Sabrina’s Money Matters

So how can you keep your information from being stolen when your information is outside of your own control? Huh? If you do everything you can to protect your identity and have firewalls set up on your home pc so your files cannot be accessed and shred all your mail, are the other people that have that same information as careful as you are?

I’m talking about your educational institutions, your employer, your insurance company, subcontractors for any of these agencies, your doctor’s office, etc. How do you know if they’re protecting your information? The scary truth is that you don’t.

But if you ever fall victim to a story about a forgotten ID card, or a request for a password over the phone because it was “forgotten”, or any other ruse that means you have to give up information that is secure to someone who should already know it, if they are indeed who they claim to be.

A social engineer is able to convince you they’ve simply forgotten their ID badge or they’ve left something in the building and just need to run in and get it before you shut the door, you never know what they’re really up to unless you intend to follow them around, and even then you may not know.

Two years ago a laptop computer was stolen from the company that managed the retirement plans and benefits for a former employer of mine. I never dreamed that a company that far removed from me could affect me so directly.

The company responsible for this information loss paid for credit monitoring service as a result of this breach and I’ve been enjoying that service and its benefits, however, not all companies do that. I’ve been notified recently by one of the companies that holds a student loan of mine that information was stolen on a laptop they had, however they just offered tips to protect myself on the backside of the letter they sent me. Nice huh?

If every one of us takes the extra step to be a little more careful and not let anyone in a building that doesn’t have proper ID, or give information out over the phone, even if you recognize the voice on the other end of the line, do not give that information out. If we all do this, that is the one true way we can slowly put a stop or a speed bump in the way of the speeding identity theft train. By being sure none of us allow a breach to happen, we are overall protecting our fellow citizens not only from identity theft, but also personal crimes as well.

The sad thing is that it is more logical to be skeptical than trusting in this new and ever changing society of ours. It is of our own making, this beast - it’s been made too easy but we can still do our part to protect ourselves and each other.

Your information is no one’s business but you’re own. Tomorrow we’ll talk about how to go underground and become untraceable. Fun stuff! You’ll be thinking like a detective and no one will be able to find you if you utilize the methods I’ll be teaching you.

So until tomorrow friends, protect yourselves and each other, I’ll meet you all back here tomorrow - same time, same chair, same channel!

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