Posts Tagged ‘Scams’

Lionheart Assurance Solutions says learning how to avoid Myspace ID theft scams, frauds and ripoffs is a growing concern among Myspace users and it is of an important concern because it is now one of the #1 ways hackers and online cheats steal Net users’ identity.

How to avoid identity scams and fraud on MySpace and other social networking sites is something that teenagers and young adults should know about before opening their accounts. Many users of the site the world over have complained about impostors making profiles as well as some people building hate sites and stealing pictures or identities. If you want to protect yourself from identity theft and other online crimes committed on MySpace, you should follow the guidelines listed below.

At first, some teenagers believe that having impostors steal their pictures and identities is kind of cool. However, when cyber identity thieves start to use stolen photos and identities to rip-off money from the victim’s friends and family, many realize that knowing how to avoid identity scams and rip-offs on MySpace and other social networking sites is very important. The first thing that people should remember is that once you post something online, anyone can have access to that thing if you are not careful. Thus, teenagers and other Net users should remember not to post their private photos and things that they don’t want other people to see in file sharing and social media sites.

Another important tip on how to avoid identity scams and ripoffs on MySpace and similar sites is to be careful with what you put in your profile. It is important that vital information that can be used to open your personal account, access your credit card and stalk you in your home or school should not be posted online. This means that you should not make your residence address, mobile phone number, social security number, school name, or even your birth date visible on your MySpace account. Teenagers should also not divulge information about their siblings, parents or other data that scam artists and criminals online can use. This will only expand the threat posed to your family and even possibly the complaints of your friends.

Millions of teens and adults use websites such as YouTube to help make known to the public that impostors have taken and used their profiles, names and photos. Although this can probably help clean up your name or reputation, these measures are not very effective in thwarting identity thefts or scams being perpetrated by cyber crooks and criminals. So, always make sure that you are on the safe side – away from the rip-offs.

Putting measures into place to avoid an identity theft scam at your business probably does not cross your mind very much, if at all, especially if you consider your business to be a quote-unquote small business; however, complaint boards all over the Internet are packed full of complaints related to identity theft and fraud. If you think crooks only target individuals or large corporations, then think again. In reality, even small businesses can be the target of identity fraud. People can use your business identity or secure your list of customers in order to rip off the public or perform other criminal activities both online and offline. Here are some ways in which you can protect your business and your customers from such scams, frauds and ripoffs.

Getting to know how criminals operate is a good way on how to avoid identity theft fraud at your business. Although the most publicized cases of corporate identity thefts being reported are about crooks stealing customer information from the database of large companies, hacking is not the only threat to your business. In fact, cheating and getting access from inside your system is also a big headache. Some online scam artists will try to rip off your customers by pretending to be representatives of your company or even phish information or identities of your present employees to get to you. There are things that criminals can do to twist the arms of your employees, even your most trusted ones, just to squeeze the information they want regarding you, your customers and your business.

So, what can you do on how to avoid identity theft fraud at your business? Make sure that you invest in good software that will prevent viruses, malwares and spywares from entering your company’s computer database. You need such security measures to ensure that you are protected from outside hackers and ripoffs. In order to protect yourself from the inside, you need to be more careful with the people you hire. Also, take the time to inform your employees about the growing threat of identity theft fraud and tell them how they can detect criminals trying to phish information from them. In addition, it is important that you do not allow personal emails, external messaging applications and other personal activities on your company’s computer network. Perhaps if your employees understand how these things are threatening, they won’t feel as if you are attempting to stifle them personally.

Financial liability is one of the biggest impacts of being a victim of corporate identity theft. To protect yourself from financial repercussions and scams, you should find an assurance agency that will help cover loses and other related expenses in case problems regarding hacking and identity theft arise.

