracy In The Digital Age

Google’s eye-catching twenty four hour “blackout” last Wednesday, protesting PIPA and SOPA sure got my attention.  How did it make you feel?

Watching sites like Wikipedia and Google go dark, reminded me of the media censorship I witnessed as a tourist in Asia a few years ago. Downright creepy.

Imagine not having online access to the information you need (assuming it is legal for you to own it). That’s the question we must face.

Do you and I have a right to freely acquire copyrighted content such as books, movies and music without paying?

Digital pirates think the status-quo is swell because the more we feast, the richer they get.

Law enforcement officials in New Zealand , in cooperation with the FBI, arrested the 38 year-old founder of one of the web’s largest file-sharing sites, also known as “file-sharing lockers” Megaupload on Wednesday.

The suspect, who had his name legally changed from Continue Reading…

January 23, 2012 in Cyberwar, Data security, Federal Government, Financial Crime

5 Tips To Avoid New IRS Tax Scams

Today I actually received what SEEMS to be good news via email  from the IRS.

After reading the subject line, the sender line and the smooth-talk line, I decided that today was NOT a good day to go “phishing”.

According to the sender, I’m entitled to an easy tax refund,  if I’ll just click on an attachment. (Hint: “NEIN! NYET! NOPE!”)

I received the following email today and want to point out several reminders for you when
opening email that requests your NPPI (Non-Public, Personal Information). Continue Reading…

January 9, 2012 in Federal Government, Phishing, Scams & Phishing

Why You Didn’t Get That Job

 Labor Day was a somber holiday this year, considering the fact that according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 13.9 million Americans are currently unemployed.

The first Labor Day celebration was held back in 1882, and was designed to celebrate the social and economic achievements of American workers. Sadly, today’s American workforce force no longer reflects the optimism of a higher standard of living and productivity in our great nation.

So why did the hiring committee “pass” on your job application recently? Despite your best efforts to polish your resume’, there may be an economic culprit at work, who is undermining your own job search or that of a loved one.

Our uncertain economic environment encourages many fraudsters to “borrow” your good name to obtain goods and services at your expense. These criminal deeds are often committed with little or no chance of being detected or caught. There may be other inaccuracies in a variety of areas of your life that you are unaware of until they surface. These annoyances seem to always appear at the wrong time. Continue Reading…

September 6, 2011 in Data security, Federal Government, Financial Crime

New "Data Passing" Scams Exposed

What do online companies like Orbitz, Priceline and Travelocity have in common?

Nope, guess again.

All three have found themselves  in the middle of complaints about dubious business practices. The behavior in question has recently been investigated by the Federal Trade Commission on behalf of boatloads of victimized consumers.

The scam here,  refers to the practice of sharing or “passing” credit card information over to a third party at the end of a transaction without the knowledge or explicit consent of the buyer.

The retailers deny any wrongdoing.

The practice known as “Data Passing” or “Pre-Acquired Account Marketing” was the subject of a high profile, year-long investigation by the Senate Commerce Committee according to a June 22, 2010 article in the Washington Post.

According to published reports:

“In May 2009, Chairman Rockefeller launched an investigation into a set of controversial e-commerce business practices that have generated high volumes of consumer complaints. Since that time, Commerce Committee staff has been investigating three Connecticut-based direct marketing companies – Affinion, Vertrue, and Webloyalty – as well as the hundreds of online websites and retailers that partner with these three companies to sell club memberships to online shoppers. Although this investigation is not yet complete, it is clear at this point that these three companies use highly aggressive sales tactics to charge millions of American consumers for services the consumers do not want and do not understand they have purchased.”

Bob Sullivan from MSNBC.com  also reported that the problem has triggered an astounding $ 1.4 billion in unauthorized charges onto the credit card bills of  30 million Americans.

Senate investigators revealed that this practice was used by over 450 e-commerce websites and retailers. Many of the names on the list are well-known and respected companies who got around existing data-privacy and banking rules by forming partnerships and joint ventures with third parties.

Credit card issuer Visa, has taken a stand and no longer allows merchants to use the so-called “Data-Pass Marketing” on their network.

Despite Visa’s policy and after more than $1 billion dollars in “aggressive and potentially deceptive” sales tactics,  I think it would be fair to complain that the horse is already out of the barn.

