In conmen, charlatans, scammers and thieves we trust
March 13th, 2009 - Posted by Robert Siciliano
Robert Siciliano is a NextAdvisor.com Expert Guest Blogger
An axiom in business is that we buy from and do business with those we know, like and trust. In the 21st century, we have seen CEOs, investment bankers, politicians and those in the highest positions of trust completely screw everyone who put them on their pedestal.
Madoff pleads guilty for orchestrating a 65 billion dollar Ponzi scheme and 3 rows of investors in attendance at his trial clapped, applauded and sang. These are people that bestowed an incredible amount of money on a man that is probably a psychopath.
What does this say about us as a species that trusts so much?
Charles Ponzi began his scheme 100 years ago and was caught 10 years later. The SEC stepped in and stopped him. The SEC didn't stop Madoff. They allowed him to prosper until his operation imploded.
Growing up, most of us were schooled on "Stranger Danger" because our parents were also told not to talk to strangers. Strangers are "strange" therefore dangerous. At least that seemed to be the theory. Unfortunately, I've seen all too often that people we know are sometimes the worst apples in the bunch. Teachers, coaches, clergy, etc.
In a Wall Street Journal article, Bruce Schneier makes the point that, overall, people are good and generally honest. So it's basically true that approaching a stranger probably wouldn't mean imminent danger.
On the other hand, if someone pursues or approaches you, they are essentially giving you unsolicited attention and potentially distracting you from the truth. They may be preparing to take advantage of you in some devious way.
We see this when law enforcement poses as a 14 year old girl in a chatroom and she's quickly approached by 50 men with webcams, snapping pictures of themselves. So in this sense, talking to strangers is bad. Click here for a video.
Nigerian 419 scams are based on one single principle: get to know your mark, get them to like you and they will trust you. Done. They start off as a stranger, then become their victim's night in shining armor, coming to their emotional (and financial) rescue.
Click here for a video about scambaiters.
I've talked over and over about insiders at a company maliciously hacking into the network and stealing data. These people aren't strangers, they are the funny drunk dudes at the Christmas party.
You want to prevent being scammed? Prevent data theft? Prevent identity theft? Protect yourself from hackers?
Do not rely exclusively on any one system to protect you. Don't expect the government and their bazillion bureaucratic agencies to protect you. Don't assume that law enforcement or any other authoritative agency will be there when a predator strikes.
All existing systems work often, and fail as much.
Security is about layers. The more layers of protection you have in place, the more difficult you make it for the bad guy to get access. Redundancy, predictive, proactive thinking.
Someone pour me a scotch. Single malt.
Oh, and I'm very excited to work with Uni-ball in 2009 in a partnership to help raise awareness about the growing threat of identity theft and to provide tips for protecting yourself. Check out uniball-na.com for more information.
See identity theft expert Robert Siciliano discuss conman Bernie Madoff here.
Robert Siciliano is CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com , an identity theft expert, professional speaker, security analyst, published author and television news correspondent. Siciliano works with Fortune 1000 companies and startups as an advisor on product launches, branding, messaging, representation, SEO and media. Siciliano's thoughts and advice on all these matters appear often in both the televised and print news media including CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, FOX, Forbes and USA Today. He has 25 years of security training as a member of the American Society of Industrial Security. He is the author of 2 books, including The Safety Minute: Living on High Alert; How to take control of your personal security and prevent fraud.
10 myths about credit scores
March 13th, 2009 - Posted by Caitlin
In this 60 second video, a former FICO executive dispels 10 myths about credit scores.
See our reviews and comparison chart to learn more about credit scores and credit monitoring services.
Criminals target ATMs to steal your identity and credit cards
March 12th, 2009 - Posted by Robert Siciliano
Robert Siciliano is a NextAdvisor.com Expert Guest Blogger
Skimming is a form of identity theft that is one of the financial industry's fastest-growing crimes, according to the U.S. Secret Service. The worldwide ATM Industry Association reports over $1 billion in annual global losses from credit card fraud and electronic crime associated with ATMs.
