By Lisa 
Suddenly becoming very popular on email? Maybe a Prince from Nigeria desperately needs to transfer some money and you are the only one who can help ? How about emails with a headline like “Guess what Josh said about you”? Or Facebook friend requests with no friends in common, limited home page posts and they live in another country? And from the lack of clothing in their profile pic they must live in a warm climate…
You are not alone. We all get these and if you haven’t gotten your email or social media accounts hacked yet, you will. And it’s not some pimply faced teenager in his parent’s basement trying to be funny, it is big business in a lot of countries. At this very hour there are people in multiple high rise buildings in China staring at computer screens, and their only job is to slice and dice big data for information that can be used to steal from YOU.
Crazy world.
Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the world. Even the CEO from Lifelock who famously placed his Social Security number on billboards to advertise his identity theft solution was hacked several times. Criminals are getting smarter and our information is literally everywhere. How can you keep safe?
One: Check your credit reports once a year. It is free for you to do so, and there are three reporting agencies who report this information, Experian, Equifax and Transunion but you can order your reports from one resource recommended by the Federal Trade Commission. Visit www.annualcreditreport.com, call 1-877-322-8228.
If you want more info before ordering, check out https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0155-free-credit-reports.
You can also pay for reputable services like Lifelock (lifelock.com) or Intelius (intelius.com) to do so for you, and they also keep an eye on your credit card activity for anything out of your usual spending pattern. Stay away from “free credit reporting” companies etc. Nothing is free other than getting the reports yourself or from a reputable company! There is always a string attached, and it is usually access to your data. Identity theft cleanup is a messy, expensive and long term lesson you don’t want to learn.
TWO: Be serious about changing those passwords. I know it is a pain in the hind but just get in the habit. Put a recurring alert in your phone, set up passwords to expire on a certain date, etc. Some tips:
- Do it once a month or at least quarterly.
- Do NOT make all your passwords the same. If a thief gets one password, chances are they will try that same one on other accounts. Duh.
- Do NOT use simple passwords like ‘123456789’, or ‘password’. Don’t, for gosh sake, use your birthday, street address or social security number! Now is not the time to be cute.
- Keep a list of passwords in a secure place, preferably a locked safe or bank security box. You can also use apps like LastPass, Keeper, 1Password, SecureSafe, and always use a password to open your devices.
THREE: Do NOT share information on social media without thinking. Do not publish vacation photos during your vacation, business trip or anything that might give a thief a clue about when your home might be empty and available. Thieves even target people who are at funerals using obituary information and addresses. The best things you can do is not share this information and keep your social media accounts very private, especially during a time where you want to share certain information with a select group of people.
FOUR: Beware of free wifi. Most public places offer a free wifi, and unfortunately the thieves know it as well. Do NOT use wifi if your device has any personal information on it. Think banking information, addresses, contact info, passwords, etc. Remember ‘free’ now doesn’t mean ‘free’ tomorrow.
FIVE: Never, never, never give out any personal information in response to an email, text, phone or mail. Deal with reputable companies only and make the outbound phone call to them yourself. Don’t trust that because an email has an official looking logo that it is really from that company. BTW, the IRS doesn’t call people and ask for their social security number. They really don’t. #latestscam
SIX: Shred your bills, personal information and old devices. Thieves will sort through trash to get to your information. Most folks have shred bins (ask if you can bring personal documents to shred) or buy a shredder for your home. Some government agencies, Better Business Bureau or banks provide shredding services a few times a year. Save information like tax returns and receipts of course! For electronics, remove hard drives, SIM cards and memory cards and factory reset your Apple phone. Be sure to back up information and photos first.
Don’t be a victim of identity theft. It is time consuming, often expensive and a lifelong headache. Be smart and be safe.