Tag Archive for: John Sileo

Biometric Identity Theft: Stolen Fingerprints

Identity Theft is a huge and growing problem. According to the recent 2009 Identity Theft Fraud report by Javelin Strategy & Research, victims increased 22% in 2008 to 9.9 million. When businesses are involved, the companies face billions of dollars in theft, millions of dollars in fines and, perhaps most important, the loss of customer trust.

The large impact that identity theft has on individuals lives and corporations’ bottom lines has made inexpensive biometrics look attractive for authenticating employees, customers, citizens, students and any other people we want to recognize. The most recent debate is on whether the pros outweigh the cons. (To see some of the materials that influenced this article, please visit George Tillmann’s excellent article in Computerworld).

Biometrics uses physical characteristics, such as fingerprints, DNA, or retinal patterns to positively verify individuals. These biological identifiers are electronically converted to a string of ones and zeros and stored on file in the authenticator database.

The downside or weakness of biometrics is that the risk of data breach remains relatively the same. Just as a credit card number can be stolen, the numbers that make up your biometrics and are stored in a database can be stolen.  It may take longer for thieves to understand how to use these new pieces of information, but they will eventually be used.

Ultimately, this could be more dangerous than having your ATM PIN, credit card number, or Social Security Number stolen, and it will take longer to clear up.  In a worst-case-scenario, someone inside of the biometric database company could attach their fingerprint to your record — and suddenly they are you. The reverse is also true, where they put your fingerprint in their profile so that if they are convicted of a crime, the proof of criminality is attached to your finger.

What will stop thieves from electronically sending your stolen fingerprints to your bank to confirm that you really do want to clean out your bank account through an ATM in Islamabad? Fingerprints, when stored in a database, are nothing more than long strings of numbers. What will you do when your digitized fingerprints wind up on a government No-Fly list? If you think it takes forever to board a plane now, wait until every law enforcement agency in the free world has your fingerprints on file as a suspected thief or, worse, a terrorist.

The reality is that biometrics could be a great alternative to securing one’s identity – and they are quickly becoming a part of every day identification.  But we can’t go forward into the new world of biometrics thinking that it solves all of our problems. Like the “security codes” on the back of our credit cards, like the two forms of authentication required for most banks, like wireless encryption standards – thieves eventually find work-arounds. And so too will they work around biometrics. If we implement biometrics without doing our due diligence on protecting the identity, we are doomed to repeat history — and our thumbprint will become just another Social Security Number.

John Sileo became America’s leading Identity Theft Speaker & Expert after he lost his business and more than $300,000 to identity theft and data breach. His clients include the Department of Defense, Pfizer and the FDIC. Contact John directly on 800.258.8076.

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Traveling Safety: Identity Theft Takes a Trip

Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo on Traveling Safety.

Traveling Safety has become a study of its own ever since the advent of identity theft. Your biggest concern may no longer be physical in nature (pickpockets, hotel theft, muggings); the value of the personal identity you carry as you travel is worth far more than the cash in your wallet.

We all love to plan the vacation of our dreams. I can almost taste the pasta Bolognese as I read about that out-of-the way trattoria half way down the ancient narrow vicolo (blind alley) in Tuscany. But there’s one area we often overlook that can turn that long-anticipated dinner into a nightmare – the theft of our most-valuable asset, our identity. Let’s fast forward – we’ve savored the last bite of pasta and drained our pitcher of the vino rosso locale before presenting our credit card.   Our friendly waiter looks concerned as he walks back to our table to tell us that our credit card has been declined. It doesn’t take us long to discover a thief has maxed out our credit and there is nothing left to pay for our dream. If we’re lucky, we’ll have a backup plan and pay by cash or another credit card. If we are less lucky, the thief has cashed out our bank account as well, has stolen our passport numbers to set up new accounts, or has gained access to a laptop computer full of sensitive personal and workplace data. What were we thinking (or not thinking) by neglecting traveling safety?

Traveling safely and preventing identity theft go hand in hand. Because we carry so much identity with us when we travel, because we are much less organized when on the road, and because thieves target travelers, the likelihood of identity theft while on vacation or business travel increases.

