Identity Czar

Best Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware To Prevent Identity & Credit Theft

idczar — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 02:25:27 +0000

In protecting your identity and credit from theft online one of the most overlooked aspects is the anti-virus and anti-spyware programs you have on your computer. Many people use the popular programs that come with many brand name computers such as Norton’s and McAfee but in all reality these do not catch everything and slow a an average computer down so much that by the time they process the exploit or phishing attempt you may have already fallen victim.

There are two free options that will do the job for most average web users with those being Avast and the one I recommend, AVG. In most cases I would say go with AVG as there are more features on the free version that will help you prevent anything such as phishing, browser hijacks, and more. AVG has just recently also developed a system that scans every link on the page without you even clicking it to help you avoid clicking a link that contains a virus on the page. This is extremely helpful as virus’s have become so advanced that once you click most of them there is not much stopping even if you try to cut out the connection as it only takes a split-second to load.

Just having a fast and effective anti-virus and anti-spyware product on your computer will help prevent things such as key loggers, data loggers, and other malicious code that will steal your information as you type or tap into any files the programs feel may be confidential and contain information they can use to steal your identity. Keeping your identity and credit cards safe is an on-going process that requires common sense protections and having a good anti-virus program installed on your computer is key.

The Signs of Identity Theft

idczar — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:48:25 +0000

Many people have requested an article on what are the signs of identity theft so you can be aware if someone already has your identity. To be completely honest it is next to impossible to know where someone has your identity ready to steal it unless you have located a breach in security on your computer, home or officle files, etc. Most of the time an identity is stolen by either old-school dumpster diving or through elaborate phishing techniques online most commonly during bank account login’s and emails.

The first thing you want to do if you feel you may be a victim of identity theft is to quickly sign up for an identity theft prevention service. These services for the most part will scan many places where identity’s are sold as well as give you a free credit report within days to look at. A few services I recommend that give the free credit reports as a bonus with their services are TrustedID, Experian, and Lifelock. Once you have signed up for one of these services you have already added another layer of protection which should ease some of your stress. While you are waiting a few days to get the credit report from the three major credit reporting agencies sent to you there are a few others things you will want to check to make sure your identity hasn’t been stolen. Below is a short list of things that seem like common sense and no brainers but will give you a red flag that someone has stolen your identity.

You receive a denial letter for a credit card you never applied for.
Getting calls from bill and debt collectors for things you never purchased.
Charges showing up on credit card and bank statements for things you never puchased.
Small charges to your bank account with weird names or numbers, this can be a sign of a criminal checking the account to make sure it is valid or the criminal may be using a method where they take out very small amounts from many users to create thousands of profit.
You were denied credit or given a less favorable credit option when you are certain you have good credit.

These are just a few of the things you need to look at as signs your identity may be stolen. Now within a few days of ordering one of the services above you will receive your free credit reports from each of the credit reporting agencies, you will usually get them all on the same day. Once you receive the report it is pretty self-explanatory as it will show every place that has granted you credit as well as places that have done a check of your credit. This will give you a good idea as most people don’t have more than a dozen places that have checked their credit and if a name is on there that you do not know then you need to do further investigating. The great thing about having one of the identity theft services is that they all have 24/7 hot-lines to call and get advice from their experts where they can do many checks to see right then whether someone may have stolen your identity and they will also help you get it back. There are thousands of identities stolen every single day in the United States from your average citizen to high profile businessmen, no one is exempt from identity theft. You can protect yourself today by enrolling in one of the recommended services and using some common sense protection techniques because in the end only you can protect yourself from identity theft. If you are a victim of identity theft I would get all of my financial files together, enroll in one of the identity theft protection services, contact the local police, and contact the FTC as this can help you recover your money lost if there is a possibility of recovery.

