Snippets
of Sensitive Information Can Be Used Create Profile for Identity Thieves
Wallingford, CT - June 30, 2009 – Most
often, identity thieves need look no further than your own social network home
page to find personal information that can help them steal your identity or
reset banking and other sensitive passwords.
Here’s
a quick test to see how you fare: Is
your birth date or home town posted on your social network home page? How about your pet’s name? Is your address
and telephone number on a resume posted on an employment-seeking Web site?
Each
of these elements can contribute to creation of a personal profile that may be
used for, among other things, resetting passwords for your online transactions
for banking, investment and credit card statements.
This is how these bits of information can cause problems if you make them public:
Common
password reset questions include “What is your hometown?” “What is your
hometown newspaper,” or “What is your pet’s name?”
If
you posted something recently about your cat “Fluffy,” you may have offered the
answer to a password reset question.
Once your password is reset, an identity thief can take over access to
your financial institution records and investments and redirect mail delivery
of statements and withdrawals.
Connecticut Better Business
Bureau offers the following advice to protect your personal information that
can be mined from social networking and other sites:
Don’t reveal personal
information on social networking sites:
Check to ensure you are not
providing sensitive, personal information online, and verify your privacy
settings prevent your profile from being seen by anybody except your friends.
Use
different password reset questions:
Since
many sites ask similar password reset questions, it is important to use
different questions on various sites.
Add
a few characters to a password reset answer:
If
you live in Connecticut
and your hometown paper is the Connecticut Post, make the password reset
answer, for example, “CTPost2009,” instead of “Connecticut Post.” This way, knowledge of your hometown paper isn’t
enough to reset your password. Do the same with other reset questions,
including the street you grew up on and the name of your pet. Instead of “Fluffy,”
use “Fluffythecat.”
Fudge
your birth date:
Change
the month, day or year you were born so that anyone mining the Internet for
your personal information will have incorrect or conflicting information.
Don’t
use public computers for private work:
Don’t
do any online banking or purchasing with a credit card when you’re using a
public computer. This information is
readily captured, if not by its owner, then by malicious software that logs the
sites you have visited, your logins and passwords. These also may reside on a friend’s computer
as spyware without their knowledge.
Protect
your SSN:
Don’t
carry your Social Security Card in your wallet, and never give it out to anyone
other than an employer, the Internal Revenue Service or your financial
institution. If your Department of Motor Vehicles asks for your SSN as a
drivers permit number, request an alternative number. Never give out your SSN to ANYONE
over the telephone, in e-mail or to people who show up at your door for any
reason.
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