Any current legislation being debated in Congress which affects the handling of our private information, deserves attention.

The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) has recently passed the House and now awaits Senate approval. Under the provisions of CISPA, U.S. companies could hand over all of your private data  to the government, all in the name of national defense.

This information sharing would be done in the interest of “national security” and the justification for CISPA, is to help our government fight back against foreign hackers like China and Iran.

According to US News and World Report:

“A very long list of major companies – including AT&T, Verizon, Intel, HP, Time Warner Cable, IBM, Comcast, McAfee, Oracle, Google and Facebook – like CISPA because it lets them off the hook. So when Anonymous called for a blackout to protest CISPA, it fell on deaf ears to the big tech, Internet and cable companies responsible for vast swaths of the Internet.”

Three reasons you should care:
1. Companies you trust with your privacy, will not be held liable for breaking their terms of service with you.
2. Your personal data will not need to be rendered anonymous prior to being handed over to the government.
3. At stake are all your emails, all your text messages and any files you may have stored in the cloud.

Rep. Mike Rogers (chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence) argues that CISPA “protects civil liberties while preserving the open and free Internet.”

US News goes on to say:

“President Barack Obama has threatened to veto the bill because of the privacy issues. The administration is “concerned that the bill does not require private entities to take reasonable steps to remove irrelevant personal information when sending cyber-security data to the government or other private sector entities. Citizens have a right to know that corporations will be held accountable – and not granted immunity – for failing to safeguard personal information adequately,” the White House said in a statement.”

Recent hacks launched against the Federal Reserve, New York Times and the Department of Energy point to the vulnerability of our systems in the face of relentless attacks sponsored by enemies of the state. If CISPA passes, our internet privacy could essentially become “collateral damage” in the ongoing war to protect our systems and our nation from cyber-attacks.

Are you willing to trade privacy for security? Where do you stand? Send me your comments!

Dale Penn is a professional speaker and  privacy / identity expert. He is the author of the award-winning book, Identity Theft Secrets: Exposing The Tricks Of The Trade.

Are you like me….a law-abiding citizen who has nothing to hide?  We’re being tracked anyway.

Bruce Schneier is a well-known cryptographer, internet security analyst and author. His perspective forces me to think about my own personal privacy and should make you ponder yours too!

In a recent CNN.com opinion piece, Schneier deftly points to the existence and ubiquity of the current Orwellian style surveillance state that we all dread.

“The Internet is a surveillance state. Whether we admit it to ourselves or not, and whether we like it or not, we’re being tracked all the time. Google tracks us, both on its pages and on other pages it has access to. Facebook does the same; it even tracks non-Facebook users. Apple tracks us on our iPhones and iPads.”

He goes on to say:  “Facebook, for example, correlates your online behavior with your purchasing habits offline. And there’s more. There’s location data from your cell phone, there’s a record of your movements from closed-circuit TVs. This is ubiquitous surveillance: All of us being watched, all the time, and that data being stored forever.“

Here are three of the ways that you and I are being tracked, whether we like it or not.

1.  Cookies-  Cookies are text files maintained by your web browser that allow you to interact with most of the websites you visit. In addition improving your “experience” with a site and storing the non-public personal information that you enter (NPPI), cookies also have the ability to track your web surfing habits across multiple online sites.

2.  Web-beacons- A web-beacon functions as a tracking marker that is placed within a web page or inside an e-mail message. These invisible tools capture IP addresses, cookie values and browser types. Additionally, web-beacons count web visits and provide email tracking data for Web analytics.

3.  Surveillance cameras- Wireless surveillance systems have the ability to record and broadcast visual data in real-time. Thanks to the wide deployment of private, commercial and municipal surveillance cameras throughout our society, many fear that we are on the verge of a virtual, digital police-state.