Fake CDC Email Uses Phishing For Identity Theft

idczar — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 05:41:44 +0000

A fake email has been circulating around heavily in the past few days saying it is from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) and wants you to establish your swine flu vaccination profile. This email is of course fake and is part of an elaborate phishing scam that tries to steal your personal information for identity theft purposes by praying on many peoples fears of the swine flu. The CDC is supposed to be addressing this situation soon but waiting days to address an email that will already steal thousands of peoples information is not acceptable. The best thing to do if you receive this email is to delete it without clicking on anything and especially don’t give out any information as the CDC would never ask for this type of information over the internet. Many links in this email also contain malicious viruses that destroy data on your computer as well as keylogger spyware that steal information when it is typed into your computer.

The fake email does look exactly like the CDC website and the from what we have heard from many analysts their may have already been thousands nationwide who have fallen for this scam and have had their identities compromised. The best thing to do when receiving these types of emails is to delete it if you do not know who the company is or if you are not expecting something from them or call the company directly after typing in their url. Many of these phishing attempts can be prevented as well by just looking at the url on the top of your browser to see what website it is actually coming from. If you have been a victim of this email feel free to email us to help us give out more information and also take time to look at our reviews of identity theft protection services so you can get yourself protected before these criminals act upon the information they have stolen.

How Is Identity Theft Done?

idczar — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 03:34:58 +0000

Identity theft is becoming a huge problem not just in the United States but many other developed countries throughout the world. The theft occurs in a number of ways but the majority happens through just a few common sources. I will break those down to help you understand better how it happens and how it is done so you can protect yourself more efficiently. Below covers both identity theft and credit card theft.

Phishing Scams

Phishing scams are popular by hackers and thieves for stealing everything from passwords to credit cards numbers and social security numbers. These scams are done by presenting a website page that looks legit such as a login to a bank. The website is not an official website but actually a website set up by the thieves to trick you into thinking it is a legit website so you will put in all of your information for them to steal. They do this through many ways such as sending fake emails, posting links on popular websites

Shady Websites (who process their own sales)

It is pretty self-explanatory, a website processes it’s own sales meaning it has access to a lot of confidential information when you make a purchase. The company charges you for the product and ships it just like any other store, but what you didn’t know was they sold your personal and billing information for some extra money. This is becoming less and less prevalent as most legit websites and even some major retailers will let you pay through a secure source such as Paypal or Google Checkout.

Spy-ware, Keyloggers, Sniffer Programs

This is becoming one of the most common ways that identities, credit cards, and social security numbers are stolen. Through these three ways the black-market is blowing up with information that could be yours. Spy-Ware is something most know about but this helps plant the keyloggers on your computer that records everything you type and can also tell where you type these things in. What happens is the criminals programs do a search for when you would be putting in credit card and other sensitive information and steal the numbers. The sniffer programs are much the same as they get onto your computer through many different ways and can see exactly what you are doing and find any information. Lately sniffer programs have been installed into wireless routers in public places as well as homes by just driving through neighborhoods and business centers looking for unsecured networks to place their program into.

Credit Card Swiping

This has become a major problem is recent years with many new cell phones having the capability to scan credit cards and keep their information stored. This isn’t just isolated to small shops as a large ring was just busted for doing this at major fast food chains in Florida. How it works is they take your credit card when you are paying for whatever you just bought and right after they scan it on the cash register they also slip it by their pocket where the phone or other electronic device then scans all of the information. After they get enough cards swiped they will sell them to usually a pre-determined criminal or organized crime group.

Physical Stealing

This is what many people think about but this is becoming less and less of a danger when compared to the massive automation of stealing on the internet. It still is a major problem though from people stealing wallets to people digging through the trash to try to find documents they can use. Stealing many times is used by smaller level criminals and illegal immigrants looking for information to create a new identity to be able to work in the country. The best thing you can do in this situation is just invest in a shredder for $30 that will cover everything you need. If you run a business you may want to look into services in your area that will destroy all of your paperwork for relatively cheap.

