id theft fraud prevention

January 15, 2012

Holiday Red Alert: Consumers More Vulnerable to ID Theft During Holiday Season

Filed under: Id Fraud — Tags: , , , , , , , — admin @ 9:19 pm

Austin, TX (PRWEB) December 13, 2011

For many consumers, the swipe of a credit card and the cha-ching of a cash register officially rings in the holiday season. It is important, however, for consumers to remain vigilant while shopping to ensure they dont put themselves at undue risk for identity theft.

We want consumers to be safe when shopping online and in stores this holiday season, says Jamie May, Chief Investigator at AllClear ID. With all of the commotion this time of year, its easy to let your guard down, not only in a hectic store but when making online purchases as well.

In order to make sure your money is safe this holiday season, AllClear ID, the worlds first 100% free essential identity theft protection service for consumers, offers six easy safety tips for in-store and online shopping:

1.����Use credit, not debit when checking out in-stores or online. Its best to use a credit card over a debit card, because under federal law, you can dispute the charge if you dont receive the item you purchased. You also have dispute rights if there are unauthorized charges on your credit card.

2.����Say no to store charge card offers. As attractive as store charge card accounts and on-the-spot discounts or coupons may be, consider how busy and distracted the store is at this time of year. Do you trust that the store clerk or cashier will take proper care with the form you just filled out, which lists everything from your address to your Social Security number?

3.����Stick to trustworthy websites for online shopping. Review the sellers reputation and record for customer satisfaction at the Better Business Bureaus (BBB) website, or look for the BBB seal and other widely-recognized trust marks on retailer websites.

4.����If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is. Thieves can create legitimate looking websites that offer seemingly great deals very quickly; however, these sites often sell counterfeit goods or just collect your personal information to commit fraud. In addition to checking for trust marks, check to see if the site has reviews from other customers on a that information is difficult to fake.

5.����When donating in lieu of a gift, first verify the charity. Unfortunately, the season of giving also creates opportunity for fraudulent charities. A great tool for verifying charities before you donate is Charity Navigator. You can search by name, type of charity, and location to confirm the group exists, and check how it is rated — including how the organization spends its money and recent news stories.

6.����Confirm your online purchase is secure. Always look in your Internet browsers address box for the s in https:// and in the lower-right corner of the screen for the lock symbol before entering your credit card information to pay. These indicators tell you that your website connection is secure.

Interested in protecting yourself and your family from identity theft? Stay up to date on the latest threats on the AllClear ID blog and check out additional holiday shopping tips online:https://www.allclearid.com/blog/tag/id-theft-and-the-holidays

About AllClear ID:

AllClear ID is the worlds initially 100% free necessary identity theft security service for customers. AllClear ID leverages its specialists, development plus deep safety experience with offer the greatest customer identity theft security items accessible. AllClear ID provides treatments including AllClear ID Free, AllClear ID Pro along with a free ChildScan for youngsters. AllClear ID is a private business plus headquartered inside Austin, Texas. For more info, please see http://www.allclearid.com.

PRESS CONTACT:

Lindsay Walsh

lwalsh(at)sutherlandgold(dot)com

415-848-7177

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November 23, 2011

Only One in Five Consumers Feel Protected From Fraud During Mobile Banking, Survey Finds

Filed under: Id Fraud Prevention — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 4:45 pm


Only One in Five Consumers Feel Protected From Fraud During Mobile Banking, Survey Finds

LOS ALTOS, CA (PRWEB) September 26, 2011

ThreatMetrix™, the fastest growing provider of cloud-based fraud prevention solutions that do not require personally identifiable information (PII), today announced results of a joint study with The Ponemon Institute, “Mobile Payments & Online Shopping Survey of U.S. Consumers.” The survey, which looked at U.S. consumers who self-reported they are active users of the Internet, revealed that only 21% feel they are completely protected against fraudsters when conducting mobile banking activities.

For purposes of the survey, mobile banking was defined as “…a term used for performing equilibrated checks, being transactions, payments, credit applications and other banking transactions through a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet.” The majority of respondents (46%) feel somewhat, but not completely protected from fraud in this channel, with 23% reporting they do not experiencing protected at all. An additional 10% are still uncertain about the level of fraud prevention measures surrounding mobile banking.