In his CNN article, Bruce Schneier goes on to say:  “Sure, we can take measures to prevent this. We can limit what we search on Google from our iPhones, and instead use computer web browsers that allow us to delete cookies. We can use an alias on Facebook. We can turn our cell phones off and spend cash. But increasingly, none of it matters.”

London’s Sunday Times recently ran a story about Apple’s fleet of private spy planes, currently being deployed to produce high-definition 3D maps of our homes. Many fear that HD online maps could be an unintended gift to burglars everywhere. The Apple fleet of  planes is equipped with military-grade cameras intended to help Apple in their quest for market share against rivals like Google.

Other technologies like GPS, RFID, SSL certificates and cell tower tracking make our daily movements a permanent part of Big Brother’s grand journal.  Bruce Schneier reminds us correctly that:  “If the Director of the CIA can’t maintain his privacy on the Internet, we’ve got no hope.“

This month in their regular newsletter, a Wall Street investment bank invited me to download their new “Global Tracker” app.

Download a global tracking app? I think I’ll pass on that one……. (while I still can).

Dale Penn is a professional speaker and  privacy / identity expert. He is the author of the award-winning book, Identity Theft Secrets: Exposing The Tricks Of The Trade.

Follow Dale on Twitter: @dalepenn

Are you one of those vulnerable souls who refuses to believe that your every move and word can be traced and tracked? Think again!

At a recent speaking event, the presenter who took the stage before me was a forensic computer analyst for a local law enforcement agency. The irony is that I was at the event to share my “Identity Theft Secrets” about clever ways to safeguard private information.

My warm-up speaker was there to let the audience know that “resistance is futile” because law enforcement routinely extracts details that help them make a case or solve a crime.

Talk about taking the wind out of my sails!

The Toronto Star recently reported on a Michigan search warrant that revealed all the details which police were able to extract from a seized iPhone. A civil liberties technologist was quoted in the article as saying:

“Before the age of smartphones, it was impossible for police to gather this much private information about a person’s communications, historical movements and private life during an arrest. Our pockets and bags simply aren’t big enough to carry paper records revealing that much data. Today, five-year-old emails are just a few clicks away.”

Password protection may stop the average prying eye, but the police can sidestep your password before finishing their first cup of morning coffee. The extraction in The Star’s story, revealed over 100 calls in the call log, eight passwords, 422 text messages, 6 wireless networks, and 10,419 data files of audio, pictures, text and videos. Nearly 400 of the extracted files had been “deleted”.

Experts warn that the “delete” button on smartphones should be re-named the “hide” button, because the data is still there, we just can’t see it.

Civil liberties attorneys argue that “text messaging is basically the equivalent of a modern wire tap.”

Sadly, privacy is a relic of the past. Can you hear me now?

Dale Penn is an Identity Theft Speaker and  privacy expert. He is the author of the award-winning book, Identity Theft Secrets: Exposing The Tricks Of The Trade.

Follow Dale on Twitter: @dalepenn

For those who continue to ignore the threat of identity theft, listen up.  It’s getting serious. Really!

Not only is financial crime growing by leaps and bounds, but we are entering a new age of breaches, hacks, mischief-ware (great new word) and privacy vulnerability.

The once encouraging two-year downward trend has now dramatically reversed itself  and is headed into dangerous new territory according to the folks at Javelin Strategy and Research.

An unnerving 12.6 million Americans were victimized by ID Theft in 2012, up dramatically from 2011. New account fraud made up the largest percentage of reported crimes, by targeting the personal information of victims and opening new credit cards and other kinds of loans.

The recent attacks and hacks into the websites of high-profile media companies and federal agencies, clearly demonstrate the capabilities of bad actors and the tremendous potential for a serious loss of privacy across the wide spectrum of American public and private life.

