Millions of people buy, sell and trade goods on classified ad sites such as Craigslist. Any time there are millions of dollars changing hands between millions of people, there are going to be issues with security and privacy.
Classified ad sites such as Craigslist pose interesting challenges because your physical security could be at risk. Unlike auctions sites like Ebay, most people using classified ads meet in person to deliver the goods or services. So here are a few tips for protecting your personal security and privacy when buying and selling on classified ad sites.
Protect Your Personal Information - One risk of posting on ANY internet site is disclosing too much personal information. Personal information, such as your name, address, email and telephone number can be used by scammers for identity theft.
When posting an ad, use as much information as you can to describe the item, but put only minimal information about yourself. Never put specific information about your location, such as your address. You can do that later over the phone or via private email. The idea is to limit any information that could be used to steal your identity and provide clues to enable someone to actually find you and break in to steal the item.
The most secure way to use sites such as Craigslist is to only accept emails through their system. Never put your personal email address on a post, or it will most certainly get picked up and used by scammers. Many people who post on craigslist put their telephone number to help speed up the selling process. If you must do this, use your cell phone since your home phone also can give up your specific location. When you have sold the item, make sure you delete or remove the ad to limit the amount of time your personal information is posted on the site.
Protect Your Money - Another risk of any online trading site is the monetary scam. Never accept cashiers checks or money orders as payment. They are too easy to counterfeit. Craigslist is very good at providing warnings about this when you view and respond to posts. Always ask for cash. Be especially aware of any "overpayment" scams where someone offers to pay more for your item with a check or money order and takes a portion in cash back from you. This is one of the most common scams used on auction sites such as Ebay.
Protect Yourself - When going to view an item for sale (or when someone comes to your home or office to view an item) always have someone with you. There have already been cases where people have been assaulted after responding to an ad on craigslist. To be completely safe, you can first meet the person outside of their home to get a sense for your personal safety. If they seem suspicious or you get a bad feeling, come up with an excuse and leave. Be aware of suspicious locations, such as remote office buildings, that could put you at greater risk. If you absolutely must meet a person by yourself, tell someone else what you are going to do and when you should be back. And always keep your cell phone handy for an emergency call.
The Bottom Line
Classified ad sites such as Craigslist provide a great way to buy and sell goods and services to a local market. But be aware that meeting in person creates an entirely new set of risks. Be cautious. Reveal person information slowly. Have someone with you when you visit strangers. Sounds a lot like what our parents used to tell us about dealing with strangers. Hmm. Maybe some advice is timeless.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Ruining Your Career with Social Networking SItes
There is a growing trend of people making career-limiting moves by putting inappropriate information on their personal pages on MySpace or Facebook. As potential employers and college admissions officers increase their use of the internet for recruitment and retention, public embarrasment on the internet can be costly.
There have already been a number of incidents of people being fired for information on social networking sites. Examples include foul language, trashing of employers and not-too-flattering pictures. It is becoming common for organizations to "Google" prospective employees as part of a background check. And certainly a MySpace page with pictures from your last drunken happy hour are not going to help establish you as a viable candidate. It is important to understand that social networking sites are so "new" that there is no established set of "best practices" or case law defining how prospective employers may use the internet to perform research.
Some people are limited themselves even before they start their careers.
A recent report based on 500 top colleges showed that some of them use MySpace and other social networking sites to review college applicants. Of the ones that do, 38% of the respondents indicated that what they saw negatively impacted their view of the candidate.
So far there are no clear policies established around the use of information made public by people on their own web pages. But clearly people are already making mistakes that are very costly.
Of course, the obvious security issue is that people MUST establish privacy settings so that their pages are not available to the general public. As obvious as this sounds, many people are still leaving their sites open.
Security Tip: Establish privacy settings so your posts are not visible to the general public. Even with privacy in place, never put offensive language or pictures on your social networking site. You never know who may be able to see your page through a trusted "friend."
There have already been a number of incidents of people being fired for information on social networking sites. Examples include foul language, trashing of employers and not-too-flattering pictures. It is becoming common for organizations to "Google" prospective employees as part of a background check. And certainly a MySpace page with pictures from your last drunken happy hour are not going to help establish you as a viable candidate. It is important to understand that social networking sites are so "new" that there is no established set of "best practices" or case law defining how prospective employers may use the internet to perform research.
Some people are limited themselves even before they start their careers.
A recent report based on 500 top colleges showed that some of them use MySpace and other social networking sites to review college applicants. Of the ones that do, 38% of the respondents indicated that what they saw negatively impacted their view of the candidate.
So far there are no clear policies established around the use of information made public by people on their own web pages. But clearly people are already making mistakes that are very costly.
Of course, the obvious security issue is that people MUST establish privacy settings so that their pages are not available to the general public. As obvious as this sounds, many people are still leaving their sites open.
Security Tip: Establish privacy settings so your posts are not visible to the general public. Even with privacy in place, never put offensive language or pictures on your social networking site. You never know who may be able to see your page through a trusted "friend."
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Has your medical ID been stolen?
