Cyber-Bullying and Social Networking Identity Theft

With the meteoric rise in cyber-bullying, parents are desperate to find a way to shield their children. Unfortunately, most parents are far behind their child’s proficiency with technology. Many don’t text, aren’t on Facebook, and are oblivious to the many ways in which kids can taunt each other with technological ease. Although children may be quick and nimble with technology, they lack the maturity to understand its consequences.

A recent article in the New York Times on Digital Bullying (read the MSN version here) addressed these very issues and gave true and heart-wrenching accounts of how parents were left helpless at the hands of their children’s online bullies. “I’m not seeing signs that parents are getting more savvy with technology,” said Russell A. Sabella, former president of the American School Counselor Association. “They’re not taking the time and effort to educate themselves, and as a result, they’ve made it another responsibility for schools.”

Kids have a great deal of anonymity on the internet if they want it, and can easily impersonate another child or steal their identity. This modified form of identity theft (character theft, I tend to call it), allows the bully to hide behind his or her computer with no real consequences for what they are saying. A scathing remark made in passing by one child can haunt another child for the rest of their lives.

In a recent case, a young boy was taunted at school by classmates that claimed he was in turn bullying them on Facebook. He quickly became socially withdrawn until his mother looked on Facebook to see that someone with his name and picture was in fact taunting other students online. Except, of course, that it wasn’t him. Some fellow classmates had stolen his Social Networking Identity and set up a false Facebook account as if they were him. The bullies then berated other kids, attracting negative attention to the victim. The victim’s mother found out that it’s not so easy to stop this cycle.

For one thing, Facebook doesn’t make it easy to reclaim one’s identity. In the previous case, the mother had to contact police, who went through a process to subpoena both Facebook and the internet service provide to uncover the bullies’ identities. Only then were they able to shut down the account, but the damage to the victims reputation had already been done.

Some parents prefer to resolve the issue privately, by contacting the bully’s family. Although psychologists do not recommend that approach with schoolyard bullying, with cyber-bullying, a parent’s proof of cruel online exchanges can change that difficult conversation. So what do you say?

Approaching another parent can be awkward. Most parents see their children’s actions as a direct reflection of their ability to raise their child. This means they can easily become defensive and almost submissive of the actions. As quoted in the Times article, experts recommend you follow a script like:

“I need to show you what your son typed to my daughter online. He may have meant it as a joke. But my daughter was really devastated. A lot of kids type things online that they would never dream of saying in person. And it can all be easily misinterpreted.”

In most situations, the reporting parents should be willing to acknowledge that their child may have played a role in the dispute. To ease tension, suggests Dr. Englander, an expert on aggression reduction, offer the cyber-bully’s parent a face-saving explanation (like that it was probably meant as a joke). If they are willing to accept what happened, they are more likely to take action.

Parents need to be mindful that their children might be victims of cyber-bullying, and they need to be just as aware that their kids might be the cyber-bullies. Here are some steps to get you started down the right track with your kids:

  • Have short, frequent coversations over dinner about what it means to be cyber bullied
  • Establish a no-tolerance stance on your child bullying anyone, in person or on line
  • Friend your child and if possible, your child’s friends to keep tabs on the dialogue taking place. Let them know that you are interested and observant by communicating with them using social networking. If you are more fond of the stick approach, post a sticky note on your monitor (like another parent in the article did) that says “Don’t Forget That Mom Sees Everything You Do Online.”
  • Be open and honest with your child. Communicate the real issues of cyber-bullying and how in some cases this leads to very negative consequences, like suicide
  • Encourage your children to talk with you if they have any concerns about their online life
  • For more answers and background on keeping yourself and your kids safe, take a look at the Facebook Safety Survival Guide below.

Facebook Safety Survival Guide
Includes the Parents’ Guide to Online Safety

This Survival Guide is an evolving document that I started writing for my young daughters and my employees, and is an attempt to give you a snapshot of some of the safety and privacy issues as they exist right now.

Social networking, texting, instant messaging, video messaging, blogging – these are all amazing tools that our kids and employees use natively, as part of their everyday lives. In fact, they probably understand social networking better than most adults and executives. But they don’t necessarily have the life experiences to recognize the risks.

I’d like to make their online vigilance and discretion just as native, so that they learn to protect the personal information they put on the web before it becomes a problem. Social networking is immensely powerful and is here for the long run, but we must learn to harness and control it.

