Simple steps can keep you protected

BY CATHY NELSON
SPECIAL TO THE FREE PRESS

While many of us dread the holiday shopping crowds, there's one group that eagerly anticipates the harried throngs -- and they won't be on anybody's nice list.

We're talking about identity thieves, and, for many of them, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year.

"With the malls and stores so full, it's a virtual hunting ground for identity thieves," said Detective Lt. Marty Bugbee, commander of fraud investigations for the Michigan State Police.

The holiday season also is prime time for thieves to prey on Internet shoppers.

Here are some tips to help protect you from becoming a victim:

Guard your valuables. "The big thing crooks look for is opportunity," said Bugbee. "Don't give it to them."

That means making sure your wallet, purse and bags aren't left on chairs or in shopping carts.

Also, don't carry around your Social Security number or every credit card you own.

"More than 50% of identity theft is traced back to an actual paper document," said Tim Burns, public affairs director for the Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern Michigan. "Don't have any sensitive personal information with you, and carry minimal cash and only one or two credit cards."

Beware of cyber strangers. Remember how your parents told you not to talk to strangers? The same rule should apply online, said Bugbee.

That means you should never open files or download software from people you don't know. These authentic-looking e-mails -- pretending to be from UPS or the U.S. Postal Service -- are especially prevalent now. But they can instead be from scammers trying to get at sensitive information stored on your computer, according to Burns.

"Clicking on the link allows their software to be downloaded on your computer," he said, adding that the software is then used to steal your personal information.

"If you get one of these e-mails, never click on the link. Instead, go to the company's legitimate site to find out if it's authentic."

It's also important to make sure you have firewalls and up-to-date antivirus software installed, said Burns.

Don't check the mail. Don't put any outgoing mail, especially if it contains checks, in your home mailbox for pickup. Scammers can get to it that way, said Bugbee. Instead, take your mail to a collection box or post office.

To find out more about protecting yourself from identity theft, visit http://detroit.bbb.org or www.michigan.govcq-both (enter "identity theft" in the search box). Or visit or call the FTC at www.ftc.gov or 877-438-4338.

Out shopping, or away from home on holiday, Australians should be especially vigilant in the holiday season to prevent identity theft.

One in five Australians have been victims of identity theft, a survey has found.

Christmas and New Year is a period of peak activity for fraudsters and identity thieves, survey sponsor Veda Advantage, an ID theft protection company, says.

"Everyday things like online shopping, more frequent use of credit cards and ATMs and leaving mail to pile up in our letterbox when we are away can increase our exposure to identity theft," company spokesman Kelvin Kirk says.

"When we're relaxing on holiday we are often less conscious of when and where we hand over valuable identity information - leaving us vulnerable to fraud," he said.

Twenty per cent of respondents in the survey of 1,100 people aged over 16 reported that someone had either stolen their identity, illegally accessed or tried to access their bank accounts, stolen or skimmed credit cards or tried to steal their PIN.

Criminals were working hard to cash in on holiday spirit complacency, Mr Kirk said, and Australians needed to be aware of this and protect themselves.

Mr Kirk's tips to avoid being ripped off include arranging for friends or relatives to collect mail while on holiday, taking care with online credit card purchases, regularly changing online passwords, and keeping wallets and purses safe at shopping centres.

He says criminals most commonly find personal details by stealing mail, rummaging through garbage or rifling through lost or stolen wallets and cheque books.

© 2009 AAP

Think of it this way: Chris Paget just did you a service by hacking your passport and stealing your identity. Using a $250 Motorola RFID reader and antenna connected to his laptop, Chris recently drove around San Francisco reading RFID tags from passports, driver licenses, and other identity documents. In just 20 minutes, he found and cloned the passports of two very unaware US citizens. Fortunately, Chris wears a white hat; his video demonstration is meant to raise awareness to what he calls the unsuitability of RFID for tagging people. Specifically, he's hoping to help get the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative -- a homeland security project -- scrapped. Perhaps you'll feel the same after watching his video posted after the break.
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/02/video-hacker-war-drives-san-francisco-cloning-rfid-passports/

An Ericsson executive says all new mobile phones sold in 2010 will include an RFID chip that will allow owners to open their car or house door with their phone. A handy feature, no doubt, for some people. But the executive says the chip might also be used by credit card companies to track the location of cardholders to cut down on fraud.

Håkan Djuphammar, vice president of systems architecture for Ericsson, speaking at a conference in Stockholm this week, said credit card companies could make use of mobile user location data and IP mapping to determine if the owner of a card is in the same location where a card transaction is taking place.

“In some countries there’s a lot of fraud with credit cards so therefore it’s in the interest of the credit card issuer to be able to match the position of the phone that belongs to the person who has a credit card,” he reportedly said.

He said the chips could also be used to create real-time traffic maps and updates by determining the speed of a driver passing by mobile phone base stations.

Djuphammar said selling the information of mobile phone users to credit card companies and others would be a “win win” situation for all parties concerned.

“That is a typical ‘win win’ where the operator share their assets/knowledge through a broker, and the GPS company can sell a service to the end user. The end user wins, the GPS service provider wins, the broker provider wins and the operator wins,” he said.

Djuphammar did not mention whether users will be able to turn the chip off or otherwise opt out
of the sale of their data.

Kim Zetter / Wired Magazine