One of the newest ways for criminals to wreak havoc on your personal privacy and your pocketbook is called "medical identity theft." As in other forms of identity theft, the basic scheme is that a criminal uses your identity to scam the medical system for either services of money.
In the simplest scam, doctors bill the the medical insurer for procedures that were never performed. In many cases, they split the profits with the patients that come in claiming they have specific ailments that require certain treatments that are ripe for fraud.
One increasingly common scenario is someone who uses your identity to receive an expensive surgery. Medical and security experts are expecting the trend to get worse as more of the 50+ million uninsured become desperate for medical care that they cannot afford. For example, In 2007, authorities say John Parsons, 57, of stole the identity of a mentally disabled friend to pay for heart bypass surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. According to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune highlights medical identity theft is one of the fastest growing forms of identity theft.
How Does It Happen?
In many cases, your medical records are actually stolen by employees at firms that provide services or handle medical billing. Often these people sell the records on the black market to criminal rings for anywhere from $5 to $30 a record. Of course, there are a variety of ways for people to forge your identity, including forged medical ID cards. A criminal can look up your personal information through a variety of public-domain sources, and piece together a legitimate looking ID card. But it is much easier and safer for criminals to buy records on the black market.
How can I protect myself?
The first thing you can do is tightly control your personal medical information. That means limiting the number of places that your personal information is stored. You never want to respond to any email or phone call from anyone claiming to be a Doctor of pharmacist and requesting your medical information unless you can verify their true identity. If you switch medical providers or move, see if you can have your records deleted from their system.
Second, you must closely monitor your medical bills. Stay on the lookout for any procedures that you are being billed for that were not performed. The very nature of medical billing makes this a painful chore. This is especially difficult for people who see a lot of different medical providers.
One idea is to maintain copies of your bills and pay attention to the procedure codes.
Third, try to keep your existing records as accurate as possible. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 requires all organizations that hold your medical records to keep them accurate and respond to your requests. You can call any organization and ask for copy of your existing records to verify that they are accurate. The Health and Human Services Department publishes a list of consumer privacy rights under HIPAA.
Finally, if you think you have been a victim address it immediately. Report the problem to your health care provider and the local police. If people are have received care in your name, your medical records will be merged with theirs. Just like credit problems, false medical records can impact your ability to receive care and insurance in the future. Health care expert Judith Graham also provides some excellent Tips to Protect Your Medical Records.
Reporting Medical ID Theft: The Federal Trade Commission handles medical identity theft complaints and can be reached at 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338).
Security Tip: Always check your medical bills for accuracy. Look for unusual procedures or treatments that you do not recognize. As always, limit the amount of personal information you give out and give it ONLY to those who need it to provide your care.
In the simplest scam, doctors bill the the medical insurer for procedures that were never performed. In many cases, they split the profits with the patients that come in claiming they have specific ailments that require certain treatments that are ripe for fraud.
One increasingly common scenario is someone who uses your identity to receive an expensive surgery. Medical and security experts are expecting the trend to get worse as more of the 50+ million uninsured become desperate for medical care that they cannot afford. For example, In 2007, authorities say John Parsons, 57, of stole the identity of a mentally disabled friend to pay for heart bypass surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. According to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune highlights medical identity theft is one of the fastest growing forms of identity theft.
How Does It Happen?
In many cases, your medical records are actually stolen by employees at firms that provide services or handle medical billing. Often these people sell the records on the black market to criminal rings for anywhere from $5 to $30 a record. Of course, there are a variety of ways for people to forge your identity, including forged medical ID cards. A criminal can look up your personal information through a variety of public-domain sources, and piece together a legitimate looking ID card. But it is much easier and safer for criminals to buy records on the black market.
How can I protect myself?
The first thing you can do is tightly control your personal medical information. That means limiting the number of places that your personal information is stored. You never want to respond to any email or phone call from anyone claiming to be a Doctor of pharmacist and requesting your medical information unless you can verify their true identity. If you switch medical providers or move, see if you can have your records deleted from their system.
Second, you must closely monitor your medical bills. Stay on the lookout for any procedures that you are being billed for that were not performed. The very nature of medical billing makes this a painful chore. This is especially difficult for people who see a lot of different medical providers.
One idea is to maintain copies of your bills and pay attention to the procedure codes.
Third, try to keep your existing records as accurate as possible. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 requires all organizations that hold your medical records to keep them accurate and respond to your requests. You can call any organization and ask for copy of your existing records to verify that they are accurate. The Health and Human Services Department publishes a list of consumer privacy rights under HIPAA.
Finally, if you think you have been a victim address it immediately. Report the problem to your health care provider and the local police. If people are have received care in your name, your medical records will be merged with theirs. Just like credit problems, false medical records can impact your ability to receive care and insurance in the future. Health care expert Judith Graham also provides some excellent Tips to Protect Your Medical Records.
Reporting Medical ID Theft: The Federal Trade Commission handles medical identity theft complaints and can be reached at 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338).
Security Tip: Always check your medical bills for accuracy. Look for unusual procedures or treatments that you do not recognize. As always, limit the amount of personal information you give out and give it ONLY to those who need it to provide your care.
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