Relationship Status

By Jessica Walker

As I was researching for this post, I was surprised at how important the “Relationship Status” has become on Facebook.  I honestly had no idea how critical this click was for a lot of people.  I guess I am confused because I primarily use Facebook to keep in touch with friends and family only.  It does not seem like a dating destination.  Besides, your close friends and family members should know your relationship status already and if they don’t then I would question why they are even on your connections or contacts list in the first place.

Now from a safety standpoint, I would avoid posting the following status options:

•    Single
•    Widowed
•    It’s Complicated
•    Swinger (MySpace option only)

Choosing any one of these status options is like throwing chum into the cyberland sea.  You may attract friendly fish but you’re also inviting predators as well.  Criminals swimming around lurking to feed on emotional carnage will be drawn to the Single status, It’s Complicated status and especially the Widowed status.  As for the Swinger status, that sounds to me like an invitation for a sketchy couple looking to rob you blind while the other keeps you occupied if you know what I mean.  If that’s your thing, please “tread” lightly.

My advice is focus your online dating interaction towards the sites that specialize in just dating and turn off your relationship status on sites like Facebook and MySpace.  If you’re worried about a missed opportunity, don’t sweat it!  If someone wants to know your status they can always send you a message through your profile page.  Which in turn gives you the opportunity to check them out before replying.

For those already in a relationship, I would also avoid the Relationship Status.  In my research, I read far too many stories of public humiliation due to someone changing their status before they had “the talk” with their partner or the bombardment of questions from concerned contacts once they noticed your status changed back to Single.  Check out this article where an ex-partner was harassed through Facebook to the point that a defamation suit was filed.

If your partner gets concerned because you’re not posting your status just simply tell them you are concerned with promoting too much of your personal life online.  I’m sure in this day and age they will understand.

Relationships are complicated enough.  So why layer in another element that could potentially cause you grief.  Let’s throw out the chum bucket and grab a good old fishing pole or two and cast our lines out into the online dating cyberland sea and score our next catch the safer way.

Until next time, here’s to keeping you Safer in the City!

- Jessica

By Tom Blake

When older singles date new people, one of the most important precautions they should follow is to trust their instincts. If they sense something isn’t right about the new person, there is a strong chance they’re right.

But when people are lonely and want to be in a relationship and loved, they tend to downplay those instincts by viewing potential partners through rose-colored glasses.

Susie, an educated woman with a successful career, says she did just that. At 55, she met a man, 62, on Yahoo Personals. However, she learned that his listed name was not his true name and that his age was 66.

However, one can’t blame Susie for initially being impressed. She said: “He is well-educated (except he can’t spell), charming and writes e-mails that are like love letters. He says he has a nice home and a yacht in Florida. He states he is a partner in two corporations – one in entertainment and one in construction. He treated me well, spent time getting to know my family and even went to church with me. We made a lot of plans for the future together.”

When Susie saw red flags at the beginning of the relationship, she still elected to proceed, albeit cautiously. But not cautiously enough, as she explained:

“The first time I let my guard down, he made his move. I had something at my house that had been broken for a long time and he knew someone who could fix it. I was going out of town on a business trip and this was the only time he could come fix my problem (should have been a huge red flag). I left him my house keys. This was the first time I had let him have access to my house.

“When I got back from my business trip, I checked my bank account online and saw three checks written that I did not recognize. I called my bank and figured out what was going on.”

The man she had been dating had stolen her checkbook.

She called police. “While the policeman was at my house, I called the man and told him I knew what he had done and if he ever stepped foot on my property, I would have him arrested,” Susie said. “I never told him I filed a police report, because I did not want him to run. That night I had all the locks changed on my house.”

Susie said most everything he told her was untrue. He didn’t have a car or a job. Immediately after Susie ended the relationship, he was back on Yahoo Personals.

Susie didn’t hear anything from the police; she figured nothing would happen because it was a small crime.

She continued: “About 1½ years later, I got a letter from the district attorney. The man had been arrested and was sentenced to three years in prison and four years’ probation. He only served 1½ years and was supposed to start making restitution to me three months after he got out. I haven’t seen any of the money and don’t care. The amount was not great; my bank put the money back in my account because they should not have cashed the checks.”

Susie talked about the psychological effects: “It hurts to realize that I did not mean anything to him. I have been very embarrassed and angry at myself. Although the amount of money was not great, you cannot put a price tag on the hurt and suffering this man caused me.”

Lessons learned from Susie’s story:

• A background check may have saved Susie from this ordeal.

