Social Networking: Beware What You Share

Social networks like Facebook are a great way to share information that’s important to you. Unfortunately, they are fertile ground for criminals looking for information that can be used to commit identity theft. A study by Consumer Reports found that 52 percent of social-network users post their full birth date, home addresses, vacation plans or other personal information that could increase their risk of becoming victims of identity theft or other computer crimes.

Here are some tips to keep you secure while networking:

• Think about keeping some control over the information you post. Consider restricting access to your page to a select group of people, for example, your friends from school, your club, your team, your community groups, or your family.
• Keep your information to yourself. Don’t post your full name, Social Security number, address, phone number, or bank and credit card account numbers — and don’t post other people’s information, either. Be cautious about posting information that could be used to identify you or locate you offline. This could include the name of your school, sports team, clubs, and where you work or hang out.
• Make sure your screen name doesn’t say too much about you. Don’t use your name, your age, or your hometown. Even if you think your screen name makes you anonymous, it doesn’t take a genius to combine clues to figure out who you are and where you can be found.
• Beware of phising attempts. It can be hard to tell if an email supposedly from a social networking site you belong to is an attempt to steal your login information. So to be safe, never click on a link from an email that looks like it came from a social netowrking site--type in the site's URL manually.
• Don't be scammed. Scammers can gain access to one of your friend's accounts and then solicit all the friends linked to the account for money. Never respond with a credit card number or online payment, even if it looks like it is from a friend. Call your friend and ask if it's a legitimate request.
• Choose your password carefully. Make it at least eight characters and include a number and a symbol in it. This way it's very difficult for someone to guess your password and hijack your account.

Protecting Your Personal Information

You are the best person to protect your personal information. Here are some tips from the Javelin Strategy & Research Identity Theft Fraud Survey Report.

•  Keep sensitive information from prying eyes. Request electronic statements, use direct deposit, don't put checks in an unlocked mailbox. At home or at work, keep all personal and financial records in a locked storage device or behind a password. When someone requests your Social Security Number, ask if you can provide alternate information

• Prevent online identity theft. Install software against viruses and spyware and keep it updated along with your applications and operating system. Never respond to urgent requests for personal or account information or divulge your birth date, mother’s maiden name or other identifying information online. Use unique, hard-to-guess passwords. Turn off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when not in use.

• Monitor accounts for suspicious activity. Monitor bank and credit card accounts weekly, via online, mobile, ATM or touch-tone banking. Sign up for fraud alerts to be sent to your mobile phone or e-mail account. Request a free copy of your credit report each year at www.annualcreditreport.com or 877-322-8228. If you receive a notice that your private records were involved in a data breach, take advantage of any free protection services that are offered and place a fraud alert on your credit report.

•  Contact your financial services company at the first sign of fraud. The Javelin research shows you can minimize the damage of identity theft by acting quickly to resolve it. Most financial services companies offer zero-liability protection for debit and credit cards..

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Protecting Your Computer

You don’t have to be a computer expert to protect yourself and your computer against fraud and identity theft.

• Anti-spyware protection. Spyware can allow criminals to steal personal information from your computer. Buy and install an anti-spyware protection program. Use the program to scan your computer frequently. And, remember, online threats are constantly changing so check for updates of your spyware protection program!
• Anti-virus protection. Buy and install an anti-virus protection program that detects and removes viruses. Software from major providers will protect you from a wide variety of threats, and also will provide customer service in case you have questions. Keep your anti-virus protection updated!
• Firewall. Add a firewall to your computer system. A firewall refers to any of a number of security services that prevent unauthorized users from gaining access to a computer, or that monitor transfers of information to and from the computer.
• Operating System & Software Updates. Install software fixes (sometimes called "patches" or "service packs") that are made available for your computer programs as soon as possible, especially if the fix addresses a security hole.

Phishing

While online banking and e-commerce is very safe, you should be careful about giving out your personal financial information over the Internet.

• Be suspicious of any email with urgent requests for personal financial information.
• Don't use the links in an email, instant message, or chat to get to any web page if you suspect the message might    not be authentic.
• Avoid filling out forms in email messages that ask for personal financial information.
• Always ensure that you're using a secure website when submitting credit card or other sensitive information via your Web browser.
• Ensure that your browser is up to date and security patches applied.

 Phishing is a type of attack called "social engineering."  Read Walter S. Mossberg's tips on how to avoid being tricked (used by permission from AllThingsD.com, a Web site of Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

Scams

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Con artists use a variety of scams - involving work from home, dating, charity, auctions, lotteries, and many others - to separate you from your money. Con artists work online and in person.

Here are some common frauds. The Alliance for Consumer Fraud Awareness website shows you how to spot these and other scams.

• Dating Scam. The victim’s online “boyfriend” or “girlfriend” sends the victim a check or money order with instructions to deposit it and wire a portion of the money back to the “friend.” The check or money order appears valid but is bogus.
• Work from Home Scam. The victim answers an ad for a job that promises good money for work that can be done from home. The job involves depositing checks into the victim’s bank account. The victim often is told to wire 90% of the check amount back to the “employer” and keep the remaining 10% for herself as “salary.”
• Charity Scam. The victim - thinking he is helping people affected by a natural disaster or suffering from a disease - agrees to act as a middleman for donations. Like the work at home scam, the victim is asked to deposit the donation checks into  personal accounts, keep a small percentage, and send the rest of the funds by Western Union or wire to the fraudster. In some cases, the donation checks are bogus and, in other cases, the checks belong to other victims who believed they were helping a legitimate charity.

Read more about how to identify scams at www.lookstoogoodtobetrue.com, a website established by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.