|
|
|
Experts offer tips to stop ID thieves By William Sherman
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
(KRT)
The letters warning of identity theft started going out in April, and
not just a few of them. More than 180,000 Polo Ralph Lauren customers
who used credit cards for their purchases received letters from HSBC
bank saying their names and card numbers had been compromised. There was
a security breach of Polo's data bank.
HSBC, the world's sixth-largest credit card issuer, had gotten the word
from MasterCard and decided to send out the notices even though no law
required it, said bank spokesman Steve Cohen.
Similar warnings were sent this spring to more than 800,000 other
Americans, including online brokerage houses, 120,000 alumni of Boston
College and others whose Social Security numbers and other ID
information had been compromised by hackers who penetrated theoretically
secure files of data brokers.
"What bank robbery was to the Depression age, identity theft is to the
Information Age," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who along with Sen.
Bill Nelson, D-Fla., has proposed legislation requiring tighter security
controls by companies over ID data.
Similar bills have been introduced by Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and
state legislation has been proposed by New York Attorney General Eliot
Spitzer. All the legislation is aimed at reducing individuals' exposure
to ID hackers and pressuring data banks, merchants and financial
institutions into keeping tighter controls over ID data they use.
But with all that, and proposed regulation changes eliminating Social
Security numbers from Medicare cards, the larger question is what can
individuals do to prevent becoming a victim.
Some measures are simple.
Your Social Security number is the big key for ID thieves, for once they
have it, they can get credit cards, open a bank account and get a
passport or a driver's license — all in your name.
Don't carry your Social Security card, don't transmit the number over a
computer and don't reveal the number unless required, FBI and U.S.
Secret Service officials warn. Similarly, don't give out your birth date
or mother's maiden name, two other key identifiers.
Personal computer security against ID hackers is more complicated.
While ID thieves trolling the Internet routinely send out mass e-mails
masquerading as financial institutions asking for information updates,
including Social Security number and credit card numbers, no bank ever
makes such an e-mail request, according to Cohen and representatives of
other banks.
PayPal and eBay also never request passwords or other information
updates in e-mails, he said.
"If you get a request, don't reply," said Cohen.
Additionally, don't give out credit card information over the Internet
unless you know precisely where it is going, and, if making an online
purchase, make sure you use an encrypted, guaranteed-against-fraud
bill-paying facility like PayPal.
Bruce Helman, supervisor of the FBI's New York computer hacking squad,
said fire walls and virus protection programs are routinely penetrated
by sophisticated hackers seeking ID information.
"The answer is nobody is forcing you to respond to an e-mail or open an
attachment to an e-mail from a source you don't know or aren't
expecting," said Helman. "Don't do it.
"Click on an attachment that's an executable file (.exe) or a .bat file
and you're dead. Those files can literally take over your computer and
come with BOTs (robot programs) that will hunt down your ID or record
all your keystrokes," he said.
People who are using wireless programs should make sure their routers
are encrypted with passwords that are a combination of letters and
numbers, Helman advised.
Studies have shown that more than 60 percent of wireless users don't
bother following instructions to encrypt traffic, an open invitation to
any hacker who can easily piggyback onto your network to penetrate your
files.
Alfred Huger, senior director of engineering for Symantec Inc., the
computer security firm, recommends ensuring all anti-virus programs are
up to date, whether wireless or not.
"We don't have to dramatically change the way we behave on the Internet,
we just have to be more cognizant of security," he said.
For wireless devices like BlackBerrys and Palm Pilots, check with
manufacturers and software dealers on programs that will add security to
transmissions, the experts advise.
The most complete compendium of advice to consumers on ID theft is
provided by the Federal Trade Commission at www.consumer.gov/idtheft/.
Victims of ID theft should immediately notify relevant credit card
companies, banks, credit rating agencies and law enforcement agencies,
the FTC advises.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Comment by clicking here. © 2005, New York Daily News. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services |
Arnold Ahlert | |||||||||||