• It’s easy to blame the Internet. But what happened in Susie’s case happened after they were together in person.

• When legally violated, file a police report.

• Check your bank and credit-card statements often.

• Pay attention to red flags; trust your instincts. Don’t allow loneliness to cloud your thinking.

Women beware: This Internet-dating ex-con will strike again.

Source: The Orange County Register

By Harriet Ryan

The police sought a person who claimed to be Bree Condon and who had bilked thousands out of men in an online scam. They were surprised to meet Justin Brown.

Postings over the last two years on the website Who’s Dated Who hint at the number of men who may have been scammed. After the site authors listed both actor Colin Farrell and professional basketball player Marko Jaric as dating Condon, a visitor calling himself Michael Curry wrote, “love the gossip but bree and i have been dating for months.” Others replied with warnings.

“She is bad news,” read one typical posting.

Interestingly, another user disparaging Condon identified himself as Justin Brown.

“I dated her too. Really sweet at first then it’s $5,000 a month just to be one of her boyfriends,” the posting read.

Brown remains in jail, and his court-appointed lawyer did not return calls seeking comment. Satterlee, the detective investigating the Austin case, described him as “cooperative” in an interview with police.

“He made statements that substantiated the information,” Satterlee said.

Jason Boone, a researcher at the National White Collar Crime Center who has studied Internet scams, said Condon’s case stood out as an unusual “true case of identity theft” among the more common schemes targeting bank accounts or credit card information.

“Here you are actually stealing someone’s name and likeness,” he said. As a criminal operation, it is rarer than viruses or e-mail con letters that aim to steal financial information, likely because those require less work, he said.

Impersonating someone else “takes a little more attention and a lot more motivation on the part of an individual to create this type of attractive profile to lure people in,” Boone said.

Austin police are investigating whether Brown created a fake “official” website for Condon as well as Facebook and MySpace profiles in her name. According to the arrest warrant, his days impersonating the model came to an end after he sent a message to Carbona, the Fort Myers investor.

“It opens to this picture of a beautiful woman. A damsel in distress,” Carbona said of the message he received this fall through a networking application on his iPhone. The sender claimed to be Condon and to know Carbona through a friend. She said she was in dire financial straits after an airline had lost her luggage, he recalled.

After several phone conversations, however, Carbona concluded, “I think I have someone who is full of baloney.” He tracked down the real Condon on a film shoot in Wales and said she told him it was a long-standing problem and referred him to her private investigator. Carbona, whose father and grandfather were police officers, said he cooked up a sting operation to pinpoint the fake Condon’s location by offering to pay her motel bill.

He passed the address to the private investigator who notified authorities. He was stunned when the person arrested was male.

“I’d been talking to this person for three months,” Carbona said. “I’m telling you this guy has either had his gonads removed or he is talking through a voice synthesizer.”

“He has a very feminine voice,” Satterlee, the case detective, confirmed.

Brown’s arrest went unnoticed online, where questions about Condon’s real identity and love life linger.

Source: The Los Angeles Times

EVANSVILLE, IN (WFIE) - An Evansville couple engaged to be married 30 years ago finally said their vows.

Terry Devoy and Michael Schmitt said their ‘I do’s’ at the Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights display in Garvin Park.

Devoy works for St. Mary’s and Schmitt works for the IBEW.

Both organizations are affiliated with Ritzy’s, so that’s why they chose to be married there.

The couple was engaged 30 years ago and things just didn’t work out, but earlier this year, the couple rekindled their relationship after running into each other on an online dating site.

“I feel God released him to me,” Devoy said. “At one point he gave my engagement ring to the church and asked God to bring me back to him. So I think this is all really beyond me.”

“I don’t think we are the same people we were 30 years ago,” Schmitt said. “I think both of us have grown a little bit. I think I’m more in love with her now than back then.”

Appropriately, Devoy and Schmitt got married in front of the Santa’s castle and Victorian marriage proposal displays.

They said Christmas time is the time when miracles happen.

Source: wfie.com

By Seth Liss

People seem to be doing everything online these days: shopping, banking, reading books, staying in touch with friends. But there are still some things that should not be done online. Ending a romantic relationship is one of them, especially when it is done on a public social network.

Yes, apparently this is something that happens enough to have earned its own term, “facebook breakup.” According to urbandictionary.com, it is the act of breaking up with someone by changing your relationship status on Facebook. A broken heart icon is then sent out to your network and a message stating you’re now single. That’s generally followed up by questions like “What happened?” and sympathetic comments like “Stay positive”.