According to NBC columnist Bob Sullivan:

“The news comes amid a cascade of hacker stories this week, giving the impression computer criminals are gaining the upper hand on many fronts.  Agents working on behalf of the Chinese army have successfully attacked dozens of U.S. companies, according to a report issued Tuesday by U.S. security firm Mandiant.  Large U.S. media companies have also fought off Chinese hackers, and not always successfully, according to several reports. Burger King and Jeep suffered embarrassing Twitter account takeovers. And both Twitter and Facebook have had to announce in recent weeks that they had been hacked.”

Previous Javelin Studies have uncovered additional trends which should help inform many of your personal and business behaviors.

LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter and Facebook users had the highest incidence of fraud although the specific causes have not been determined. Consumers continue to share an unsafe amount of personal information online, despite the endless drumbeat of warnings to the contrary.

Smartphone owners also experience a greater incidence of fraud. So it’s not surprising that a shocking 62% of mobile users don’t have a password in place to protect their device.

This week, Javelin revealed that sadly, 25% of data breach victims who are notified in writing of a possible breach, eventually become real victims of ID fraud or theft.

Solutions?  For starters, thoughtful and complex passwords, updated anti-virus protection on all devices, paying attention to warning signs and good old-fashioned behavioral common sense can help reduce the risk of privacy loss.

These thought-starters and a little luck, might keep you from becoming one of Javelin’s statistics this year.

Dale Penn is an Identity Theft Speaker and  privacy expert. He is the author of the award-winning book, Identity Theft Secrets: Exposing The Tricks Of The Trade.

Follow Dale on Twitter: @dalepenn

Tax time us upon us once again, and the tax scammers are out in force!

This is certainly the season to be on the lookout for scams and schemes which offer to help you reduce or eliminate your tax debt.

Many consumers are unaware that the IRS has a division called the Taxpayer Advocate Service. This is a division within the IRS that is designed to assist consumers who have trouble getting certain tax issues resolved with the IRS. One of the tough issues that could complicate your relationship with the IRS is tax-fraud.

Tax related identity theft places an unusual burden on both the taxpayer and the IRS:

According to the IRS’s Taxpayer Advocate Service:

“Resource constraints also are limiting the IRS’s ability to assist victims of tax-related identity theft. Tax-related identity theft typically arises when an identity thief uses the Social Security number of another person to file a false tax return with the intent of obtaining an improper refund. Identity theft can impose a significant burden on its victims, whose legitimate refund claims are blocked and who often must spend months or longer trying to convince the IRS that they are, in fact, victims and then working with the IRS to untangle their account problems.”

Here are 5 scams to watch out for this tax season.

1. Problem Solver Phishing Scams
This scam is perpetrated in the name of “assisting you with your problem.” Here, the email phishing scammer poses as the IRS in order to gain access to the financial accounts of unsuspecting consumers. In order to “assist you” they request info such as bank account numbers, social security numbers or credit card and checking account numbers.

2. Audit Threat Phishing Scams
Here, phishers use email to inform you that you are currently under “threat of audit.” Unsuspecting victims are often eager to share non-public personal information in order to prevent a possible audit. It is amazing how many of us are willing to drop our guard and give up personal info on the internet in order to make things right with the IRS.

3. Refund Due Phishing Scams
This is where the victim is informed of “great news!” There is an unclaimed refund promised, if you click on the hyper-link and divulge personal information, supposedly for “verification purposes.” Again, many of us are blinded by the promise of gain, which leads us to divulge our financial secrets to the ever-present seasonal tax scam wolves.

4. Credit Repair Scam
Sadly, many taxpayers who have had their credit rating negatively affected by IRS issues, fall for this scam from bogus credit counseling agencies. These agencies promise to repair the damage done to your credit rating, but actually intend only to steal personal data under the guise of helping consumers. There are often high up-front fees, setup fees and service charges. This often adds insult to injury by revealing all your private financial data to a scammer with no intention of helping you, only robbing you.

5. Tax Preparer Fraud
Because almost anyone can earn a living preparing taxes, many scammers use the identities of unsuspecting or deceased people to file bogus returns and collect illegal refunds. In recent years, many of these scammers have filed MILLIONS of fake returns, directing the refund checks to an anonymous Post Office box.