Traveling Safety 101

Traveling Safety – Before You Leave Home

  1. Travel light! Simplify and minimize what to bring with you. Take as little identity with you as necessary. If possible, leave the following items at home when you travel:

Checks and Checkbooks. Resist the temptation to carry checks or take only one or two for an emergency, carrying them with your cash in your money belt. Checking account takeover is one of the simplest crimes to commit and one of the most devastating types of financial fraud from which to recover. The easy alternative? Use a credit card or cash.
Debit Cards. You can reduce your vulnerability to having your checking account emptied while on vacation by leaving all debit cards (check cards) at home. Don’t be lulled into thinking that Debit/ATM cards are safe just because they have a PIN or password. In fact, the only time a PIN is needed to use the card is when it is being used at an ATM. No PIN is required when it is used at a store as a debit or credit card. Be aware, too, that debit cards don’t have the same financial fraud protections as most credit cards. The Solution? Ask your bank for an ATM-Only debit card (it won’t work in stores, only at an ATM) and make sure your password isn’t overseen when you are at the ATM. Better yet, use a credit card or cash.  The exception to this is when you are traveling in a foreign country and your debit card is the most economical method of obtaining cash from an ATM.
Extra Credit Cards. Every piece of identity you take with you creates more sources of potential fraud to which you are exposed. I recommend that if you are traveling with another adult, you each take one credit card (and if possible, take cards from two separate credit card companies. That way, you each carry only one card that can be lost or stolen, but you have a backup card if the other person’s card is lost, stolen or shut down because of fraud).  Make sure that your credit card company knows the dates and places you are traveling so that they don’t shut it down when charges are made out of town. Also, make sure you have a large enough credit line to cover your purchases while traveling.
Social Security Cards. You do not need your Social Security Card while traveling (or at any time other than your first day of work with a new employer), so leave it locked up at home.
Bills. Don’t try to take bills to pay while traveling.
Identity Documents. Leave birth certificates, passports (unless travelling internationally), library cards, receipts, etc. at home while you travel. Anything you don’t absolutely need should be left at home locked in a fire safe. If you can travel with only a credit card, driver’s license and health insurance card (as long as it doesn’t have your SSN on it), you will be much safer.

  • Photocopy the contents of your wallet/documents.Or make a list of all the contents and all your travel documents to carry with you in a secure place as you travel. It’s also a good idea to leave a copy at home with a trusted person whom you can contact. It will save you hours of frustration if anything is lost or stolen.
  • Hold the Mail. Your mailbox is an identity bonanza. Before you leave, place a “postal hold” on your mail so that your mailbox isn’t vulnerable while you are gone. Arrange with your post office that you (or your spouse) are the only people allowed to pick up your mail. Don’t have it “mass-delivered” the day after you return, as this puts everything at risk all at once. Instead, pick it up at the post office once you return.
  • Social Networking Sites.Don’t put an “Away on Vacation” note on your social networking sites just as you wouldn’t tack one to your front door. Broadcasting this information opens the door to criminals using that information while you are away.Think twice about any information you share on social networking sites.

 

Traveling Safety – During Travel

  1. Lock it Up. I can’t stress enough the importance of using the in-room safes that are now a part of almost every hotel room. They are simple to use and drastically increase traveling safety (decreasing theft by cleaning staff and other travelers). Lock up the following items: 

    Laptop Computers. Only carry your laptop with you when absolutely necessary. The rest of the time, place your laptop (or just the hard drive if your laptop is too big) in the safe while you aren’t using it.  While using your laptop to access online banking or other password-protected services from Wi-Fi networks, be sure the Wi-Fi hotspots are secure.
    Public Access Internet Facilities. If you’re using a public computer in hotel business centers or cyber-cafes, never access any sensitive information.  Keyloggers (software that can track your keystrokes) may be tracking you.
    Cell Phones/PDAs. While you go down to the pool or off shopping and don’t need your cell phone or other electronic device, store it in the safe along with jewelry, extra cash, your iPod, thumb drive or other valuables.
    Passports. Unless you are traveling in a country where you are required to keep your passport with you at all times, lock it up in the safe the entire time you are staying at the hotel.
    Other Identity Documents. Store your plane tickets, receipts, and any other identity documents (birth certificates, extra credit cards, visa, etc.) in the safe when not in use.

  2. Carry it Safely. I recommend carrying all of your identity documents (passport, credit card, driver’s license, tickets, etc.) in a travel pouch that fits around your neck or your waste (and inside of your clothing). It is a minor inconvenience, but it lowers instances of pick pocketing and unintentional misplacement. Thieves have unbelievably nimble fingers that can slip into your pocket or purse undetected so here’s an essential habit to cultivate: just before you leave your hotel room (especially in cities), verify that your money pouch is securely fastened around your waist or neck, under your clothes. 

    Use a Backpack. When possible, carry laptops and other large identity-storing items in a backpack that stays zipped and on your back at all times. It is easy to set down a purse, book bag or piece of luggage while at a ticket counter or retail store. Backpacks, on the other hand, are easy to keep on our person at all times, and are harder to break into without alerting the wearer.
    Watch Your Cards. When paying with a credit card in a restaurant, try to keep your eye on the card. If the server removes it from sight, they may be able to create a “clone” by using a portable card skimmer that will copy the information from the card’s magnetic strip. Many restaurants are now able to process the card at your table or you can take it to the register and observe the transaction.