It’s probably not the best way to end a relationship, but it’s fairly common for people in their 20s who don’t want to deal with the drama of breaking up in person.

Here’s how Facebook’s relationship status works: When you fill out your profile you can choose one of six statuses: single, in a relationship, engaged, married, it’s complicated, and in an open relationship. You are not required to choose any but most people choose single or married.

There are gray areas. People who are on and off may choose “it’s complicated.” And if you’re single and you start dating someone, at what point do you change your profile to “in a relationship”? It’s a waiting game and you probably don’t want to be the first to do this. But if you are, you’ll obviously want your partner to change their status.

A colleague here at the Sun Sentinel told me the relationship status issue caused enough drama in his life to make him delete his Facebook account for good.

Here are my recommendations on the best way to use the relationship status:

Don’t change your status unilaterally if you’re dating someone. Don’t even bring up the idea until you are in a serious relationship. That means about six months of dating. Then you can ask if your partner is ready to upgrade your status. It’s the new way of asking if you’re going steady.

Do the break up face-to-face — or at least over the phone — if it was serious enough for a status change. No one should be a victim of a Facebook breakup.

Hit the “Cancel Relationship,” button that allows you to change your status without alerting your friends. That way, you don’t have to deal with all of the questions. (If it is not a friendly breakup, my cousin Ben suggests running home to be the first to change your status.)

Unfriend the person once you’re broken up and remove photos of the two of you together. Even if you decide to be friends, you don’t need to see each other’s status updates or have your ex looking through your photos and wall posts. You can always re-friend after you have both moved on.

Being sensitive on Facebook pays off in the long-term. It may help you find a better match. It’s safer, too. It’s hard to forget the story of the widely reported Facebook break up that led to murder: Sarah Richardson, of Great Britain, was killed by husband Edward Richardson after she had changed her Facebook status to “single.” It’s an extreme example, but it shows the how painful a breakup can be for people on the other side of a Facebook breakup.

Source: sun-sentinel.com

by Larry Magid

Retailers aren’t the only ones gearing up for the holiday season. Criminals are also out in force. To highlight the increased crime during the holidays, security company McAfee has come up with the “12 Scams of Christmas” ranging from bogus electronic greeting cards that deliver malware instead of cheer to fake charities that steal your money and your identity.

It’s especially important to be extra careful this time of year, says McAfee’s David Marcus. “The bad guys know people are spending more time online, they’re paying more bills online so [the criminals] stand a chance of being a bit more successful this time of year.

In a podcast interview (scroll down to listen), Marcus counted down the 12 scams of Christmas starting with:

1. Charitable phishing scams: Marcus warns consumers to be wary of e-mails that appear to be from legitimate charities. Not only will they take your money and deprive charities of needed funds, but they will also steal your credit card information and identity.

2. Fake invoices from delivery services: During this period, scammers will send out fake invoices and delivery notifications appearing to come from Federal Express, UPS, the U.S. Postal Service or even the U.S. Customs Service saying that they were unable to deliver a package to your address. They ask you to confirm your address and give them credit card information to pay for delivery.

3. Social networking friend requests: Bad guys take advantage of this social time of year by sending out authentic looking friend requests via e-mail. Marcus recommends that you not click on those links but sign into Facebook and other services and look for friend requests from the site itself. Clicking on a link could install malware on your computer or trick you into revealing your password.

4. Holiday e-cards: Be careful before clicking on a holiday e-card, especially if it’s from a site you haven’t heard of. This is a way to deliver malware, pop-ups, and other forms of unwanted advertising. Some fake e-cards will look like they come from Hallmark or other legitimate companies, so pay close attention and make sure it’s from someone you know. If you’re going to send an e-card, be sure you’re dealing with a reputable service lest you risk infecting yourself and your friends.

5. Fake “luxury” jewelry: If you see an offer for luxury gifts from companies like Cartier, Gucci, and Tag Heuer at a price that’s too good to be true, it probably isn’t true. These links could lead you to malware and take your money or merchandise that will probably never arrive (or be fake if it does). Some of these sites, according to McAfee, even display the logos of the Better Business Bureau.

6. Practice safe holiday shopping. Make sure your wireless network is secure and be sure you’re shopping on sites that are secure. Though it isn’t an iron clad guarantee, you should look for the lock icon in the lower right corner of your browser and make sure the Web page starts with https. The “s” stands for “secure.”

7. Christmas carol lyrics can be dangerous: Bad guys know that people are searching for holiday related sites for music, holiday graphics, and other festive media. During this time, they create fraudulent holiday related sites.