As I reported in this blog earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal reported that over 1 million returns had recently been identified as “false.”

So what are the recommendations? Here are 3 good ones.

a. Remember that the IRS does not use e-mail to initiate contact with taxpayers.
b. Only use trusted, experienced tax preparers.
c. “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s…”

Dale Penn is an Identity Theft Speaker and  privacy expert. He is the author of the award-winning book, Identity Theft Secrets: Exposing The Tricks Of The Trade.
Follow him on Twitter: @dalepenn

As we roll into 2013, the world continues to look and feel like a potentially dangerous place to live.

This sense of danger applies not only to the real-world of evil and senseless violence, but the virtual-world of lurking cyber-thieves,  electronic eavesdropping and privacy risks to both individuals and organizations.

Thanks to a few “clues” from an updated consumer awareness list published by the Federal Trade Commission, we can all start the new year with a focus on continuing to deter, detect and defend from what has become America’s fastest growing crime for 12 years in a row.

A Few Clues That Someone Has Stolen Your Information:

• You see withdrawals from your bank account that you can’t explain.
• You don’t get your bills or other mail.
• Merchants refuse your checks.
• Debt collectors call you about debts that aren’t yours.
• You find unfamiliar accounts or charges on your credit report.
• Medical providers bill you for services you didn’t use.
• Your health plan rejects your legitimate medical claim because the records show you’ve reached your benefits limit.
• A health plan won’t cover you because your medical records show a condition you don’t have.
• The IRS notifies you that more than one tax return was filed in your name, or that you have income from an employer you don’t work for.
• You get notice that your information was compromised by a data breach at a company where you do business or have an account.

Why should you care?

According to the report:

“Once identity thieves have your personal information, they can drain your bank account, run up charges on your credit cards, open new utility accounts, or get medical treatment on your health insurance. An identity thief can file a tax refund in your name and get your refund. In some extreme cases, a thief might even give your name to the police during an arrest.”

For a closer look at these clues and others, visit the FTC site for the latest updates and information.

Wishing you a safe, healthy and relatively drama-free New Year!

Dale Penn is an Identity Theft Speaker and  privacy expert. He is the author of the award-winning book Identity Theft Secrets: Exposing The Tricks Of The Trade.
Follow him on Twitter: @dalepenn

My wife and have always looked for creative and effective ways to keep our family safe.

Although the internet offers a world of opportunities for people of all ages, it can be a very dangerous place for kids especially.

The following article includes three informative and relevant online resources for parents. This was originally written and posted by Nikki Junker at the Identity Theft Resource Center blog. It is reproduced here with permission.

There was a time when every parent knew what to tell their children to be safe. Children knew not to take candy from strangers, or go swimming right after eating. These days the rules have all changed and children have a new playground on which they must be trained in order to stay safe.

The cyberworld takes up a huge amount of children’s time and, unfortunately, is very dangerous. Sitting a child down and explaining to them about protecting their private information online or staying away from child predators is not easy. Here are some fun ways to teach your child cybersecurity.

• Web Wise Kids: Web Wise Kids covers topics which are not strictly cybersecurity, but no doubt have thrived in the online sphere. On their website (www.webwisekids.org), they have resources to teach about cyberbullying, sexting and online predators. In other words, the issues that strike fear into every parent’s heart are covered in detail. They have wonderful videos that will easily capture the attention of children and teach them to stay safe while on the Internet.

• Stay Safe Online: Stay Safe Online is a wonderful program put together by the National Cyber Security Alliance. Their website (www.staysafeonline.org) provides a wealth of information for teachers and parents to use in order to teach children about cyber security. The site is even broken down into grade level so that children will not feel like something is too immature or way over their heads.

