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Dear Valued Customer,
Top Mistakes That Make
You a Prime Target for Identity Theft
The numbers are
staggering: according to the 2006 Identity Fraud
Report, identity theft cost consumers and businesses
a whopping $56.6 billion dollars. Identity theft occurs
when someone steals your name, Social Security
number (SSN), bank account number, or credit card
to open accounts, make purchases, or commit other
fraudulent crimes.
The Methods They Use to
Steal Your Identity
The methods
identity thieves use include low tech strategies (like
going through your trash can, also known
as “dumpster diving”) to highly sophisticated phishing
scams that include cloned PayPal or bank websites
that trick you into giving your username, password,
or account number. Other ways include:
• Stealing records from an employer or bribing
an employee who has access to the records.
• Hacking into the company’s employee
records.
• Stealing mail, such as bank account or
credit card statements, tax documents, pre-approved
credit cards, or new checks.
• Abusing their employer's authorized access
to credit reports.
How Identity Theft Affects
You
Once someone has
stolen your identity, they can use your credit cards
or bank account to purchase expensive consumer
goods like computers and electronics that can easily
be resold for cash. They can also open and charge up
new credit cards, which can be a real mess to
straighten out with vendors and credit reporting
agencies. Other criminal activities include taking out
auto loans in your name, opening a new phone or
wireless service in your name, or writing counterfeit
checks to drain your bank account. Some have even
used it to file for bankruptcy to avoid paying debts
they've incurred, or to avoid eviction.
How to Protect Yourself
and Your Employees
Never give your
personal information, Social Security number, credit
card number, or bank account numbers over the
phone or online unless you know for certain you are
dealing with a legitimate company. Make sure your
employees are given an AUP (acceptable use policy)
that educates them on the dangers of phishing scams
and spam e-mails designed to either trick you into
giving your information or installing a virus that
secretly steals the information stored on your PC
without your knowledge.
You can recognize
a secure website, as it has an https:// at the
beginning of the web address (regular web sites only
have http:// and no “s”) at the top of the page on
which you are submitting your information. It also
must have a picture of a lock in the bottom right
corner of the page. If you don’t see both of these
measures in place, do not submit your
information.
And even if you DO
see this, use a credit card instead of a debit card or
pay by check option because you'll get security
protection from your card's issuer. Visa, MasterCard
and American Express all have a zero liability policy. If
you notify the bank of unauthorized transactions, you
pay nothing. And some credit card companies offer
one-time use numbers to prevent someone from
stealing your account number and using it for
unauthorized charges.
Shred all medical
bills, financial statements, credit card applications,
tax statements, or any other mail that contains
confidential information about you before you throw
them into the trash.
Never open e-mails
or attachments from e-mail addresses you are
unfamiliar with, and NEVER respond to e-mails that
ask you to verify your account information because
your account is being closed, suspended, or charged.
If you want to verify this, call the bank or the
company to see if it was a legitimate e-mail.
Signs That You've Fallen
Victim to Identity Theft
If you see any
unexplained charges or withdrawals from your bank
accounts, if you receive credit cards that you did not
apply for, or if you start receiving bills or collection
letters for items you have not purchased, someone
may have stolen your identity.
Always follow up
with the business or institution to find out exactly
what is causing the situation as quickly as possible.
The faster you act on identity theft, the easier it will
be for you to clear your name.
Matt Carter
PC MedEvac
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Should You Leave Your Computer On at Night or Turn It Off? |
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I’ve been asked by
customers whether or not they should leave their
computer on all the time or turn it off when they are
not using it.
Several years ago I
would have told my clients to turn their machines off
to save power. But with the proliferation of viruses
and threats over the last few years, I have changed
my mind with one notable exception.
Laptops. Due to their smaller cases and
even smaller fans, laptops are not able to cool
efficiently and should never be run at full power for
more than 8 to 10 hours on a flat surface or in warm
envirnments.
Today, anti-virus
programs and anti-spyware applications need regular
updating. These updates are often scheduled to run
in the wee hours of the morning when you are not
using your computer.
Windows also
needs to be updated whenever a new security patch
is released. This is usually not daily, but it may
happen several times a month. It's important to
update your operating system as soon as a patch
becomes available because hackers move very
quickly to reverse engineer Windows updates. As
soon as an update is released, they create a virus
specific to that vulnerability and start looking for
unprotected machines to infect and invade.