8. Job search related scams: With the unemployment rate at 10.2 percent, there are plenty of job seekers looking for work. Beware of online offers for high paying jobs or at-home money making schemes. Some of these sites ask for money up front, which is a good way for criminals not only to steal your “set up fee” but misuse your credit card too. Marcus said that some “get rich quick” sites are all about money laundering, asking you to accept an inbound financial transfer and pay them.

9. Auction site fraud: McAfee has observed a rise in fake auction sites during the holidays. Make sure you’re actually going to eBay or whatever site you plan to deal with.

10. Password stealing scams: Criminals use low-cost tools to uncover passwords, in some cases planting key logger software to record keystrokes. Once they get your passwords, they gain access to bank accounts and credit card accounts and send spam from your e-mail accounts.

11. E-mail banking scams: A common type of phishing scam is sending out official looking e-mails that appear to come from your bank. Don’t click on any links but type in your bank’s Web address manually if you need to access your account.

12. Files for ransom: Hackers use malware to gain control of your computer and lock your data files. To access your own data you have to pay them ransom.

Bottom line–Don’t let the eggnog and holiday cheer keep you from using your critical thinking skills when you go online during the holiday season. And, of course, make sure your operating system is updated and that you’re using up-to-date security software.

Source: news.cnet.com

By Jessica Walker

Segment 4

Jessica: Please give our members examples of the information that should be withheld from a dating profile or a social networking profile, information that a criminal could use against them.

Linda: When you are first meeting and getting to know someone online you want to share what you care about, and not much about who or where you are.

Maintain anonymity to protect your identity. Don’t include your full name, phone number, where you work, financial status, or detailed location information in your profile or during early communications with potential dates. Stop communicating with anyone who presses you for this type of information.

Use the e-mail system provided by the dating service rather than your own e-mail address to maintain your privacy.

Be smart about choosing profile pictures and learn how to share photos safely. Make sure your photos reflect what you want to say about yourself. Provocative pictures may attract the wrong people. Make sure that your images do not contain identifying information.

Set your search criteria to filter out anyone with behaviors you may not want to deal with, and check to see if a potential date has a good reputation among other daters on the service.

Be cautious about sharing emotional vulnerabilities. It is very easy for criminals to play to emotions to gain undeserved trust, or to tell a sad story to gain your sympathies. Use a friend as a sanity check – if the story sounds like a stretch to them it probably is.

Note any inconsistencies in what they say about themselves. Periodically reviewing exchanges you’ve had with a critical eye is healthy. This is a real advantage with the Internet, because it IS written down, not something fuzzy in your memory.

Jessica: Safer Dates recently partnered with your company ReputationShare and added a gauge to our member profiles that track online behaviors.  How can our members get the most out of this feature?

Linda: You deserve to experience the Web, and the people you meet through the Web, on your own terms. I was super pleased to learn how much Safer Dates is dedicated to providing as safe an environment as they can, AND how much they respect their users. ReputationShare does two key things for Safer Dates users.

First, it helps the service identify and manage rogue users because, like credit bureaus, ReputationShare literally shares people’s online reputations across participating sites.  If someone has been abusing other Dating sites or their members, Safer Dates can see that information even as the person is registering and take appropriate steps. That said, unlike credit bureaus, the ReputationShare service does not receive or store any information about who the user is. Consumers privacy is extremely important to us. Users stay entirely anonymous, but both positive and negative behaviors associated with their email alias are collected. Of course, we have advanced algorithms to identify email accounts being gamed. Learn more about ReputationShare on www.reputationshare.net.

Second, it gives users the ability to make more informed choices about who they choose to interact with.

Segment four question:  Name four things you should withhold from your dating profile. To submit your answer, click on the contact link found on the upper left side of the blog.

By Jessica Walker

Segment 3

Jessica: More and more people are using the online banking tools offered by their banks.  While these tools are convenient, how safe are they really?  Is it safer to pay your bills online or through the mail?

Linda: It depends, you can be safe banking and bill paying online if you know how; failing to act appropriately can significantly increase your risks when banking online. Many of the precautions needed here are the same as we’ve already discussed. Learn to minimize your two risk areas – your personal computing environment, and gaps in your internet safety skills – to use online transaction services safely.

Remove risks in your computing environment. Ask yourself:

Is the computer you are using secure? You must have up-to-date security software, which means antivirus and anti-spyware protection.