“Mobile banking is still a very new strategy for consumers and banks alike,” said Bert Rankin, vice president of marketing, ThreatMetrix. “The big question here is how banks can overcome this barrier to mobile adoption, and enable consumers to feel more secure when conducting transactions from their smartphone. While our survey results showed that many consumers found this functionality to be convenient, the overwhelming majority are still hesitant about mobile banking.”

According to the survey results, only 29% of consumers said they have indeed conducted mobile banking. Of those who have used mobile banking, half reported they did so out of convenience. Of those who expressed they have not used a mobile device for banking purposes, the same percentage (51%) cited it was because of diminished security. Twenty-three percent indicated that privacy concerns inhibited their use of mobile banking.

“Mobile, in particular, is difficult to protect from fraud,” aforementioned Julie Conroy McNelley, senior fraud and risk analyst at the Aite Group. “With around 4,000 different device types to secure, it’s often a daunting task. On top of that, few consumers are using anti-virus or anti-spyware software on their mobile devices. Mobile, just like more traditional e-commerce transactions from a desktop, has the potential to become a hotbed for fraud.”

Mobile Payments

Along with mobile banking, mobile payments still have a long way to go for widespread adoption, according to survey results. In the survey, a mobile payment – sometimes known as a mobile wallet — was defined as “an alternative payment method. Instead of paying with cash, check or credit cards, a consumer can use a mobile phone to pay for a wide range of services and digital or hard goods. Sixty-percent of surveyed consumers have never made a mobile payment, despite the fact that the majority own a smartphone.

However, eighty-four percent of consumers indicated that it is “important” or “very important” for online payment service providers to express a commitment to protect them against fraud and other abuses – especially in the mobile channel.

“Many of today’s payment providers have yet to fully embrace and promote their fraud prevention strategies,” said Rankin. “This is reflected in consumer preference to use either attributed cards or PayPal when made a mobile payment today, as these payment methods are most familiar to consumers.” Sixty-one percent of survey respondents said they prefer PayPal, with 53% indicating a preference for just using an attributed card. “Other payment processors like Google Wallet and CheckFree should be aware that fraud is a very real concern and often a barrier to consumers using these services when shopping from a mobile device.”

For a free Executive Research Summary of the “Mobile Payments & Online Shopping Survey of U.S. Consumers” download it here. Other topics covered in the survey include online spending intentions and fraud outlook for Cyber Monday and the upcoming holidays, as well as findings around social media and government-related payments.

About Ponemon Institute

The Ponemon Institute© is dedicated to advancing responsible information and privacy management practices in business and government. To achieve this objective, the Institute conducts independent research, educates leaders from the private and public sectors and verifies the privacy and data protection practices of organizations in a variety of industries. For more information, visit http://www.ponemon.org.

About ThreatMetrix

ThreatMetrix helps companies stop web fraud and accelerate e-commerce in real-time so they can significantly reduce online fraud, acquire more customers faster, reduce costs, and increase customer satisfaction. The ThreatMetrix Cloud-Based Fraud Prevention Platform, incorporating ThreatMetrix SmartID™ cookieless device identification, provides online businesses with the ability to protect themselves and their customers by verifying new accounts, authorizing payments and transactions and authenticaticating user logins in real-time. Online businesses can deploy the ThreatMetrix Cloud-based Fraud Prevention Platform , which does not rely on personally identifiable information (PII), for traditional online activity via a personal computer as well as for roving and tablet devices. The company serves a quickly growing customer basal around the world across a variety of industries including social networks (dating, gaming), financial services, e-commerce, affiliate marketing and payments. For more information, visit http://www.threatmetrix.com or call 1-650-625-1451.

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© 2011 ThreatMetrix. All rights reserved. ThreatMetrix, the ThreatMetrix Cloud-Based Fraud Prevention Platform, ThreatMetrix SmartID, ThreatMetrix ExactID, and the ThreatMetrix logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of ThreatMetrix in the United States and other countries. All other brand, service or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or owners.


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More Id Fraud Prevention Press Releases

November 27, 2010

Are ID Theft Protection Services Really Worth It?

Filed under: Legal — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 3:52 pm
Alan Maddux asked:




There have been many discussions in recent months among industry experts, consumer advocates and members of the media in regards to whether or not enrolling in an id theft protection product is worth the cost of the membership. With some companies charging as much as $200 per year for their services, there may be some merit to arguments presented by those who feel that protecting your personal identity is something that consumers can handle themselves.

