Critical Steps When Your Email Is Breached
By Rachel James, Author and Cybercrime Authority at ID Experts
BBC News announced that more passwords to email accounts were posted: Yahoo, Gmail, AOL, Comcast, and Earthlink users appear among those impacted. Again, security experts are urging those with accounts to change their login details. These are extra steps everyone should take at least once a year, or during situations where an account may be compromised:
Evaluating Identity Theft Protection Products
By Rachel James, Author and Cybercrime Authority
Spoiler alert: There isn’t an effective identity theft protection product. Typically, a company claiming to be an identity theft protection company will provide one or all of these services; access to credit reports, credit monitoring, and database monitoring. Unfortunately, these services cause security problems themselves.
How Email Becomes Your Identity (Theft)
By Rachel James, Author and Cybercrime Authority
Your email is as firmly established as an identity as a credit report- it contains details of your finances, address history, and birthday just as a credit report would. Your address book may reveal your mother’s maiden name, and a compromise of the account could easily reveal your tax information or social security number. A compromise of this account could be devastating.
A Guide to Identity Theft and the Recession
By Rachel James, Author and Cybercrime Authority at ID Experts
First, people who are desperate are more willing than ever to “bite” on the lure of convincing scams because of they are under increasing financial stress and pressure. Second, the number of scams and people perpetrating those scams increases during difficult financial times. Third, according to a recent survey by Nationwide Insurance, over half of respondents don’t know if they have enough money to weather fraud.
Mitigating Corporate Identity Theft Risks
By Rachel James, Author and Cybercrime Authority
Small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) are an attractive target for identity thieves. According to the Institute of Consumer Financial Education (ICFE), SMBs usually qualify for larger lines of credit, “enjoy extended payment terms and less transactional scrutiny for large purchases or high value ticket items than individual customers.”
Fraud and Marriage, Go Together Like…
By Rachel James, Author and Cybercrime Authority at ID Experts
Thieves prey on our deepest and strongest emotions, and two people madly in love and about to take the plunge are certainly full of emotions and stress. Stress makes us more apt to decide quickly, without thinking the situation through. The sense of relief we feel may encourage us to accept an offer that seems “too good to be true” when we might otherwise hesitate.
Job Hunting, Social Networks and ID theft
By Rachel James, Author and Cybercrime Authority at ID Experts
Computerworld reports that one in five companies search social networking sites during the hiring process, although many experts believe that number is much higher. You may think that you’re immune to ID theft or misinformation because you don’t have any MySpace, Twitter or Facebook accounts- but read on and you will find that is far from the truth.
PCI DSS Legitimizes Conflicts of Interest
By Rachel James, Author and Cybercrime Authority at ID Experts
The rules and requirements for auditors reveal a number of potential conflicts of interest that could arise between an auditor and the entity it’s assessing. For example, many security auditors also make security products. The rules state that a security company will not use its status as auditor to market its products to companies it audits, but if the auditor should happen to find that the client would benefit from its product, it must also tell the client about competing products.
Protecting Your Children From Identity Theft
By Rachel James, Author and Cybercrime Authority at ID Experts
As a result of this kind of identity theft, victims are sometimes turned down for college loans, denied welfare or other benefits, denied a driver’s license and occasionally arrested because of the fraud.
Model Employees May Be The Insider Threat
By Rachel James, Author and Cybercrime Authority at ID Experts
It is important to realize that insider threats are not just a people problem, but a technical problem as well. There are certain controls and best practices that you can follow to help identify and address threats and minimize your organizations risk.
