Mike's Safety Belt
~~Mike Baynes, MikesWhatsNews

Identity Theft

ID theft is a growing industry on the internet *** Do not fall victim to it.

What is ID theft?

It is the use of your personal details/information to create a false identity.

How does it happen?

In the old days, your identification information would be obtained by stealing the information; credit card bills, bank statements, or other personal documents from your mail: using information from lost or stolen wallets or purses.

• Dumpster diving, searching through the dumpsters, garbage cans and trash from homes and businesses to obtain data.
• Another popular method used is to assume the identity of a young person who died.  This is known a 'tombstoning'.   This is often done to obtain ID for someone the same age as the thief. There was one well publicized case in Washington state of a former class mate of a deceased young man using his ID.

The ID thieves like them because they probably do not have any fingerprints on record or a criminal record.  With the new name they can open bank accounts, apply for credit cards, even apply for social security cards.

With the advent of the internet things became easier for the thieves.  By accessing the web and checking the online profiles information you have provided to your favorite 'chat' group, they may be able to develop an identity.

• Did you register with one of the 'Find Your Old Friends' sites?  You may have provided a lot of personal data which could be used.
• Does your email address give your full name, or did you enter an alias?   You do not need to have your full name in your 'name' of your email program account.

Prevention and Security

• Never provide your log on information and password to anyone.  Use a different log on to different sites, with a mixed character - upper and lower case with numerals. Use a minimum of 5 characters. Do not use your or any of your family's names, birth dates, or ages.
• Do not give your mothers maiden name! It is one of the details required to obtain birth certificates, and is frequently required or requested by financial institutions.
• Do not use any unsecured sites for credit card transactions.  Make sure that 128bit encryption is in place.
• Do not share your personal data over the phone or via internet without verification. Be suspicious of calls/email asking for pin numbers or other identification. If the bank or credit card company needs them, they they will have them on file.
• Do not use your Social Security number as ID.
• Some documents may provide more information than you intend to provide.  Microsoft Office documents may carry 'metadata', which could include your name, your company, your computer's network name.
• Be aware of the cycle of your credit card bills, and bank statements.  Missing one may be an indication that something is wrong. It may have been redirected to the address of the ID thief.
• Keep your Operating System updated, many of the security holes in Windows have been patched. By downloading and installing the latest security patches you can help eliminate the vulnerabilities which have been discovered since the last update.
• If you have used your computer for online banking or purchases, be aware that the information is still on your hard drive.  Be careful where you take your computer for repair. If you are getting rid of that old hard drive you may be better off to destroy it to eliminate the chance of the data on it being retrieved.
• Trojans are another method gathering information or controlling your computer. They may be sent in email, or hidden in a software program. Be sure to keep your Anti Virus and Trojan detection software updated.
• Another often overlooked method of obtaining information is 'Spyware' or 'Adware'; programs which gather data and surfing habits without your permission and send the data back to their database, which then may be sold, shared, traded, or exchanged. Be certain to read the 'Privacy' statement and/or EULA (End User License Agreement) on the web page before downloading a program to see how they use your information.
  In a worst scene scenario it may even be posted to the www for others to view/use.
• A lot of personal data has been released by companies which have ceased to do business and their data banks have been made available by subsequent owners. Think about that while filling in the online forms.
• A Firewall is an effective tool to prevent a Trojan or spyware program from phoning home. Be sure your Firewall prevents both incoming and outgoing calls.
• There are several utilities available to remove information from a hard drive.  However there are also sophisticated programs available to professionals, (unfortunately also to hackers/crackers), and government which can recover almost anything.

