Email “phishing” has become a very popular way to try to get consumers to enter personal information on invalid websites. Many times someone will receive an email from what looks to be a valid source, however, it has actually been sent by a thief! These type of emails are being sent from hackers claiming to be from various companies like UPS, FedEx, IRS, eBay, PayPal, Bank of America and hundreds of others. It is important to know how to spot a phishing scam from any company, however, for those who use PayPal, there is a higher level of protection needed because of the services they provide. How does one protect themselves against this type of scam?

One way is to take a challenge provided by PayPal.com. At this website, it will give a 5 question challenge to see if you are on your toes when it comes to this type of scam. It helps you to spot whether or not a senders email address is legitimate, what type of information they will NOT ask for in the form of an email, whether or not they will include attachments in their emails, and whether or not you should click links in emails from them.

This is a very helpful challenge for everyone who uses email to take, just to be sure that they are aware of what phishing really is. Paypal provides an email address to forward questionable emails to, should you receive one. To learn more, go to the website for PayPal and read the Security and Protection topics.

Remember the days when you could leave home without an electronic device in hand? When people had to wait until you got home to reach you on your home phone or had to write you a letter and pay for the stamp to mail it?

With the convenience of the email, cell phones and even social media, many no longer have “land” lines in their home. Each family member has their own phone number and email address. Many no longer know the mailing address of family and friends since they have the option to text, email or chat with them online or on their cell phone.

Advances in technology are great, but they also come at a price. With the invention of smart phones that include cameras, you can take photos and email them to show them off. Photos of the kids, the dog, your latest toy or gadget. Many also use their phones for online banking, bill paying and shopping.

Identity thieves who are good computer hackers find them helpful as well. They can use computers to view what someone is viewing on their cell phone. Whatever website the cell phone user is visiting, will show up on the screen of the hacker. If the cell phone user thinks they are only securely entering their credit card information on the website they are viewing, they are mistaken. The hacker can see what they are typing in as well and has the users credit card information.

Hackers have also found a way to call cell phone users using phony caller id information. It may appear that your bank or a friend is calling, when it is really a hacker “phishing” for personal information about the user.

How do you protect yourself from these predators? First, unprotected voicemail can easily be hacked and might provide hackers with information that you don’t want them to have access to. Set up your voicemail so that a password has to be entered to retrieve messages. Also, if you use your cell phone to do online baking or to shop online, do not use unprotected, free WiFi spots to do so. Use only secure networks that you know and trust.

Fraud has become such a large problem, that a week has been dedicated to fraud awareness around the world – November 6-12, 2011. The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) is urging organizations around the globe to focus awareness toward this growing problem. Businesses are asked to take a proactive approach by promoting anti-fraud awareness and education.

There have been recent articles by The Wall Street Journal, Lifehacker.com and Consumer Reports that offer helpful information on how to protect yourself on and off-line. Many identity theft blogs offer tips as well. It would even help to read accounts of those who have had their identity stolen, just to see the impact it would have if it were to happen to you one day. Have you ever received a letter from a company, agency or institution informing you that their data records have been accessed and that you are being notified so that you can take the proper precaution? They might even offer you a year of free identity theft monitoring services, to help put your mind at ease. However, did you know that identity thieves will often keep and either sell or use that sensitive data long after they have acquired it? An identity thief could steal your social security number and not use it for several years. They are waiting for victims to let their guard down, before using the data. After all, will your social security number change in 2-5 years from now? Will your name change? You get the point.

LifeLock has been offering not only identity theft protection services to consumers, but also educational instruction to law enforcement officials nationwide for several years now. This is in an effort to help combat this growing problem of identity theft. There is much work to be done, and many people are unaware of the impact that this can have on them personally and on their families. It is important to be aware of this problem and to join the many that are working to help with the effort to detect and prevent identity theft and fraud.

Whether you choose to monitor your credit yourself, or to use a credit monitoring service, be sure that you don’t ignore this growing problem. Have you seen your credit report lately? If so, did you recognize all of the items listed? If you did not, take steps to report any theft of your credit. Also, regularly check bank and credit card statements for any unusual activity.

With the internet having moved into the age of “social media”, people need to be aware of the dangers that lurk with seemingly “innocent” websites, like Facebook.

Many enjoy the ability to be able to connect with friends and family on Facebook, but they don’t realize the amount of risk associated with their habits. Many Facebook users, especially the younger generations, tend to be willing to Read the rest of this entry »

A 15-year victim of identity theft is finally able to see some closure to his problem.A Las Vegas resident has spent the better part of the last few years working on resolving an issue with his social security number. Turns out that his number was stolen as far back as 1979 and the thief was recently caught.

ABC News reports that the thief  stole the identity of a then 35 year old victim. The now 73 year old thief has lived under his “stolen” social security number since 1979 and has been also filing tax returns.

The problem was recently recognized once the victim moved to another state, which prompted the IRS to contact him in regard to unpaid taxes on additional income he was receiving.

It took the victim a long time to convince the IRS that he was not responsible for additional earnings being reported in his name and social security number. He had to personally track down the thief and then contact his local senator for additional help.

The full story is quite interesting. View the full details here at ABC News.

Please watch this one closely. “Phishing” doesn’t just mean that you read an email that looks legitimate and click a link. Interesting video…

Many of reported data breaches involve computer hacking. Once computer data has been stolen (credit cards, social security numbers, addresses, etc) those affected have no control over whose hands their personal information will end up in.

At that point, if your personal information has not already been compromised (one can check their credit report to see if any new accounts have been opened that are unfamiliar to them) it is good to have some sort of monitoring service that will alert you when new credit is opened in your name or when derogatory credit actions are taken against you. This will give a person time to report any illegal activity to the authorities and begin to clear up any fraudulent accounts long before waiting for their annual credit report “checkup”. If your monitoring service offers it, take advantage of the help they will provide in clearing your name when someone else is using your credit.

One advantage that is not being wisely used is Read the rest of this entry »

There is abundant evidence that people today are very concerned with protecting their identity. Several online identity theft forum threads and blog article comments show that today’s society has yet another threat to contend with, identity thieves. These can show up in the form of online criminals selling credit card information as well as social security numbers. There are several whose identity has been stolen either by someone they are closely related to or someone they once roomed with or had a relationship with.

Whatever the case, being concerned with protecting personal information is common among millions of Americans. Whether you have received a letter from an institution whose records have been compromised or have found your bank account drained, you want to know how you can prevent this from happening again.

There is no easy answer to this dilemma. Due diligence is necessary in order to at least be informed once your social security number has been used, whether you used it or not. With your legitimate credit and debit cards, once they have been used at a store, restaurant, for an online bill payment or run some other way, they are at risk of being stolen, even if you physically hold the card. It might be necessary to log in to online banking and credit card accounts several times weekly to be sure that all charges are yours. If not, contact the card issuer immediately to cancel and replace the card and to report unauthorized charges. Since this is a crime, it is also necessary to file a police report with your local police department. They will give you more information on how to handle the theft and resources you can turn to.

It might help to switch to using cash for most transactions. While a checking account and debit card might be necessary for some online purchases and for paying bills, it could cut down on the probability of your card number being stolen if you don’t have one to use or only have a limited number of transactions on the one you have. Try only having one card (debit) and don’t place all of your funds on that card. Keep funds in an account not accessible by a debit card and only place funds in the debit card account that are needed for purchases you plan to make.