While it is true that certain features of id theft protection can be handled by consumers themselves, it simply comes down to whether or not individuals are interested in spending the time it takes to monitor all the necessary data sources, placing phone calls to credit bureaus, remembering to renew fraud alerts every 90 days, etc.

The scenario is much like dining out.

July 21, 2010

John Sileo Author and Speaker

Filed under: Photo Id — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 3:39 pm
BrooksInternational asked:


Brooks International presents John Sileo. www.brooksinternational.com . John Sileo, author and speaker, became an expert at ID theft prevention and mitigation strategies during a two-year fight to recover his reputation and credit. Furthermore, John Sileo was a victim of two separate forms of identity theft. He speaks professionally to associations, corporations and consumers on issues of identity theft, data security and privacy.

Pedro

June 23, 2010

Protection Against Identity Thefts

Filed under: Legal — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 3:27 pm
Clara Ghomes asked:




Identity theft is a term given to an occurrence where an individual obtains the personal information of another person to obtain some illegal benefits. The obtaining of personal information is done through privacy breaches. In case of consumers, this can also happen if they provide their own information to anyone else. Many times the thief obtains (or tries to) personal identification information or documents by physical crime such as home invasion or vehicle break in.

Many sites and agencies (such as Canadian Phone busters and US Federal Trade Commission) address identity theft and recommend intervention strategies. One of the most common of those strategies is the guardianship of the documents or information of personal identifiers. The guardianship issues involve suggestions as to what should consumers do to avoid their private data getting into a criminal’s hands.

Not identifying at all is the best protection against any mishappening of identity theft. This ensures that the personal information can’t be used again to allow impersonation. Identity theft is caused due to too much identification or too little privacy. Many institutions/organizations and activities require consumers to provide their personal information like credit card number, drivers licence number, Social Security number etc. This information is treated as a proof of the individual’s identity but it makes it difficult for people to protect themselves from identity theft. Many online retailers and companies suggest their consumers to ensure regular updates of their operating system and computer’s security to protect them against identity theft online.

Many times impersonator also tries to steal identity of a dead person. The crime can be stopped the personal information is cross referenced with the death certificate of the individual. Recently, many companies have started providing protection services to people against identity theft for a monthly or an annual fee. These services basically work either by monitoring the credit report of the individual and setting fraud alerts on person’s credit files. The credit reporting agencies disclose the credit and personal information to a wide client base and the restrictions on the disclosure can vary from customer to customer.

Also, many times people have been exposed to risks of identity theft through poor supervision of the data which results in data breaches. The corporate mistakes which can lead to data breach include not providing adequate network security to the data, not shredding the data (confidential and private information) before throwing in dumps, giving personal information of consumers to other businesses which do not provide enough security to the data.

Having strong encryption on computers, laptops and any other portable media which contain large amount of personal information of consumers ensure that the data won’t get into wrong hands. Having finger identification or any other biometric information can prevent data breaches but there are limitations to it also.

Alvin

June 13, 2010

ID Theft Prevention – Lesson 7

Filed under: Howto — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 11:30 am
VideoCreditScore asked:


videocreditscore.com – ID Theft Prevention – VideoCreditScore.com offers free online video lessons and product reviews to consumers and credit counselors

Sandra

January 7, 2010

Identity Theft Is A Real Threat To Your Credit

Filed under: Credit — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 5:50 am
Gregory Wadel asked:


Identity theft is a real threat. It occurs when someone obtains credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, bank account information or other pieces of private information and uses them to commit some sort of fraud or deception, usually for financial gain. Identity theft can happen anywhere to anyone. In line at the store, online at home or when you’re buying your morning coffee.

Identity theft, also known as ID theft is a crime in which a criminal obtains key pieces of personal information, such as Social Security or driver’s license numbers, in order to pose as someone else. The information can be used to obtain credit, merchandise, and services using the victims name.

Victims might spend months or even years regaining their credit worthiness. In the meantime, the victims find it difficult to obtain loans, get a job, an apartment, or even write checks. Victims of economic crimes are encouraged to contact the following companies when their identity has been compromised by criminal activity.

Consumers were asked to name institutions where fraudulent accounts were created or where their accounts were affected by fraudulent activity. While the size of banks could be estimated by the amount of money they held in deposits, no such measure is available for telecommunications firms.