Electronic Pickpocketing Hype Banks on Your Fear!

Electronic Pickpocketing is Possible, but Over-Hyped.

There is a new wave of hi-tech identity theft that allows thieves to steal your credit card information using inexpensive technology to intercept credit card (and sometimes even passport) information without even touching your wallet. Watch the video to the left or read our Electronic Pickpocket post to learn the basics.

And make sure you pay attention to the fact that the person they are interviewing for the news piece in the video MAKES MONEY FROM YOUR FEAR OF ELECTRONIC PICKPOCKETING! The gentleman they interview runs a company that makes shields for your credit cards and passports to stop electronic pickpocketing. I’m not saying that the products don’t work or aren’t somewhat valid; I’m saying that you have to take this gentleman’s perspective into consideration before buying the hype. He benefits from your fear, so do a little more research before you go gettin’ all paranoid.

The amount of hype this old form of theft is receiving (yes, this has been possible for years, despite all of the attention it’s getting now) is a bit overblown. Here are just a few reasons why:

  • The person being interviewed in the video benefits from your fear of electronic pickpocketing.
  • When a thief steals this information from you, they generally get your credit card number, expiration date and quite possibly your name. They DO NOT get your 3-digit security code or address. This is the same amount of information that the average waiter or retail clerk gets simply by looking at your card.
  • Because they don’t get your 3-digit security code or address, it is much more difficult for them to use the credit card number to make purchases on the internet, as most sites require some form of address verification or 3-digit security confirmation.
  • Only a fraction of cards utilize the RFID/Contactless Swipe technology, lowering your chances significantly.
  • As long as you catch your card being used fraudulently (see the protection suggestions below), you will not be held liable for the losses, the business that accepted the illegal card will. Even if your information is used to make a new card, if you are monitoring your identity properly, your out of pocket will be minimal.
  • Most cards only transmit 2-3 inches, which means that someone has to get a laptop-sized bag within two inches of your purse or wallet. This isn’t impossible, but it takes a fair amount of time and skill (notice how the news report doesn’t show them doing it without asking the people first). In most cases, this amount of work is too time intensive for the identity thief – it’s more lucrative to hack into a system that contains hundreds of thousands of credit card numbers (and other information) all in one place.
  • Fraud departments in credit card companies have come a long way. Most credit card companies are able to detect fraud on your card faster that you can. More secure credit card companies will call to confirm suspicious purchases or purchasing patterns.
  • If you want to get technical, which you probably don’t, credit card theft isn’t actually identity theft. They don’t have access to the personal items they need to actually steal your identity.

But it can happen, and it’s worth preventing. Which is simple:

  • First, check to see if you even have credit cards with the ability to beam your information to an RFID receiver (look for the circled symbol in the photo to the right). If not, stop worrying and just monitor any future cards you receive.
  • Second there are sleeves and wallets built to protect your cards and make them unable to scan and be lifted. Several companies, like Checks Unlimited make RFID wallets & products that shield the electromagnetic energy necessary to power and communicate with contactless smart cards, passports, and enhanced drivers licenses.
  • Next, set up account alerts and monitor your statements to cover yourself in the small chance that it happens to you. That way if your credit card is compromised, you can detect it immediately and take the necessary steps to contact the bank, report the fraud, and cancel the card.
  • If you are worried about having a credit card that can transmit your personal information, call your credit card company and ask them to send you a card that doesn’t transmit or have RFID capabilities (you know it transmits if it has the small broadcast or sonar icon circled to the left). Get rid of the source of the fraud!
  • Never leave your purse or wallet in an easy to scan place. Get rid of all of the excess credit cards that you don’t use and lower the chances that one of them will be compromised.
  • For added protection, especially for your Passport (which carries a much higher volume of very sensitive information), consider purchasing a sleeve or shield that makes RFID scanning less likely.  Checks Unlimited offers a wide variety of these types of RFID blocking sleeves & cases.”

But whatever you do, don’t buy into the hype and paranoia just because a video has gone viral on YouTube.

John Sileo is the award-winning author of two identity theft prevention books, Stolen Lives and Privacy Means Profit (Wiley, August 2010) and America’s top Identity Theft Speaker. His clients include the Department of Defense, FTC, FDIC and Pfizer; his recent media appearances include 60 Minutes. Contact him on 800.258.8076.