In addition to the
above, you should be backing up your data every
day, and the best time to do this is at night when
you are not using it.
So bottom line,
leave your computer on all night and restart it two or
three times a week to clear the memory.
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Be Careful Of What You Say In An Instant Message |
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If you think your
words disappear forever when an
instant messaging session is closed, think again.
Your IM is not a
safe refuge for private chatter.
Companies and government agencies can monitor and
log instant-messaging conversations conducted on
company computers. Google saves chat sessions
automatically and they can be searched later. Users
of Google Talk must disable the setting or choose "off
the record" for sessions they don't want saved.
Instant-messaging
services such as AOL's AIM,
Yahoo's Yahoo Messenger, and Microsoft's Windows
Live Messenger don't store conversations on their
servers automatically, but they offer various tools for
companies and individuals to log conversations.
Recent scandals
demonstrate that instant messaging is not private.
Government-monitored IMs
found inappropriate messages by a member of
Congress, who then resigned. And IMs have figured in
corporate scandals, as well. Instant-messaging
services are offering a host of new products and
tools for tracking IMs. AIM Pro, a free version for
individuals and businesses, automatically archives
conversations and saves them for 14 days. The
feature can be extended or turned off.
Microsoft's Live
Communications server allows a
company's information technology department to log
and search employee conversations, including those
on IM services like Yahoo and AOL.
A study by the
American Management Association
and The ePolicy Institute shows that only 13 percent
of companies now track and log instant messages.
The crackdown, however, is starting to take effect.
Two percent of employers have fired someone
because of what they said, and about 26 percent of
companies have fired someone for misuse of email.
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The Lighter Side: |
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Things toddlers eat -
Panicking when his toddler swallowed a small magnet,
George rushed him to the emergency room.
“He'll be fine,” the doctor promised. “The
magnet should pass through his system in a day or
two.”
“How will I be sure?” he pressed.
“Well”, the doctor suggested, “you could stick him on
the refrigerator. When he falls off, you'll know.”
Grief and suffering
A dietitian was addressing a large audience in
Chicago:
“The material we put into our stomachs is enough to
have killed us. Red meat is awful. Soft drinks erode
your stomach lining. Chinese food has MSG. And
mayonnaise can be disastrous.”
“But one thing is the most dangerous of all and we all
have eaten it or will eat it. What food causes the
most grief and suffering for years after eating it?"
A 75-year-old man in the front row stood up and
said, ”wedding cake.”
Quotes On New Year -
“Youth is when you’re allowed to stay up on New
Year’s Eve. Middle age is when you are forced to.”
-
Bill Vaughn
“Now there are more overweight people in America
than average-weight people. So overweight people
are now average. Which means you’ve met your New
Year’s resolution.” - Jay Leno
“An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New
Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old
year leaves.” - Bill Vaughn
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Would You Like To Submit An Article for Byteline? |
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Do you have a funny story or a resource you want to
share with the other subscribers? Send it to me! We
are always looking for new and useful content to add
to Byteline, including partners who want to
submit articles!
Theresa Carter - 369-7801
theresa@pcm
edevac.com
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Save Money and Time with PC MedEvac's Remote Rx |
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PC MedEvac would like to share with you the money
and time saving jewel of of our proactive service
offering - Remote-Rx. This remote
control tool keeps your business-critical technology
running at peak performance and reduces your
network and computer downtime.
Simply point your browser at
http://www.pcmedevac.com/gethelpnow.htm
choose remote support and then click on one of the
administrators currently on line. After you connect
we will get to work on your immediate issues.
And ---
To get you and your business up and running for the
new year, for the month of January, PC MedEvac will
give the first hour of any remote incident for FREE.
Just mention this article when you call for service.
PC MedEvac 369-7800 or email us.
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Matt Carter
PC MedEvac
139 East Chatham
Downtown Cary
369.7800
Happy New Year! We're looking forward to a great
2007 and wish the same for all of you.
PC MedEvac is closed on New Years Day and 15
January 2007 for Martin Luther King's holiday. As
always, our contract customers can contact us at
any time.
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