Consumers can protect themselves from identity theft in a variety of ways. Perhaps the most effective shield is a “credit freeze.”.Under a law proposed by my office and passed by the General Assembly, consumers can have one of the major credit rating agencies “freeze” their credit.

Luckily, I have a good agent that told me about it over a year ago. Look for any unauthorized accounts as well as numerous requests for your information from prospective creditors, which may indicate that someone is attempting to open accounts using your information. If you discover any unauthorized use of your personal information, you should contact your local law enforcement.

Last year, the government lost two computer discs containing government records on 25 million people. And in January the Ministry of Defense admitted it had lost control of a laptop containing unencrypted records on 600,000 prospective military recruits.

Identity theft is a felony crime; however, police cannot help with your credit record or undo the damage that has been done. Delayed discovery of identity theft and the various ways criminals can now gain access to your personal information, can complicate a criminal investigation. Identity theft often goes undectected.

Within a month of being committed, half of the crimes still remain unnoticed. Identity theft has grown at an astounding rate since the widespread adoption of the Internet. Every day new news appears about incidents of identity theft, new methods of theft, and cutting edge technologies designed to protect your identity.

Contact your local police department and ask to file a criminal complaint. Some police departments aren’t too thrilled to do this, since it is a very difficult case to pursue. Contact your banks and have them help you obtain new account numbers for all your accounts. Pick a new PIN number for ATM and debit cards.



Arthur

September 26, 2009

Reducing Your Risk of Identity Theft

Filed under: Self Improvement — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 11:44 am
Josiah Walter asked:


Identity thief is a very serious crime since it involves the stealing of someone else’s identity and using the said robbed identity in committing fraud crimes or other related crimes. The problem with identity theft is that you can never really be sure when it will hit you.

You might wake up one day with police running after you for some crimes that you have not committed.  Or worst you might lose everything that you have worked hard for because somebody else posing as you has sold or withdrawn all of your money in the bank.

Being a victim of identity theft is one of the worst things that could ever happen to someone. However there are certain steps that you can take in order to minimize your risk of becoming a victim of identity theft and here are some of them:

1.  If you suspect that someone is using your identity to commit fraud crimes you must contact as soon as possible the fraud departments of the consumer reporting companies in order for them to place a fraud alert on your credit report.

The fraud alert will warn creditors to contact you whenever an account is opened using your name or if ever there are some changes that are to be made on your accounts.  There are actually two types of fraud alerts—these are your initial alert and your extended alert.

The difference between these two fraud alerts is in terms of their duration. The initial alert usually last for ninety days on your credit report while the extended fraud alert stays much longer and last for as long as seven years. You can choose between these two frauds alerts the best one that you think will provide you with a better protection. Plus you only have to contact only one of the consumers reporting companies since it will simply relay to the other two the fraud alert.

2.  It will also help if you close the accounts that have been tampered with or fraudulently opened in your name. You can use the ID Theft Affidavit when you want to question new unauthorized accounts that are opened in your name.

3.  Don’t forget to file a report or complain with the local police in your community where the identity theft occurs. And always try to obtain a copy of the report which you are to provide your creditors and others that might be in need of any proof of the crime.

4.  Similarly don’t forget to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. The commission keeps a database of all identity theft cases used and filed by law enforcement agencies for investigations. By filing a complaint to the proper authority will help you to understand better all issues regarding identity theft.

Likewise, you will also know the problems that most victims faced and you will also be guided on the proper steps on how to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft. So always be extra careful especially when divulging personal information especially when using online services since this is where most identity thieves get their information.

No one is safe from identity theft. Anyone can be a victim so be sure to be extra careful especially in divulging information about yourself. The internet is one of the means by which identity thieves get hold of other people’s personal information so be very careful in transacting business online. Make sure that you are dealing with a legitimate company and in filling up some online forms be sure to divulge only information that is required of you. Refrain from giving extra information about yourself.

Likewise, refrain from answering unsolicited emails that ask for your information since most identity thieves also disguises themselves as representatives of some legitimate business online in order to lure you into giving them your personal information.

Don’t be deceived by those lottery emails saying that you have won something and would require you to fill up some forms asking for personal information. Don’t be carried away by the promised price, it would be better for you to confirm with the company whether they have sent you an email or not. And if ever they deny it then make sure that report the fraudulent email that you receive to the Federal Trade Commission so that they can give out warnings to other consumers of the circulating fraudulent email.



Michele

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