Identity Theft Expert John Sileo on 60 Minutes


Achilles, an ancient Greek superhero — half human, half god — was in the business of war. His only human quality (and therefore his only exploitable weakness) was his heel, which when pierced by a Trojan arrow brought Achilles to the ground, defeated. From this Greek myth, the Achilles’ Heel has come to symbolize a deadly weakness in spite of overall strength; a weakness that can potentially lead to downfall. As I formulated my thoughts in regard to New Zealand, I realized that the same weaknesses are almost universal — applying equally well to nations, corporations and individuals.During a recent 60 Minutes interview, I was asked off camera to name the Achilles’ heel of an entire country’s data security perspective; what exactly were the country’s greatest weaknesses. The country happened to be New Zealand, a forward-thinking nation smart enough to take preventative steps to avoid the identity theft problems we face in the States. The question was revealing, as was the metaphor they applied to the discussion.

For starters, let’s assume your business is strong, maybe even profitable in these tough economic times. In the spirit of Sun Tzu and The Art of War, you’ve dug in your forces, preparing for a lengthy battle: you’ve reduced costs, maximized your workforce, and focused on your most profitable strategies. As your competitors suffocate under market pressure, you breathe stronger as a result of the exercise. But like Achilles, your survival through adversity blinds you and even conditions you to ignore pending threats. You begin to think that your overall strength translates into an absence of weaknesses; and in general, you might be right. But Achilles didn’t die because of his overall strength, which was significant; he died because he ignored critical details. What details are you and your company ignoring?

Information, like Achilles himself, is power. And maintaining control and ownership of your information is quite possibly the most threatening Achilles’ heel any data-reliant business faces. Companies that don’t actively take control of their data are prime targets for identity theft, social engineering, data breach, corporate espionage, and social media exploitation. Regardless of your title, you have a great deal to learn from Achilles’ mistakes, and a significant opportunity to protect your own corporate heel.

Achilles 3 Fatal Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Admit Your Vulnerabilities. Achilles forgot that he was human, failing to take inventory of his weakness in spite of superior strength. Though his faults were limited — a small tendon at the base of his foot — his failure to protect himself in the right spots proved fatal. When protecting data, it is imperative to understand that your greatest vulnerabilities lie with the people inside of your company. No matter how secure your computer systems, no matter how much physical security you deploy, humans will always be your weakest link. The more technological security you implement, the quicker data thieves will be to attempt to socially engineer those inside your company (or pose as an insider) to capture your data. Admitting vulnerabilities doesn’t have to be a public, embarrassing act. It can be as simple as a quiet conversation with yourself and key players about where your business is ignoring risk.

The three greatest human vulnerabilities tend to be: 1. Unawareness of the risks posed by data loss, 2. Lack of emotional connection to the importance of data privacy (personally in professionally) and it’s affect on profitability, and 3. Misunderstanding that in a world where information is power, it’s no longer about whom you trust, but how you trust. These symptoms suggest that your privacy training has either been non-existent or dry, overly technical, policy related and lacking a strong “what’s-in-it-for-me” link between the individuals in your organization and the data they protect every day.

If this is true inside of your business, rethink your training from this perspective: Your audience members (employees) are individuals with their own identity concerns, not just assets of the company who can be forced to follow a privacy policy that they don’t even pretend to understand. By tapping into their personal vulnerabilities regarding private information (protecting their own Social Security Number, etc.), you can develop a framework and a language for training them to protect sensitive corporate information. Like in martial arts, where you channel your opponent’s energy to your favor, use your employee’s humanness to your advantage. Pinpoint these vulnerabilities and shine the light of education on them.

Fight Prevention Paralysis. One of the most unfortunate and destructive character traits among humans is our hesitation to prevent problems. It is human nature to invest time to prevent tragedy only after we’ve experienced the pain that results from inaction. We hop on the treadmill and order from the healthy menu only after our heart screams for attention. We install a home security system only after we’ve been robbed. Pain motivates action, but the damage is usually done. You can bet that had he the chance to do it all over again, Achilles would slap a piece of armor around his heel (just like TJMAXX would encrypt their wireless networks and AT&T would secure their iPad data).