  3. ATM Machines. Use your “ATM Only” card (one that requires a PIN and does not contain a Visa or MasterCard logo) at ATM machines found at banks or credit unions that are in well-lit areas. Be sure to examine the ATM machine carefully for signs of tampering. Be on the lookout for anything that looks suspicious. Save all transaction receipts in a specific envelope to make it easy to reconcile your bank statement when you arrive home.

Traveling Safety – Upon Your Return Home

  1. Monitor Your Accounts. Shortly after you return from your travels, pay special attention to your account statements to make sure that nothing out of the ordinary appears. If a credit card number or bank account number was stolen during your trip, this is how you will catch it early and keep it from becoming a major nightmare. Contact your provider and alert them to the breach immediately.
  2. Rotate Your Account Numbers . If you feel like your identity might have been compromised (e.g., your credit card number stolen), call your financial institution and have them issue a new card. This makes the old number obsolete, should anyone try to use it in the future.
  3. Pick Up the Mail! Don’t leave it in anyone else’s hands any longer than necessary. Make sure you shred any mail that you no longer need.

Think about Traveling Safety before you leave so that you can fully enjoy your trip instead of being preoccupied with identity theft. Safe travels!

Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo is America’s top identity theft expert. His clients include the Department of Defense, FDIC, Federal Reserve Bank, Pfizer and organizations around the world.

Data Breach Security: TJX is Our Fault!

The TJX security data breach is our fault.

TJX Cos. has been ordered to pay $9.75M in a data breach security lawsuit. The data breach settlement will be awarded to 41 states because TJX failed to protect customers’ financial information from a massive computer breach announced in 2007 that exposed millions of customers’ personal and credit card data to hackers.

The settlement amount is probably the largest ever, and it is comically low.

TJX lost somewhere between 40 and 90 million customer records, and there is a good chance yours was one of them if you shop at T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods or A.J. Wright. If only 10% of those breached records were ever used to commit identity fraud (let’s say 7.5 million records, to be conservative), at the average cost of identity theft recovery ($700), the damage to you and me is approximately $490 Million. So TJX paid about a 2% penalty for failing to protect our data. They value the safety of our being a customer at about 2%. They care about their own profits about 98%.

And it’s our fault! Why? Because even after their lax data breach security (they didn’t encrypt their wireless routers in the store, letting our information float, unprotected, in the airwaves), even after their loss of 40-90 million records; even after an expose on 60 Minutes, we continue to do business with TJX Cos! If the guy mowing your lawn stole from you, would you continue to hire him? No! And yet when a $300,000 identity is at stake, we shrug and let apathy take over. Because it is virtual, digital and seemingly unreal. But when it happens to you, and you spend your time and money repairing it, it quickly becomes real. Shame on us for going so quickly back to those who erode our trust. Until we take our role in data breach security seriously, organizations will continue to get off lightly.

The next time an organization makes you part of a privacy breach, penalize them by ending your relationship. That will send a message loud and clear.

Identity Theft Expert John Sileo is America’s top identity theft speaker. His clients include the Department of Defense, FDIC, Federal Reserve Bank, Pfizer and organizations around the world.

The 7 Deadly Sins of Privacy Leadership: How CEOs Enable Data Breach

Technology is not the root cause of identity theft, data breach or cyber crime.

We are.

Too often, technology is our scapegoat, providing a convenient excuse to sit apathetically in our corner offices, unwilling to put our money where our profits are. Unwilling, in this case, to even gaze over at the enormous profit-sucking sound that is mass data theft. The deeper cause of this crisis festers in the boardrooms of corporate America. Like an overflowing river, poor privacy leadership flows inexorably downhill from the CEO, until at last, it undermines the very banks that contain it.

The identity theft and data breach bottom line?

Corporate boardrooms across America care about the loss of people’s personal data about as much as Ford cared about recalling the Pinto when they began exploding on rear impact. Hey, it was cheaper to fight the lawsuits from the surviving relatives than re-engineer the gas tank. And it’s cheaper to take a tax write-off on fraud-loss line items than to dig this weed up by the roots. We fail to see the connection between privacy breaches and larger profit hits — liability lawsuits, brand damage, customer flight, stock depreciation, loss of trust in the company, bad press, etc. Just ask TJX, who has spent well over $500 million recovering from their data breach – a breach that could have been prevented with only tens of thousands of dollars.

In clearer terms, poor leadership (not technology) is the primary factor leading to data breach. And we stand by, you and me both, mostly silent and submissive, as corporation after corporation loses our private data. We suffer the consequences. It is our credit that is destroyed; our time wasted dealing with law enforcement, credit bureaus, collection agencies, bankruptcy courts, criminal charges and the deep and personal violation of being the victim of a crime that no one really cares about. It makes a great news story, but only because we can deny that it will ever reach us.