Is your connection secure? Make sure the firewall is on. If you use a wireless network, it needs to be encrypted so someone outside the house can’t collect your information.

Do you have a secure password? Weak passwords are bypassed in a matter of minutes. You might as well use a strip of scotch tape to lock your front door.

Your biggest threat, once you have secured your computer, is through your own actions online. Cyber-criminals are masters in fooling unsuspecting consumers into exposing themselves to risks. Financial criminals use a thousand ploys, but each ploy has the same key elements. They need to know who you are, where you transact business, and how to access your account(s). So don’t give them this information.

Don’t assume, require proof. A classic method for swindling is to use what appears to be one piece of information to collect more. For example, a scammer sends out a fake email pretending its from a bank notifying recipients that they need to re-enter their account information. Some percentage of recipients will make one or more of the following assumptions.

That the sender knows them

That the sender knows where they bank

That the sender is the bank

That there is in fact a problem with their account

None of these statements is true. But criminals count on a certain percentage of recipients to assume these inferred connections are true.  Those that fall for the assumptions in reality provide the criminal with all three critical pieces of data. By responding, they confirm who they are, where they transact business, and provide their credentials to ‘fix’ the problem.

Don’t misplace trust. Identifying the trustworthiness - or lack of trustworthiness – of the people, email, Websites, content, and businesses you interact with is a critical life skill in any environment – trust the wrong entity and you can loose your life savings.

Steer don’t be pulled. Stay in the driver’s seat and get to websites on your own by searching, don’t be pulled by links that may or may not be legitimate.

Protect personal information. Though it is relatively rare that email is intercepted, never share passwords, social security numbers, credit card information, and the like. What you post online is another potential ‘leak-point’, protect personal and financial information everywhere.

Learn to spot scams. Don’t respond to any e-mail requesting that personal or account information. That “urgent” message may look like it’s from your bank, but it’s bogus. A financial institution would never send you an e-mail asking for your personal information, PIN or password. Never!

If you do all of the above, you have a reasonably strong chance of having only positive experiences. For the record, I use online banking services.

Segment three question: What are the three key elements that a financial criminal needs to collect? To submit your answer, click on the contact link found on the upper left side of the blog.

What the Fraud!

By Jessica Walker

This months interview is packed full of so many helpful tips that I have decided to feed it to you in a five-part series to make it easily digestible.  Each new segment will be posted every Tuesday and Thursday over the next couple weeks, so be sure to subscribe to the blog to get an email alert every time a new segment is posted.  There will also be a chance to win a prize after each segment, but you will have to keep reading to learn how to win.

Unfortunately, the inspiration for this interview came from several instances where my personal information and credit card information were stolen.  After cleaning up each occurrence, I printed a free credit report from all three credit agency’s through www.annualcreditreport.com, to check for unauthorized charges.  I also had each agency place a fraud alert on my credit.  The fraud alert is free and lasts for 90 days.

Until a couple years ago, I never knew anyone that was affected by online fraud.  Now I am amazed at how many people I talk to that have had similar experiences.  So this month I am on a mission to save as many of you as possible from becoming a victim to online fraud.  And how do I plan to do that you ask?  Well, I have an expert up my sleeve that has superhero credentials.  This crusader spent 13 years at Microsoft where she was a pioneer in online safety for mobile devices and PC’s for the MSN division.

I’d like to introduce everyone to Linda Criddle, currently the founder and President of LOOKBOTHWAYS, Inc., a company that develops internet safety technologies and products while providing product design, safety reviews, and other consulting services to leading technology companies, regulatory bodies, and law enforcement, as well as offering practical assistance to consumers navigating the online world through a consumer internet safety site, iLOOKBOTHWAYS.com

Linda is also president of the Safe Internet Alliance, devoted to promoting a safe Internet and better educating and protecting all users, especially children, teens and the elderly, from Internet corruption, crime, and abuse by driving initiatives through industry, education, government, and non-profit entities.

Through the above mentioned entities, Linda collaborates with local, state, national and international law enforcement agencies, teaching how to understand and track predators online. Linda also works with government organizations in the U.S. and around the world to advise on, and prepare, internet safety regulations and legislation.

In addition, Linda is an author of the award-winning consumer-oriented books, “Look Both Ways: Help Protect Your Family on the Internet,” and “Using the Internet Safely for Seniors For Dummies.” She has also written “Internet Safety for Educators”, a distance-learning course offered through Universities.

After each segment, I will post a question and the first member to submit the correct answer will win an autographed copy of one of Linda’s books, your choice of course!