Prevention doesn’t get the proper attention because its connection to the bottom line is initially harder to see. You are, in essence, eliminating a cost to your business that doesn’t yet exist (the costs of a future data breach: restoring and monitoring customer credit, brand damage, stock depreciation, legal costs, etc.). This seems counterintuitive when you could be eliminating costs that already exist. But here is the flaw in that method of thinking: the cost of prevention is a tiny fraction of the cost of recovery. When you prevent disaster, you get a huge return on your investment (should a breach ever occur). Statistics say that a breach will occur inside of your organization, which means that by failing to invest in prevention you are consciously denying your organization a highly profitable investment. Why would you insure your business against low percentage risks (fire), but turn the other way when confronted with a risk that has already affected 80% of businesses (data breach) and has an almost guaranteed double digit ROI? It is your responsibility to demonstrate how the numbers work; spend small amounts of money preventing, or vast sums of time and money recovering.

Harden the Riskiest Targets. Once you have admitted to and cataloged your vulnerabilities and allocated the resources to protect them, it is time to focus on those solutions with the greatest return on your investment. A constant problem in business is knowing how to see clearly through information overexposure and pick the right projects. Just think of how much stronger Achilles would have been had he placed armor over his heel (which was human) rather than his chest (which was immortal). There is no financially responsible way to lower your risk to zero, so you have to make the right choices. Most businesses will gain the greatest security by focusing on the following targets first:

  1. Bulletproof Your People. Most fraud is still committed the old fashioned way – by manipulating trusting, unsuspecting people inside of your organization. Train your people for what they are: the first line of defense against fraud. Begin by preventing identity theft among your staff and then bridge this personal knowledge into the world of professional data privacy.
  2. Protect Your Mobile Data. Laptops, smart phones and portable drives are the most common sources of severe data theft. The solution to this very powerful and ubiquitous form of computing is a quilt-work of security including password strengthening, data transport limitations,  access-level privileges, whole disk and wireless encryption, VPN and firewall configuration, physical locking and human decision making (e.g., don’t leave it unattended the next time you get coffee at your corporate conference).
  3. Prevent Insider Theft: Perform thorough background checks, reference verification and personality assessment to weed out dishonest employees before they join your organization. Implement an ongoing “honesty meter” for your employees that ensures they haven’t picked up bad or illegal habits since joining your company.
  4. Classify Your Data. Develop a system of classification that includes public, internal, confidential and top secret levels, along with secure destruction and storage guidelines.
  5. Anticipate the Clouds. Cloud computing (when you store your data on other people’s servers), is quickly becoming a major threat to the security of organizational data. Whether an employee is posting sensitive corporate info on their Facebook page (which Facebook has the right to distribute as they see fit) or you are storing customer data in a poorly protected, non-compliant server farm, you will ultimately be held responsible when that data is breached. You must be aware of who owns that data, today and in the future, when your storage company is bought out or goes bankrupt.

We have much to learn from the foresight of New Zealand; they are an excellent example of how organizations should defend their Achilles’ heel. To begin with, they have begun to acknowledge their vulnerabilities in advance of the problem (in fact, their chief vulnerability is that dangerous form of innocence that comes from having very few data theft issues, so far). In addition, they are taking steps to proactively prevent the expansion of identity theft and data breach in their domain (as evidenced by the corresponding educational story on 60 Minutes). Finally, they are targeting solutions that cost less and deliver more value. I was in New Zealand to instruct them on data security. Ironically, I gained as much knowledge on my area of expertise from them as I believe they did from me.

John Sileo speaks professionally on identity theft, data breach and social networking safety. His clients include the Department of Defense, the FDIC, FTC, Pfizer and the Federal Reserve Bank. Learn more about bringing him in to motivate your organization to better protect information assets.

Geotag, You’re It! Disabling GPS Coordinates

Geotagging allows others to track your location even though you don’t know it.

With the increased use of Internet-enabled mobile devices such as the Blackberry, Droid and iPhone, geotagging has seen a huge increase in popularity. When social media users take a picture or video and upload it to their page, they are probably transmitting far more data than they think. With the ability to quickly add GPS information to media, smartphones make geotagging a simple task.

So What is Geotagging?

Simply, geotagging is where location or geographical information, such as your GPS coordinates, are added and embedded to different types of media (.jpg, .mov files, etc.). Invisible to the naked eye and the casual observer, geotags are part of the meta-data, or underlying data about the data, that accompanies each file. Examples of meta-data include when the file was created or modified, by whom, using what device and software. This data is often loaded on to your computer along with the original file.  Browser plug-ins and certain software programs can reveal the location information to anyone who wants to see it.