Skimming is a relatively low tech crime. It can occur in a few different ways. The most common is when a store clerk takes a device called a wedge card skimmer, runs your card through and skims the information off the magnetic strip.
Once the thief has your credit or debit card data they can place orders over the phone or online.
They can also rip the data from the wedge and burn it to blank "white" cards. These white cards are effective at self checkouts or when the thief knows the clerk and is able to "sweetheart" the transaction. These white cards can also be pressed with foils to look like a legitimate credit card.
Then there is a more sophisticated skimming technique. Thieves actually place a hard device on the face of an ATM that looks like the ATM. It's almost impossible for a civilian to notice the difference unless they have an eye for security, or the skimmer is of poor quality.
Often, the thieves will mount a small pinhole camera on the side of the ATM, such as in a brochure holder, to record the victim's pin number.
It's not only ATMs that are potential marks; gas pumps are equally vulnerable. Click here to see a video of me discussing this in more depth, or here to read another article on this topic.
It is very difficult to protect yourself from this form of credit card fraud. Most victims only find out if they are paying close attention to their monthly statements. Generally, you will be in good shape as long as you refute unauthorized charges within 60 days.
New account fraud is a different story. This is when identity theft protection services, do it yourself fraud alerts or credit freezes are necessary. To learn more about identity theft protection services, check out NextAdvisor.com's reviews and comparison chart.
ADT, the major home alarm company, unveiled an anti-skim tool, the first of its kind, that will protect consumers. I haven't seen it yet, but it sounds promising. The ADT Anti-Skim™ ATM Security Solution helps prevent skimming attempts and detects skimming devices on all major ATM makes and models. It is installed inside an ATM near the card reader, making it invisible from the outside. The solution detects the presence of foreign devices placed over or near an ATM card entry slot without disrupting the customer transaction or operation of most ATMs. The technology also helps prevent card-skimming attempts by interrupting the operation of an illegal card reader.
The ADT Anti-Skim ATM Security Solution:
• Helps protect the integrity of cardholders' personal financial information during ATM transactions.
• Can trigger a silent alarm for command center response and coordinate video surveillance of all skimming activities.
• Requires no software adjustments to the ATM.
• Does not connect to or affect the ATM communications network.
• Has more than 40,000 successful ATM applications worldwide.
Prior to its North American introduction, the ADT Anti-Skim ATM Security Solution was successfully field tested on dozens of ATMs of four major U.S. financial institutions in controlled pilot programs. Testing pilots yielded positive results, with no known skimming compromises occurring.
Again, I haven't seen it. But would like a first hand demonstration. ADT, have your peeps call my peeps.
Go here to see identity theft expert Robert Siciliano discussing ATM skimming.
Robert Siciliano is CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com , an identity theft expert, professional speaker, security analyst, published author and television news correspondent. Siciliano works with Fortune 1000 companies and startups as an advisor on product launches, branding, messaging, representation, SEO and media. Siciliano's thoughts and advice on all these matters appear often in both the televised and print news media including CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, FOX, Forbes and USA Today. He has 25 years of security training as a member of the American Society of Industrial Security. He is the author of 2 books including The Safety Minute : Living on High Alert; How to take control of your personal security and prevent fraud.
Is there a charge for each W-2?
March 11th, 2009 - Posted by Caitlin
The following post in our Reader Question series is an actual user submitted question. To maintain the integrity of the original question, we do not edit or change reader questions in any way.
Q: I have several W-2's. Is there a charge for each one or not [with TaxAct]?
A: TaxAct and other online tax preparation services do not charge per W-2. The pricing plans differ slightly, but in general you can expect to pay based on the number of federal and state returns you need to file.
To compare prices on tax preparation services, see our comparison chart.
Can I file multiple state returns online?
March 11th, 2009 - Posted by Caitlin
The following post in our Reader Question series is an actual user submitted question. To maintain the integrity of the original question, we do not edit or change reader questions in any way.
Q: We live in one state that I work in but my husband works in a different state. Can I still file the state taxes online? Which state do I file first?