• iKeepSafe: Within iKeepSafe’s website (www.ikeepsafe.org) there are areas for educators, communities and parents. There is also a section for children themselves to peruse and learn as they go. One of iKeepSafe’s programs is called “Prevent & Detect”. It teaches parents how they can use technology to prevent and detect everything from eating disorders to alcohol abuse. This is a great way for parents to learn how to use the cyberworld to help protect their children rather than simply fearing it.

Armed with these wonderful resources, it shouldn’t be such a hassle to help children understand the dangers of the Internet. Parents will be able to spend less time on explaining the intricacies of online identity theft and more time making sure their children look both ways before crossing the street.

Our kids look to us for guidance and direction. Being observant and willing to listen to them helps the safety message get through all the clutter and peer pressure which young people face today.

What questions, comments or tips would you care to share from your experiences as a parent?

Dale Penn is a keynote speaker, sales trainer and  privacy expert. He is the author of the award-winning book Identity Theft Secrets: Exposing The Tricks Of The Trade.
Follow him on Twitter: @dalepenn

For years, we’ve heard the debate over which computing platform is safer, PC or Mac.

As the story goes, the more popular the platform, the more vulnerable it is to attack.

If you own a smartphone however, the debate is over and the jury is in. They’re all popular and they’re all vulnerable.

During a recent trip to Palm Springs, I was reminded that our daughter lost her iPhone there last year. She called the high-end resort where she left her device, only to be told it was not found by the housekeeping department.

Thanks to her enabled device, our daughter not only tracked it down within minutes, but got an apology from hotel management for the “oversight”!

In the world of cyber-security, user-initiated prevention and preparation planning is the most effective defense against the wide variety common threats lurking in our exploding mobile landscape.

Big data’s new promised land,  “the cloud” isn’t the safety mecca it was initially thought to be either.

According to Kaspersky Labs:

“The continuing development of “cloud technologies” also contributes to potential data losses: there is now an extra target for the cybercriminals to attack, i.e. the data centers where various companies’ data are stored. Data leaks from cloud services could deal a serious blow to the perception of the technology itself and the idea of “cloud storage” that largely rely on users’ trust.”

Here are 5 smart tips to adopt now.

1. Protect the physical security of your device. It takes less than 30 minutes to download (steal) all the private content residing on an unattended device.

2. Guard your entire device, not just the SIM card inside the device. Effective mobile security software is available from well- known retailers.

3. Treat texts with the same caution you use with emails. SMS trojans and SMS spam are polluting the mobile market via text-messaging these days.

4. Make sure your device’s Autolock feature is always turned on. Always choose and memorize a complex password or PIN number to deter intruders.

5. Enable your device’s remote locate and wipe features. Untold headaches can be avoided if you discover that your device is missing or lost.

Most of us use mobile devices for a combination of personal and business purposes. Your online behavior and habits probably include web-browsing, social media, online banking, and email activity.

These rather predictable behaviors make it easier for cyber-thieves to publish malware which targets and eventually reaches your device, no matter which operating system you use.

Generally speaking, it is better to avoid “free” protection products from vendors you don’t know. Malicious freeware (AKA “scareware”) is often a trap set by the bad guys to lure you into their lair.

More often than not, free security products are worth slightly less than what you paid for them.

Dale Penn is a keynote speaker, sales trainer and  privacy expert. He is the author of the award-winning book Identity Theft Secrets: Exposing The Tricks Of The Trade.
Follow him on Twitter: @dalepenn

Wonder why all those shoppers are standing (or in many cases camping) in those long lines outside various cell phone stores?

Apple’s highly touted and greatly anticipated iPhone 5 is set to go on sale on the 21st of this month and the buzz is deafening! Well….sort of.

Other buyers around the world will get to stand in line after the initial launch in the first five countries which include: the U.S., Japan, Germany, France and Britain.

Here are 4 reasons you don’t need to stand in line for this greatly improved Apple device.