July 1, 2010 in Federal Government

2010 U.S. Census Creates ID Theft Vulnerability

In March of this year, census takers will begin to thread their way across the highways and byways of our land to conduct the 2010 census.

Despite the skepticism of some,  participation is required under Title 13 of the United States Code. The same law also requires that the Census Bureau tabulate your information without revealing any of your personal data.

The government imposes very stiff fines and possible prison terms for federal employees who violate the privacy guidelines.

Allow me to call another lurking personal privacy threat to your attention. Make sure that anyone you share information with is actually from the Census Bureau!

This reminder came to my attention  from a Vice President of  Security at Austin Bank in Longview,  Texas.  (used with permission)

There has been a lot of advertisement about the 2010 Census. It is important that all people participate in the census since it is only taken every ten years. However, there are people at work posing as census takers to do one simple thing; steal the identity of everyone they can, and either use or sell the information. It is important that you protect yourself and talk to your family and friends, about protecting themselves.

Additionally, the U.S. Census Bureau has issued this statement on their website:

Census workers may need to visit your household to update the Census Bureau’s address list, deliver a questionnaire or ask you to complete the questionnaire face-to-face.  All census workers carry official government badges marked with just their name.  You also may ask them for a picture ID from another source to confirm their identity.  In addition, some census workers might carry a ‘U. S. Census Workers’ bag.  If you still are not certain about their identity, please call the Regional Census Center toll-free number to confirm they are employed by the Census Bureau.

Census workers will never ask  for your:

  • Social security number
  • Citizenship or immigration status
  • Salary or income
  • Bank account information

The reality is that their questions require much less personal information than a typical credit card application. If you would rather not answer questions at your front door, you can mail in your data.

The government says that our participation will help us to “paint a portrait of America”.

Pick up your paintbrush and let your voice be heard.


February 13, 2010 in Federal Government

Top U.S. Banker Newest ID Theft Poster Child

On August 25th, President Barack Obama nominated Ben Bernanke to another term as chairman of the Federal Reserve.

In a story reported this week by The Economist:

“The decision was widely hailed on Wall Street and in Washington, DC. With few exceptions, politicians and economists lined up to praise Mr. Bernanke and to laud Mr. Obama for keeping him.”

Coincidentally, also on August 25th, Newsweek Magazine reported:

“Last summer, just as he was dealing with the first rumblings of the financial crisis on Wall Street, Bernanke learned that a thief had swiped his wife’s purse-including the couple’s joint check book. Later, someone started cashing checks on the Bernanke family account…”

“The theft of the Bernanke check book-never publicly revealed until now-soon became part of a wide-ranging (and previously underway) identity-theft investigation by the Secret Service and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.”

The shocking news is that the “previously underway” investigation exposed what the Justice Department calls “the largest alleged credit and debit card data breach ever charged in the United States.”

Many of the highest profile breaches in U.S. history are allegedly the result of this one mastermind’s activity. Thankfully, the ringleader and two of his co-conspirators are behind bars now.

Victims of the crime-spree reportedly include:

  • Heartland Payment Systems
  • Supermarket chain Hannaford Brothers
  • 7-Eleven stores
  • DSW shoe stores
  • TJ Maxx stores

This is a wake up call for America. If brazen purse snatchers can swipe cash from our top banker’s checking account and hackers can swipe “protected” corporate data with impunity, then the average American continues to remain vulnerable beyond belief.

Protecting your mail, private pins , personal data, passwords, payment instruments (credit/debit cards, checks) and computer data is YOUR responsibility. Despite our best efforts, the portability of data outside of our control, leaves us all exposed in this digital world.

This truth-is-stranger-than-fiction story illustrates another truth. Without the dedicated and ongoing effort of law enforcement, your personal, medical or bank records are just as vulnerable as an attractive unattended purse, slung over the back of a chair at the local Starbucks.

September 5, 2009 in Data Breaches, Data security, Federal Government

Financial fear grips vast majority of Americans

A new study conducted and released by Unisys Corporation reveals what most observers and pundits have been saying about our collective jittery nerves lately. With this new level of fear come concerns about fraud and ID theft reaching new heights  and threatening Americans more than ever.