Resources

Welcome to the U.S. government's central website for information about
identity theft.
http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/

What to Do if It Happens to You
http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs17a.htm

New Consumer Assistance Initiative Announced: ID Theft Affidavit
http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/affidavit.htm

If you are disputing fraudulent debts and accounts opened by an identity thief, the ID Theft Affidavit now simplifies the process. Instead of completing different forms, you can use the ID Theft Affidavit to alert companies where a new account was opened in your name. The company can then investigate the fraud and decide the outcome of your claim.  Obtain the PDF file here;
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/affidavit.pdf

Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC)
http://www.idtheftcenter.org/

Electronic Privacy Information Center
http://www.epic.org/privacy/biometrics/testimony_071802.html

Identity Theft and Fraud
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/fraud/text/idtheft.html

Safe Internet: Microsoft Privacy and Security Fundamentals
http://www.microsoft.com/privacy/safeinternet/topics/
personal_info.htm

How to Minimize Metadata in Microsoft Office Documents
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q223396

Identity Theft Steals More Than Your Money
http://usps.com/postalinspectors/idtheft.htm

Identity Theft: The Crime of the New Millennium
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/usamarch2001_3.htm

How can I protect myself against credit card fraud?
http://www.secretservice.gov/faq.shtml#credit_card_fraud

Microsoft's Really Hidden Files: A New Look At Forensics (v2.6)
http://astalavista.com/library/os/win95-98/mshidden.txt

Securing Windows
http://www.pcnineoneone.com/howto/securingwindows1.html

Security Issues with Decommissioning Magnetic Media ~ very good article on hard drive cleaning.
http://www.cyberscrub.com/cybercide/index3.html

Hard Drive Cleaning

Eraser ~ free
http://www.tolvanen.com/eraser/
Eraser is a secure data removal tool, which allows you to remove sensitive data from your hard drive by overwriting it with carefully selected patterns.

Sure Delete ~ free
http://www.wizard-industries.com/sdel.html
Permanent data removal, beyond the possibility of recovery.

UltraWipe ~ free
http://www.redstrike.com/home
UltraWipe is a software utility designed to routinely erase previous versions of documents that have been automatically saved (whole and in fragments) on the computer hard drive.

Ad-aware ~ free
http://www.lavasoft.nu/
Ad-aware is a free multi spyware removal utility that scans your memory, registry and hard drives for known spyware and scumware components and lets you remove them safely.

Is it Adware? ...or is it Spyware??
http://www.tom-cat.com/adware.html

Security Issues with Decommissioning Magnetic Media
http://www.cyberscrub.com/cybercide/index3.html
Copyright 2001 CyberScrub LLC
All Rights Reserved

I. Abstract
This document describes practical considerations of taking magnetic media out of useful service or transferring such media to other departments or organizations. After raising awareness of the security, business, and legal concerns, the document evaluates different techniques for the reader to be able to assess his options. Finally, the cyberCide ™ product is presented as a cost-effective solution to address these risks.

CyberCide
http://www.cyberscrub.com/cybercide/
Recycle computers / Overwrite, wipe data beyond recovery / Prepare computers for donation, redistribution / Return leased assets with confidence

Firewalls

This introduction to firewall security covers subjects such as what a firewall does and how it works, together with the benefits and problems a firewall can bring.
http://www.vicomsoft.com/knowledge/reference/firewalls1.html

ZoneAlarm ~ free
http://www.zonelabs.com/index.html

Outpost Firewall ~ free
http://www.agnitum.com/download/outpostfree.html

Anti-Trojan programs

"The Cleaner" is free for 30 days and removes most Trojans.
http://www.moosoft.com

"TDS-3" is free for 14 days and removes most Trojans.  They also have some free utilities listed.
http://tds.diamondcs.com.au/

"Tauscan" is free for 30 days and removes most Trojans.
http://www.agnitum.com/

" Anti-Trojan 5" is free for 14 days and removes most Trojans.
http://www.anti-trojan.net/at.asp?l=en

Anti Virus, Firewall and Trojan programs links.
http://www3.telus.net/mikebike/hackfix_program_updates.htm

Mike Baynes is the editor of MikesWhatsNews .  To subscribe, send a blank email to mikeswhatsnews-request@freelists.org?Subject=subscribe

See Mike's Anti-Virus pages ~ http://virusinfo.hackfix.org.  To subscribe, send a blank email to: virusinfo-request@freelists.org?Subject=subscribe