A: An online tax preparation service makes it quick and easy to file multiple returns. You can add additional state returns in any order you like. Online tax preparation services are especially useful in a slightly more complex tax situation like yours, because they help you review your returns to ensure that there are no errors or inconsistencies that could cause you to accidentally miscalculate the amount that you owe, or unintentionally declare the same income in multiple states.
To learn more about online tax preparation services, see our reviews and comparison chart.
Will Vonage go out when the power goes?
March 11th, 2009 - Posted by Caitlin
The following post in our Reader Question series is an actual user submitted question. To maintain the integrity of the original question, we do not edit or change reader questions in any way.
Q: Is Vonage a digital phone service that will go out when the power goes or is it a true land line?
A: Vonage is a digital phone service and is dependent on your broadband Internet connection. This does mean that in the event of a power outage, you will lose your broadband connection and therefore, your Vonage service as well. Some people do choose to maintain a landlane in addition to their VoIP service for this reason. However, many people with landlines rely on cordless phones, which are also dependent on electricity and will fail in a power outage. In either scenario, a cell phone is a good backup in the event of a power outage.
To learn more about Vonage and other VoIP services, see our reviews and comparison chart.
Palin hacker faces up to 20 years in prison
March 11th, 2009 - Posted by Joe
New felony charges against David Kernell, the Tennessee college student who allegedly accessed Sarah Palin's personal Yahoo email account and posted personal emails publicly on the Internet, could lead to significant jail time and fines if convicted.
The 21-year-old Kernell, who is also the son of Democratic Representative Mike Kernall, was originally charged with one felony count of illegally accessing a public computer. Three addition charges have been added including:
- One count of identity theft for allegedly impersonating Palin
- One count of obstruction of justice for destroying evidence of his alleged "hack"
- One count of wire fraud for posting Palin's information on a publically available website
All of these new charges are felonies and carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years, up to $250,000 in fines and five years of supervised release if convicted.
Kernell's trial is set to begin on October 27, 2009.
Read our previous post on the Palin email hack case to learn how to protect your own personal email accounts.
The best diet is the one you can stick to
March 3rd, 2009 - Posted by Caitlin
Last week, the largest ever controlled study of diet programs was published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The study tested different types of popular diet plans. All of the diet plans reduced calories, but each one emphasized a different combination of fat, carbohydrates and protein. All participants received group or individual counseling. After two years, the study showed that the dieters' results were similar across the board, whether they followed a plan like Atkins, which emphasizes cutting carbohydrates, a low fat diet, or the Mediterranean diet, with less animal protein. As long as dieters cut calories, their specific diet plan was relatively insignificant.
The researchers' conclusions give dieters the freedom and flexibility to choose whichever diet plan appeals to them. An online diet service provides the tools and support to help you stick to whichever plan you choose. If you are considering embarking on a new diet, check out our reviews and comparison charts for help deciding which one is right for you.
Data Breach Alert: A series of data thefts impact Visa and MasterCard
March 3rd, 2009 - Posted by Caitlin
Reports of more another breach have followed the news that 100 million transactions processed by Heartland Payment Systems had been exposed last month. Visa and MasterCard recently warned certain banks and credit unions that more customer data has been compromised, but will not disclose the name of the latest credit card processor to be infiltrated, nor will they say how many customers have been affected.
The Heartland breach was discovered only after a pattern of credit card fraud emerged, leading back to the credit card processor. This means that the stolen card numbers were actively in use by identity thieves. Security analyst Michael Argast says that the latest stolen data has most likely also reached the hands of criminals.
Impacted banks have begun issuing replacement credit and debit cards to MasterCard and Visa cardholders, and will continue to do so over the next few weeks. It is always a good idea to have a credit monitoring service keep an eye on your credit report and alert you of any suspicious activity.
An identity theft protection service will go a step further to protect you and to prevent fraudulent accounts from being opened in your name. To learn more about credit monitoring services and identity theft protection services, see our reviews and comparison charts.
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