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Overall you just need to go through a series of precautions and learn the basics of these situations. In future posts I hope to break down the major ways of identity theft and show you the best ways to prevent these. A lot of times you can prevent them with just a few minutes of learning. I would also recommend a service like LifeLock or TrustedID just to have another person on your side as your identity may already be compromised without you even knowing.

TrustedID

idczar — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 03:02:09 +0000

TrustedID has received great reviews by many large identity theft professionals and for good reason. Aside from just freezing your credit they provide many services to keep all of your personal information locked-down from credit cards to social security number.

Pricing:
The pricing is very simple and affordable. For an individual plan you are billed $8.50/month and for the family plan you are billed $16.99/month.

Features:
TrustedID has many great features including the scanning of thousands of databases and places where stolen identities and credit cards are sold as well as have free credits reports, on-call protection specialisits, and more. One of the features they offer that are not featured by any of the other major services is the medical benefits protection. Believe it or not medical benefits are now being stolen almost as much as identities themselves. As an extra they also provide free virus and spy-ware protection.

Guarantee:
TrustedID offers a $1 million guarantee to help you cover any costs of getting your money and identity back if your identity were to be stolen while using their service. The service guarantee is backed by major financial institutions and shows how serious they take their service.

Overall:
Even though TrustedID may not be as well known in the mainstream as a place like LifeLock I feel that they are just as good if not even a little better. They use top technology to work proactively for you and they also offer an array of services that cover not just individuals but also businesses. Couple this with their $1 million dollar insurance guarantee backed by large financial institutions it seems to be a great choice. This is why at this point TrustedID takes our number one spot.

Click here to visit TrustedID

Visit TrustedID above for your free trial.

Lifelock

idczar — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 01:20:58 +0000

Lifelock is one of the most well known when it comes to protecting people from identity theft. You have probably seen the commercials where the CEO of LifeLock has a van go around the city with his social security number plastered on the side. This shows you that they are putting their money where their mouth. They can do this because the CEO, Todd Davis, uses the LifeLock system that locks up your credit score and now uses their innovative technology to monitor thousands of different places on the web where identities and credit card numbers are sold.

Pricing:
The pricing system is very simple and low-cost. You can choose to pay $99/year or $9 a month. Through our link at the bottom you can actually get your first 30 days free.

Features:
Their are numerous features that make LifeLock a great service and helps it stand out above the rest. Two great features they offer are their monitoring of thousands of places where stolen identities and credit cards are sold as well as their WalletLock service that will help you cancel and get back everything in your wallet in the case of it being lost or stolen.

Guarantee:
LifeLock offers a $1 million guarantee to cover the costs of everything possible if your identity would be stolen while using their system. They were one of the first to do this and it has now become the standard. Two great services they offer are their monitoring of thousands of places where stolen identities and credit cards are sold as well as their WalletLock service that will help you cancel and get back everything in your wall in the case of it being lost or stolen.

Overall:
I personally have used LifeLock for a few months now and I am very impressed. You do not get much from them once you sign up unless there is some type of alert. I had many friends tell me they used LifeLock’s services and they alerted them when someone tried to take out a loan at a payday loan shop over 800 miles away. I feel comfortable using them as a business owner as well and have heard many great reviews that outweigh the negative. I definitely recommend LifeLock and it continues to only get better as the company evolves.

Click here to visit LifeLock

Visit LifeLock above for your free trial.

Intro from the Identity Czar

idczar — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 04:29:50 +0000

Our website strives to bring you the top expert information on how to prevent identity theft as well as pushes services to you that we feel will help prevent your identity from being stolen. With identity theft being the fastest growing crime worldwide it is a scary thought that someone could ruin your credit and potentially many things in your life by just stealing some information out of your trash or off your computer.

We will update our blog with the latest industry news as well as tips and advice on how to prevent someone from stealing your identity or information that could be used for malicious acts. We look forward to helping prevent identity theft in your life and we are always eager to here your stories so if you have an identity theft story feel free to contact us.