Millions of years ago we evolved from the primordial slime with a backbone built for standing up to our challenges. Why, all of a sudden, has our backbone disappeared? We’ve built the Great Wall of China, landed on the moon, eradicated polio and elected the first African American, Barack Obama, to be President of the United States. But we can’t protect the customer data, employee records and intellectual capital that gives our corporations their value? That underlies our capitalist economy? Information is our most valuable asset, but god forbid we invest in a privacy strategy to protect that asset.

The 7 Deadly Sins of Prviacy Leadership: How CEOs (and other Executives) Enable Data Breach

As an identity theft speaker who travels the country speaking on this topic, I’ve noticed that a majority of corporations experiencing data breach and workplace identity theft share similar weaknesses in their overall privacy fabric. You have an opportunity to learn from their mistakes before they become yours. Begin by asking yourself whether you (as a leader) or your organization suffers from any of the 7 Deadly Sins:

  1. Apathy – a disturbing lack of care for and attention to a crime you incorrectly believe will never seriously impact your bottom line. If you have never had a corporate-wide privacy education initiative, you are a prime candidate for this weakness.
  2. Ignorance – many leaders refuse to admit that they don’t know what they don’t know. For example, do you know the value, location and confidentiality of your sensitive data?  Do you know how it is protected, how long it is maintained and why you keep it in the first place?
  3. Arrogance – some executives see themselves as champions of data privacy because they have a strong IT department, but fail to see that privacy doesn’t exist in a silo. Does your organization tend to believe that data privacy is the realm of the I.T. Department? If so, you are overlooking other critical functions (human resources, sales, intellectual property, legal compliance) that are touched by privacy concerns on a daily basis.
  4. Greed – many CEOs are the first to violate the very privacy policies that they champion. Have you ever surfed unprotected at the airport? Do you shred every piece of sensitive data that goes in your trash? What passwords are stored in your BlackBerry?
  5. Hypocrisy – many CEOs are the first to violate the very privacy policies that they champion. Have you ever surfed unprotected at the airport? Do you shred every piece of sensitive data that goes in your trash? What passwords are stored in your BlackBerry?
  6. Paralysis – some companies and executives have difficulty breaking old habits and, by default, choose to perpetuate high-risk data practices. Do you collect certain private information simply because you always have? Have you ever re-evaluated your hiring policies to take corporate espionage, workplace identity theft and insider fraud into account?
  7. Procrastination – Even executives who care about, educate themselves on, admit to, have the budget to invest in and personally practice data safety… never get around to doing something about it at the corporate level. When you are finished with this article, how will your behavior change? Will you get to it later?

This is not an easy topic, but running an organization isn’t an easy task. Leaders that guide their corporations to develop a privacy strategy that avoids these security sins will achieve a long-term competitive advantage in the marketplace. And in the marketplace of ideas, in the oft-proclaimed information economy, what better asset to protect than our private information?

John Sileo is a victim of The 7 Deadly Sins of Data Privacy. After losing his business to data breach and his reputation to identity theft, John became America’s leading identity theft speaker. He uses his gripping story, first-hand experiences and humorous interaction to inspire audiences around the world to protect corporate data as if it were their own. His clients include the Department of Defense, FDIC, AARP and Pfizer. Learn more at www.ThinkLikeASpy.com.

Hotel Key Cards & Identity Theft

I just checked out of my hotel room in NYC after delivering an identity theft speech to the most wonderful New Yorkers at the Federal Reserve Bank of NY, and it reminded me of a question I hear constantly as I travel:

Can my identity be stolen off of the room key cards that hotels use?

In my experience, the answer is “no”. I have never found anything other than my name, room number and occasionally a customer number encoded on the magnetic strip on the back of the card.

Here’s how key cards work. Hotels store your personal information (credit card number, address, etc.) on their computer system rather than on the card. When they issue you your key card, they encode your name and the room number onto the card. When you use your key card at the hotel gift store or at the bar, it simply records that charge to your room or customer number. When you check out, the charge is billed directly to your credit card.

To verify the accuracy of my experiences, I researched hotel key cards on Snopes.com. Snopes is an excellent way to verify the truth of possible scams, frauds and urban myths. Snopes supports my findings, however…

Why take the chance? I’ve never been to a hotel that actually charges you if you don’t return the cards. So, the responsible privacy reflex here is to minimize your chances by destroying the card, even if it doesn’t pose much of a risk. Just like you should shred mail that only has your name and address on it (the first pieces of information an identity thief needs to uncover more identity on the Internet), so should you eliminate the chances that something on the hotel key card will ever be used to steal your identity. It costs you nothing and takes less than 30 seconds to CHOP. And in the meantime, this will get you in the habit of destroying identity exposure so that when it does count, you’re prepared.

Identity theft prevention isn’t about being paranoid, it’s about establishing good habits of privacy and being prepared.

John Sileo
Financial Identity Theft Speeches