Twittervision makes great use of geotagging. Twittervision is a web mashup combining Twitter with Google Maps to create a real time display of tweets across a map (see photo above).  It also has a 3D mode that displays a globe of the Earth which spins to pinpoint arriving messages from Twitter.

So, who would want to know where you are?

While most of the uses are not fully apparent yet, your real-time location can reveal your home address, work address, places you visit often and at what time of day. It can reveal if you go to the doctor, a lawyer, a court date, or any other type of private meeting. Geotags make it very easy for friends, relatives, bosses, spouses, parents, enemies, law enforcement, stalkers, and thieves to know exactly where you are.

Telling everyone on your Facebook status that you are out for the evening can invite burglars; geotagging can do the same without you updating your status in any way.  By taking a picture at the Barry Manilow concert and uploading it to your twitter account, you are broadcasting the fact that you are probably over 40, away from home and, thanks to the geotag, exactly how far away you are.

If you’ve never seen Minority Report with Tom Cruise (where ads are served up to you on giant screens based on biometrics and your current location as you walk through the city ), it’s worth your time. Of course the movie exaggerates reality, that is one of the hallmarks of science fiction. But it does so in order to make you think about the possibilities and future realities. And that is exactly what corporations are doing. Using geotags that you upload into social networks (photos, videos, check-ins), they can see that you enjoy Starbucks and live in a certain neighborhood, so they may purchase a billboard in the area or more likely, target an ad to you on your Facebook wall. Although this can seem harmless, it will eventually raise larger concerns on consumer privacy.

In this fast paced electronic world, more and more people are using smartphones and therefore we can expect an increased use of geotags in the future. The problem with geotagging is that since it is not visible to the naked eye, most people don’t even realize they are sharing their location data. So what if you don’t want to transmit your location data?

Keeping location data private can be difficult, but here are some places to start:

  • Understand that anytime you take a picture, video or post an update from a networked device (somehow connected to the internet), your location is probably being appended to the file, even though it is hidden from you. As with all things technological, there are advantages and disadvantages to all features. Location based services also allow you to use handy tools like maps; give you Big Brother-like power in tracking your kids’ whereabouts, and allow thieves to burgle you when no one is home using tools like Foursquare and Facebook Places.
  • Disable geotagging application by application on your iPhone 4. In your phone, go to Settings, General, Location Services. Here you can set which applications can access your GPS coordinates, or disable the feature entirely (which could cause you problems using maps, restaurant finders, etc.)
  • Disable geotagging for photos on your BlackBerry. Go into picture-taking mode (HomeScreen, click the Camera icon), press the Menu button and choose “Options”. Set the “Geotagging” setting to “Disabled”. Finally, save the updated settings.
  • Disable geotagging for photos on your Droid. Start the Camera app (this is the menu on the left side of the camera application; it slides out from left to right). Select “Store Location” and make sure it is set to “Off”.
  • Although Facebook does remove geotags from uploaded photos, other social networking sites do not. Look into your privacy settings and turn off location sharing. As mentioned above, you can generally turn this feature off in your camera or phone as well.
  • Take particular care if you are uploading photos to a website where strangers will see them — such as Craigslist or Ebay.
  • Consider installing a plug-in on your browser to reveal location data – such as Exif Viewer for Firefox or Opanda IExif for Internet Explorer, so you can see geotagged data for yourself.
  • Take the time to stay informed about geotagging and other types of new technologies. By knowing what is out there, you can ensure the next photo or piece of media you upload won’t share your location with the World Wide Web.

John Sileo speaks professionally about social media exposure, identity theft and cyber crime for the Department of Defense, Fortune 1000 companies and any organization that wants to protect the profitability of their private information. Contact him directly on 800.258.8076 or visit his speaker’s website at www.ThinkLikeASpy.com.

6 Things You Should Never Reveal on Facebook

Yahoo.com just published the following article that every Facebook user should read. I recommend you follow each of these suggestions, and if you want to learn more, read my Facebook Safety Survival Guide.

6 Things You Should Never Reveal on Facebook

by Kathy Kristof

The whole social networking phenomenon has millions of Americans sharing their photos, favorite songs and details about their class reunions on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and dozens of similar sites. But there are a handful of personal details that you should never say if you don’t want criminals — cyber or otherwise — to rob you blind, according to Beth Givens, executive director of the Privacy Rights Clearing House.