According to USA Today’s Jefferson Graham:

1. Although the Apple iPhone 5 is slightly larger with more on-screen display space, the new look is not a radical re-design. Although it has a faster processor, do you really want to brave those lines for such a modest design improvement?

2. Many of those folks in front of you are there to purchase more than one device, some for re-sale outside the country. Chances are, you may not get a phone even after the long wait.

3. The new iPhone 5 requires a new connector cable, which means all those 30 pin connectors you’ve collected over the years will not work with the new phone without an adaptor.

4. The retail price starts at $199 with a 2 year contract. If you are not eligible for an upgrade, the phone is a whopping $649.00. Are you that anxious to spend this amount of money after waiting in a non-productive and time-consuming line of fellow loyalists?

In addition to the increased size and faster chip, there are other features that are winning the critics over. The iOS 6 operating system makes sharing photos easier than ever. Also, the new “EarPods” are high quality and similar in performance to the high-priced earphones that many audiophiles demand.

According to data from Nielsen, 49.7 percent of American mobile users now own a smartphone. This is up 38% from just one year ago. Remember that no matter which phone you choose to carry, smartphones are an attractive target for thieves. The bad guys are also standing in a line of their own, waiting for their turn to steal your unprotected device or it’s contents. The hackers and thieves always run to where the money is.

Can you hear me now?

Dale Penn is a keynote speaker, sales trainer and  privacy expert. He is the author of the award-winning book Identity Theft Secrets: Exposing The Tricks Of The Trade.
Follow him on Twitter: @dalepenn

News flash…..Over five billion of our tax dollars are not hard at work, they’re missing!

Alarming details surfaced this week about a report from the Treasury Inspector General For Tax Administration involving massive tax-refund fraud. Watching a flurry of reports come across the newswires about this travesty has been dizzying and alarming. U.S. taxpayers have a right to expect our legislators to weigh in on this one.

It seems that the government is aware of certain mailing addresses in the U.S where billions of dollars (that’s billions with a “b”) worth of refund checks generated by fraudulent tax-returns  have been mailed out. Sadly, many observers in the press are quietly reporting this story without the outrage and sense of personal and mutual financial loss that this debacle deserves. These are OUR tax dollars that have been stolen by modern day bank robbers/mail thieves.

We can only hope that the Feds throw as much energy and resources at bringing both current and future tax fraudsters to justice (and recovering OUR loot) as they do chasing the average Joe for his last hard-earned taxable dollar.

According to the Wall Street Journal:

“While the IRS identified about 1 million false returns and blocked about $6.5 billion in fraudulent refunds during 2011, the inspector general’s report estimates that as many as 1.5 million additional returns claiming $5.2 billion in fraudulent refunds might have escaped detection.

Hundreds of the potentially false returns for tax year 2010 claiming the same addresses were sent from cities across the country, including Chicago, Tampa and Orlando, according to the review. One address in Lansing, Mich. was used to file more than 2,000 returns claiming more than $3 million in refunds….”

The report adds to growing concerns about identity theft in the tax system. As Congress has created more breaks, credits and other programs allowing taxpayers to collect refunds from the IRS – and as electronic fund transfers have speeded up payments – the potential payoffs have grown for crooks. Easy access to basic information such as the Social Security numbers of deceased people has added to the problem.”

The report underscores the fact that Identity Theft remains the number one consumer complaint for 12 years in a row. Thieves often steal the identities of the deceased or those currently receiving public assistance. Chances of detection by the actual taxpayer victims can range from unlikely to impossible.

We would think the IRS and the Social Security Administration have effective systems in place to detect whether our social security numbers are being used fraudulently. The best protection is to check the security and accuracy of your own tax-identity by visiting www.ssa.gov/mystatement.

Could someone be using your Social Security number without your knowledge?

That right, its billions with a “b”.

Dale Penn is a professional speaker, Identity Theft expert and author of the award-winning book Identity Theft Secrets: Exposing The Tricks Of The Trade.
Follow him on Twitter: @dalepenn