Comp-U-News
from Comp-U-Talk
May 2008
For the last two months I've been preaching the benefits and wisdom of
keeping current backups - of protecting your data. This month, I'm going to
preach about protecting your identity. Why? Two distinctly different types
of email crossed my desk this past month. The first put a price tag on my
social security number. The second tried to hijack my social security
number. I'll start with the second.
Assuming you haven't been living in a cave, you know
that President Bush has signed an economic stimulus package. The basic
concept is: The government sends you money. You spend it! If you have kept
half an ear open, you might also know that tax payers who have arranged for
direct deposit will get their money first, and those who prefer a check will
get their money later - some as late as the end of July. So, it should come
as no surprise that recipients could possibly want to switch from a paper
method to a direct deposit method. (This information is readily attainable
by visiting http://www.irs.gov and clicking
on the "Economic Stimulus Payments Start" link.) The identity thieves have
already read this page and are collecting information.
An official looking email from this "irs.gov"
arrived in my inbox last week. It suggested I might want to switch from
paper to paperless deposits. It looked legitimate but I couldn't figure out
how IRS might have gotten my email address! So I followed the links. By
watching closely, I noticed the link took me to a folder several layers deep
at a basket company (web site must be compromised) and from there, it
redirected to a site distinguished only by an IP number. A little bit of
sleuthing told me the IP number (aka the hosting site) originated in the
Asian Countries. Now I know corporate America is famous for outsourcing all
sorts of things, but somehow, I doubt the IRS would outsource the collection
of tax payer identification and payment preferences.
Which brings me to the first email. It was part of
a newsletter targetting computer junkies like myself. You can read the
entire article at:
http://blogs.techrepublic.com/tech-news/?p=2155, but the scary part was
the value it placed on your personal identity. Here is a
tidbit of what you are worth: $1.50 will buy a credit card number, stolen
medical ID cards run $5-$50, $6-$18 gets basic identity information, $7 buys
a hijacked PayPal account with credentials, $14-$16 for a complete set of
data identifiers, i.e. name, address, social security number, bank account,
and mother's maiden name, $30 wil buy Passwords and codes to access consumer
credit reports and $30-$300 can obtain immigration papers with a social
security card.
The moral of the story: The government is
not going to send you an email, and while your identity is priceless
to you, for the unscrupulous, it is cheaper than a new pair of jeans.
Be Careful!
Personal data can be collected in numerous ways. A
common way is described above. But did you know it can also be collected
off of your throw-away computer, even if the hard drive has been erased or
formatted? It can! Did you know Comp-U-Talk offers a data recovery service,
and that we can rescue data off of erased or failed drives? We can! We
also offer a data destruction service. If you have a computer that you are
throwing away or donating and would like to be certain that your banking,
genealogy, or any other personal data is no longer accessible, we can help.
A standard drive cleaning is only $15, and $30 will clean according to
military standards. Protecting your identity is cheaper than a new pair of
jeans.