The folks at Insure.com also say that ill-advised Facebook postings increasingly can get your insurance canceled or cause you to pay dramatically more for everything from auto to life insurance coverage. By now almost everybody knows that those drunken party photos could cost you a job, too.

You can certainly enjoy networking and sharing photos, but you should know that sharing some information puts you at risk. What should you never say on Facebook, Twitter or any other social networking site?

Your Birth Date and Place

Sure, you can say what day you were born, but if you provide the year and where you were born too, you’ve just given identity thieves a key to stealing your financial life, said Givens. A study done by Carnegie Mellon showed that a date and place of birth could be used to predict most — and sometimes all — of the numbers in your Social Security number, she said.

John Sileo is the award-winning author of Stolen Lives, Privacy Means Profit and the Facebook Safety Survival Guide. His professional speaking clients include the Department of Defense, the FTC, FDIC, Pfizer, Prudential and hundreds of other organizations that care about their information privacy. Contact him directly on 800.258.8076.

Identity Theft for Businesses: Mobile Data Breach

Mobile Data Theft

Technology is the focal point of data breach and workplace identity theft because corporations create, transmit, and store so many pieces of information digitally that it becomes a highly attractive target. This book is not intended to address the complex maze that larger organizations face in protecting their technological and digital assets. Rather, the purpose of this book is to begin to familiarize business employees, executives, and vendors with the various security issues facing them.
The task, then, is to develop a capable team (internal and external) to address these issues. In my experience, the following technology-related issues pose the greatest data-loss threats inside organizations:

  • Laptop Theft: According to the Ponemon Institute, 36 percent of reported breaches are due to a lost or stolen laptop.
  • Mobile Data Theft: Thumb drives, CDs, DVDs, tape backups, smart phones
  • Malware: Software that infects corporate systems, allowing criminals inside these networks
  • Hacking: Breaking into your computer system from the outside, using networks, wireless connections, remote access, and your Internet pipeline
  • Wireless Theft: Wireless connections to the Internet in airports, hotels, cafes, and conferences
  • Insider Theft: When someone in the IT department (or elsewhere) decides to make extra money by selling your data

According to the Ponemon Institute, ‘‘Thirty-six percent of all cases in this year’s study involved lost or stolen laptop computers or other mobile data-bearing devices. Data breaches concerning lost, missing, or stolen laptop computers are more expensive than other incidents. Specifically, in this year’s study, the per-victim cost for a data breach involving a lost or stolen laptop was just under $225, over $30 more than if a laptop or mobile device was not involved.’’ Continue Reading….

The post above is an excerpt from John’s latest book Privacy Means Profit. To learn more and to purchase the book, visit our website www.ThinkLikeASpy.com.

Privacy Means Profit

Prevent Identity Theft and Secure You and Your Bottom Line

This book builds a bridge between good personal privacy habits (protect your wallet, online banking, trash, etc.) with the skills and motivation to protect workplace data (bulletproof your laptop, server, hiring policies, etc.).

In Privacy Means Profit, John Sileo demonstrates how to keep data theft from destroying your bottom line, both personally and professionally. In addition to sharing his gripping tale of losing $300,000 and his business to data breach, John writes about the risks posed by social media, travel theft, workplace identity theft, and how to keep it from happening to you and your business.

3 Steps To Take When Disposing Of Your Computer

By Michael Berg, CreditCards.com

Most people wouldn’t throw out their Social Security card or toss a credit card in the trash. Yet careful souls worldwide have been dumping old computers by the millions, filling landfills with exactly that kind of sensitive information, where aggressive high-tech criminals can readily scoop it up.

According to the latest statistics from the EPA, 205 million computer products were disposed of in 2007, with a paltry 48 million of those recycled. That leaves plenty of identities in the garbage stream just waiting to be poached.

Indeed, many computers are being mined for Social Security numbers, credit card information, bank statements, investment records and various other tidbits that open the door for everything from credit card fraud to full-on identity theft. While exact numbers are difficult to come by, there’s no doubt it’s happening with ever more frequency.

“I’ve personally met hundreds of people who have had their identity stolen this way,” says John Sileo, identity protection expert and author of “Privacy Means Profit,” available at thinklikeaspy.com. “The thing is, if thieves are smart — which they are — it should be a massive problem, because it’s such an easy way to get data.”

You don’t have to be a victim. Taking these three simple steps when discarding a desktop or laptop computer virtually guarantees your private information can’t be stolen.