According to the story published on Webwire: “The research, conducted with the latest Unisys Security Index, also confirms that most people are much more worried about their financial security, which saw a 12 percent spike when compared to results polled in September 2008. 

This concern now ranks as Americans’ number one security fear for the first time since Unisys began the global study in 2007. Conversely, the current data also shows the lowest level of concern about national security issues among U.S. consumers.”

The Webwire story goes on to report that more than two thirds of Americans are extremely worried or very concerned about other people obtaining and using their credit or debit card details, with 90 percent at least somewhat concerned.

The better news is that most of the identity theft strategies I’ve written about for some time now, can still protect consumers even in an age of unparalleled financial uncertainty.

By protecting your personal, private and proprietary information, you can still mitigate the effects of our current financial crimes tsunami. By guarding your credit and debit card numbers, bank account numbers, social security numbers, checking account numbers, pin numbers, passwords and computer files……you take away the match sticks that could ignite into to a personal financial firestorm.

None of these methods (including credit monitoring services) are guaranteed to prevent your information from falling into the wrong hands. Careful monitoring of billing and banking statements, credit reports and other financial and medical records will keep you positioned to spot a potential problem.The businesses we frequent also have a responsibility to protect our data and our dollars.

The Unisys study goes on to report: “Banks and businesses need to understand that customers are more wary than ever about using services that may compromise their personal data. If economic concerns increase these fears, companies need new strategies to strengthen customer confidence through accountability and transparency, which also plays to part of the Obama administration’s call to action for government and business.”

The fear gripping our economy is understandable, but we can take proactive steps to minimize our exposure. As a last resort, we can all just repeat this prayer:

“Lord, defend me from my friends; I can account for my enemies.” — Charles DHericault

April 10, 2009 in Data security, Federal Government

7 Top Tax Season Fraud Reminders!

If tax season is as taxing as ever for you, here are seven ways to reduce your annual tax time anxiety and vulnerability.

* Beware of tax-time ID thieves who create fake IRS websites just for this season.

* Bold fraudsters often “pose” as IRS agents to trick you into revealing personal data.

* The IRS never uses email to initiate contact with taxpayers.

* Any email that promises to deliver refund money should be deleted immediately.

* Taxpayer audit and refund information is always delivered through the U.S. mail.

* Unsolicited IRS contacts sent via email should never be opened or responded to.

* Communication from the IRS can be confirmed by calling (800) 829-1040.

Another common twist is that many unsuspecting taxpayers have received legitimate notifications from the IRS, requesting payment of taxes due on unreported earnings.

This is possible if someone illegally uses your Social Security number to obtain employment. In these cases, an unwitting employer reports the earnings attached to your stolen number and Uncle Sam comes calling for taxes on income you truly never earned!

Protect your Social Security number at all times and at all costs. If you suspect fraud, contact the Social Security Administration  immediately. They can also be reached at (800) 772-1213.

March 12, 2009 in Federal Government

Looming Cyber-Threat Has Fed's Attention

Outgoing National Intelligence Director Michael McConnell reported last week that Cyber-threats are among his greatest concerns, second only to Iran’s continuing development of nuclear weapons.

MSNBC and the Associated Press reported:

“…Iran producing a nuclear weapon and a cyber attack on critical government or private computer networks top the list of concerns nagging at National Intelligence Director Michael McConnell as he prepares to leave office.”

There are many well intentioned observers who seem to think that cyber-crime in general is on the decline inside the United States. Although there is statistically no need for mass panic, it is foolish to assume that our computer infrastructure isn’t the greatest information target in the world. As a practical matter, I think we are all better off with “someone on the gate” to guard our repositories of personal, commercial,  educational, financial and military data.

The truth is that many potentially damaging breaches go undetected and are often intentionally unreported. Back in 2005, the Department of Homeland Security constructed a worst-case-scenario type cyber-attack and concluded that over 20 million credit cards might be affected over a period as short as just one week. The Department concluded that an event like this could undermine faith in the entire U.S. financial system.

We all pray that President Obama’s team remains watchful and vigilant on the cyber-front during these desperate times. The Obama Administration has already declared our nation’s cyber-infrastructure a “strategic asset” and has pledged to protect “America’s competitive advantage”.

Great start Mr. President.

January 22, 2009 in Cyberwar, Data Breaches, Federal Government

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