Let’s get started!  Go to the Safer in the City link on the right column under Categories to read the next segment.

Until next time, here’s to keeping you Safer in the City!

- Jessica

Segment One

Jessica: What should our members do to prevent their identity and or financial information (i.e. credit cards, account numbers) from being stolen on or offline?

Linda: A few key steps can make a real difference in protecting your identity and financial information.

Consider what information about you is online - Search to find the total set of information that you - and others - have shared about you online. What have you posted, friends posted, family members, employers, schools, groups, associations, clubs, teams, and church groups, posted?  If you donate to charities, do their sites place your name and amount of donation on their sites? Have you ever posted a resume? (There is nothing wrong in posting resumes, but restrict contact and address information until you’re actually interviewing, and TAKE IT DOWN when you’ve landed the job!). Check online county records; if you own property find out how much information is available on you and your property - I’ve seen cases where in addition to the basic information, the registrar’s office also displays information about floor plans, and loan papers - which include the name of the lending institution, the loan number, and people’s SSN’s and signatures.  Look to see if they show power of attorney documents, what information is available on your birth certificate, and of any children’s birth certificates. If previously married and divorced what information can be gleaned from these records? Once you have a firm understanding of your footprint of possible exposure, work to remove, or have removed, any information that you don’t feel is appropriate. Discuss with others where your privacy boundaries are so that they do not over-share about you, and ask others for their boundaries so you can be respectful of their safety and privacy needs as well.

Secure your computer. If your computer isn’t protected from viruses and other malware your financial information, your passwords, and everything else you store on your computer or do online will be abused. This concept is so basic, yet only 20% of the US population adequately protects their computers. If the cost of security software is prohibitive, use one of the excellent free services.

Use strong passwords.  Passwords do not have to be hard to remember, just hard to guess. Never use information about yourself as a password. They need to be long (8 or more characters) and use uppercase, lowercase, numbers and symbols. This isn’t hard to do. For example text messaging short-codes can really help make this easy - 2BorNot2B? (To be or not to be, that is the question) or MaybeL8r (maybe later).

Check your credit history and freeze your credit. I’d guess that less than 10% of people consistently check their credit histories to ensure nothing is damaging their credit scores. By law, you have the right to three FREE reports each year. You may choose to pay to have a company monitor your credit for you, but unless you’ve had real trouble with ID theft in the past this is probably not a necessary expense. If you are not actively seeking a line of credit now or in the next month, freeze your credit. This is one of the simplest things you can do, but a step that few actually take. This blocks anyone from taking out a loan or opening a new credit card in your name. It’s easy to do - contact one of the credit bureaus - and is either free or low cost depending on their criteria.

Only purchase from reputable online stores. The price may be cheaper at a store with no reputation, but you don’t want to gamble with your financial information. To find out if a store has a good reputation, the Better Business Bureau has an online site where you should be able to look up this information. Keep all purchase confirmation emails in case you need to dispute something.

Beware of scams. Far too many people ‘give’ away their information to criminals by falling for scams in email and on the web. NEVER use a link provided to you to get to a site, find the URL yourself. You want to be in the drivers seat when going to sites online – that way you end up where you intended to, not on a clever fake site.

Physical world requirements. In addition to the safety steps above, physical items need additional protections. Shred financial documents; far too many people are careless with financial materials yet more ID theft is still carried out the good old dumpster diving way. Protect your possessions like your wallet and purse because a significant amount of ID theft is done by someone the victim knows, including parents, siblings, children and close friends.

Segment one question:  What does a credit freeze do? To submit your answer, click on the contact link found on the upper left side of the blog.

July 24,2009

By Herb Weisbaum

Source: KOMONEWS.COM

Internet safety is not just for kids who go online. A growing number of seniors are also plugging in to the web. Many use it for social networking, and dating.

“The fastest growing demographic group on Facebook are women over the age of 55,” says Debra Berlyn, who runs the Consumer Privacy Awareness Project.

She says the same sort of protections that we always talk about with kids and computers also apply to older adults who go online.

“Our parents today are helping their kids with online safety but they also have to help their parents with online safety. They’re sort of the digital sandwich generation so they’re helping their kids and they can also help their parents. If you’re older and you’re online for the first time, ask your son or daughter to help you figure some of this stuff out.”

Berlyn says if you go on the net, no matter what your age — be skeptical of everything and always think twice before you click.

Because on the Internet, if you give out personal information: account numbers, passwords, or Social Security number, there’s no taking it back. Once you hit send, it’s gone.