Discovering how to avoid identity theft on Twitter and other social media is becoming a growing concern for countless of people who have profiles on and participate in social networking sites. As people continue to enjoy interacting with friends and meeting other Net users, social networking sites such as Twitter will continue to flourish and bloom. However, as such sites grow in popularity they also become a new phishing ground for cheating cyber criminals and identity thieves. To protect yourself from scams and other online fraud, you have to put up some serious security measures. Read on and take the time to learn how to educate and protect yourself, your family and friends from ripoff.

The first thing that you need to do on how to avoid identity theft on Twitter and other social media is to keep in mind that the Internet is a public place. Although social networking websites are trying their best to protect the privacy of their members, there will always be ways in which criminals would be able to find out how to take advantage of the flaws in the social media system. Thus, it is important to be careful with what you post and include in your Twitter and other social media accounts.

Aside from identity theft, cyber squatting and making scam impostor accounts are also very popular these days. Many people have already found that there are individuals who are using their pictures and other information for cheating other people or staging scams that ripoff either the identity owner or his or her friends and family. If you think that other people are using your name, pictures and even email address to do unlawful things on social sites be sure to file your complaints with the site administrator. This may not be the surest way on how to avoid identity theft on Twitter and other social media, but it will surely do the trick in removing the impostor’s profile and page on the social networking sites involved.

Lastly, beware of clipjacking, which is a way for cyber criminals to harvest passwords online. So, be observant and notice slight changes in the home or login page of Twitter and other sites. Also, it may be helpful to view the security of the site by clicking on the Page Info. Always stay safe online to avoid fraud.

Phishing is when you receive emails that look like they are coming from your bank, Paypal, ebay or credit card company, but are in fact fake. www.IDTheftSecurity.com

Robert exposes Cash Gifting scams and mail in gold scams www.IDTheftSecurity.com 2of2

Secrecy is another warning sign of possible identity theft. When someone asks you to keep a deal a secret it may be a sign that it’s a scam. To prevent identity theft steer clear of secretive schemes.

The US Census counts every resident in the United States every 10 years as required by the US Constitution. Beginning this month, census forms are being mailed to every residence in the country. Participating in the census is very important for the State of Arizona. Census information affects the number of seats our state occupies in the US House of Representatives. The information also helps determine how more than $400 billion dollars of federal funding each year is spent on infrastructure and services that include hospitals, schools, senior centers, job training centers, bridges and other public works projects. To complete the census survey, residents simply need to answer 10 short questions and mail the form back in the postage pre-paid envelope. The census will collect your name, address, race, ethnicity, the type of home that you live in, whether you rent or own your residence, your telephone number, the number of people living in your home and the relationship of residents in the home. Unfortunately, scam artists have also emerged to take advantage of unsuspecting consumers. The census will not ask for money, bank account information, credit card information, Social Security number, salary/income, citizenship, or immigration status. It will also not ask your political party affiliation, your position on health care, Medicare/Medicaid, or border issues. If the form is not returned, a census worker may show up at your home, show you the form that was sent in the mail …

Invisible Keyboard Loggers is the new technology used in phishing scams to steal your identity and credit card information in the background as you navigate the web or read your email. In today’s databased world and convenience driven consumer services online is not a question of wether you are prepared in the event your identity is compromised but will you be ready when it happens to you or your loved one. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include – (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; (2) the nature of the copyrighted work; (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

Phishing scams are a kind of semantic attack on computer systems that target the users of computer systems, rather than the system itself. Phishing is estimated to have cost over $3 billion in losses in 2008, with criminals impersonating banks, e-commerce sites, retail sites, and universities to trick people into giving them passwords or credit card information. Phishing attacks have also been used to steal sensitive information from corporations and governments, including the US Department of Defense. This talk will present ongoing research in protecting people from phishing attacks. To see more videos from the University of Washington visit uwtv.org.

Officials warn of ‘phishing’ scams targeting troops
Officials are urging renewed vigilance against Internet-based identity theft after detecting a widespread “phishing” expedition against servicemembers.

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