Click Here to read the entire article.

Facebook’s Law Enforcement Phone Option | Sileo

Facebook: Press 2 For Law Enforcement

Click Here to reach Facebook’s Law Enforcement Page

PLEASE NOTE: WE DO NOT HANDLE ANY FACEBOOK COMPLAINTS OR QUESTIONS, AS WE ARE NOT AFFILIATED WITH FACEBOOK IN ANY WAY. THANK YOU. 

I received an email last night from a well-known TV anchor wanting my input on a new Facebook issue.  He’d read that when calling Facebook Headquarters, the automated attendant comes on and gives you options to reach each department, and the second option was to press 2 for “law enforcement.”

It could seem odd to many, but it’s true. If you call the Facebook Headquarters (650-543-4800) and reach the switchboard, the 1st option is “For customer support, press 1” and the second option is “For Facebook law enforcement, press 2”. Law enforcement comes ahead of business development, marketing, press, and employment verification in the list of options.  When you press 2, the next message says: “This message is only for members of law enforcement. Please note that due to a very large volume of incoming calls, the current call back time is two to four business days. For a faster response, please leave your work authorized email address… A member of Facebook’s security team will email in a timely manner.” Which means that Facebook is very busy fielding calls from law enforcement.

The anchor, and the rest of us, want to know why!

Facebook receives all kinds of requests by law enforcement, as it is essentially a diary of each and every user. Don’t confuse it with a typical diary of the pre Web 2.0 era. The modern diary (or dossier, as I more commonly refer to social networking profiles) is a photo journal, video log, friendship org chart, location status, written history, browsing analyzer, that is so effective because it can be so addictive. In other words, the Facebook activity of an average user is a digital representation of  that user’s identity. So, to net it out, here several reasons law enforcement officers call Facebook:

  • Tracking listed sex offenders for inappropriate use of the Internet
  • Civil dispute subpoenas (domestic cases, child custody, harassment, etc.)
  • Evidence used in the discovery process (establishing intent, state of mind, relationships, etc.)
  • Cases of libel or defamation
  • Terrorist activity tracking and fundraising
  • Background checks for local, regional and federal governmental positions
  • Background checks on potential jurors (see tomorrow’s story about a juror who was dismissed because of a Facebook post)

This is a fascinating and under-reported aspect of social networks – they are providing an open book on people (for good and evil) that used to take investigators (and scammers) weeks or months to collect. All you really need is a subpoena, or to friend the person on whom you are collecting data.

John Sileo is an an award-winning author and keynote speaker on identity theft, internet privacy, fraud training & technology defense. John specializes in making security entertaining, so that it works. John is CEO of The Sileo Group, whose clients include the Pentagon, Visa, Homeland Security & Pfizer. John’s body of work includes appearances on 60 Minutes, Rachael Ray, Anderson Cooper & Fox Business. Contact him directly on 800.258.8076.

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Business Identity Theft Radio Interview, Part II

John recently did a second radio interview on business identity theft for New Construction Strategies hosted by Ted Garrison. The construction industry, like most industries, battles with data theft on a daily basis. Insider theft, cyber crimes, social networking exposure – these are just a few of the areas that businesses need to defend against in the information economy. Listen to the interview to learn more.

“Privacy Means Profit” John Sileo with Ted Garrison

Data breach, identify theft, and corporate espionage can cause huge damage if you don’t stop them upfront because the impact goes right to your bottom line.  “We spend thousands of dollars on our computers but we don’t necessarily put the money into protecting the data that is on them,” reports identity theft expert John Sileo. Listen Sileo explain how this can destroy your company and how to prevent this disaster.

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Business Identity Theft Radio Interview, Part I

John recently did a radio interview on business identity theft for New Construction Strategies hosted by Ted Garrison. The construction industry, like most industries, battles with data theft on a daily basis. Insider theft, cyber crimes, social networking exposure – these are just a few of the areas that businesses need to defend against in the information economy. Listen to the interview to learn more.

“DODGING THE HIT FROM IDENTITY THEFT: WHY YOU SHOULD CARE”
John Sileo with Ted Garrison

Data breach, identify theft, and corporate espionage can cause huge damage if you don’t stop them upfront because the impact goes right to your bottom line. Listen to John Sileo, author of Stolen Lives, describe the horrors of not protecting yourself as well as what you must do to protect yourself.

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