Next Door Neighbor Identity Theft From Hell

Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert Speaker
What a nightmare. Imagine you have your neighbors over and they rob you. Or you dont have them over and they rob you via your unsecured wireless.

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Unfortunately your enemies could be living in your home or across the street. As the economy tanks, people get desperate and thieves victims become those in their lives.

Especially in tough times, identity thieves could be someone in your inner trusted circle. I’ve consulted on stories where the dad stole his child’s identity. Those closest to us at home or work have direct access to our data.

“Familiar” Identity theft happens because the thief goes through a process of rationalizing their ability to commit the crime. The process is often referred to as the “Fraud Diamond”.

First they have Incentive. They say “I want to or have a need to commit this crime”. Next is Opportunity. They see a hole or weakness in the system they can easily exploit. And of course Rationalization; “I have convinced myself it is worth the risks”. Lastly, Capability; they determine they are the right person for the job and can pull off the scam.

Here a local neighborhood was terrorized by a drug addicted mom and dad who had a penchant for technology and used their skills to feed their habit.

Much of the crimes they committed could have been prevented.

1. Get a credit freeze or fraud alert
2. Invest in a locking mail box
3. Shred all throwaway paper work
4. Turn off the paper
5. Turn on WPA security for your wireless network
6. Pay attention to all your statements and refute unauthorized charges
7. As a national spokesperson for uni-ball, I recommend using a uni-ball® pen, which contains Uni “Super Ink” formula, to write checks and sign important documents. This specially-formulated ink won’t wash out and protects against check washing. Those closest to you have access to your canceled checks and can rewrite to themselves.

Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Speaker Expert discussing family identity theft Here

Tags: expert, identity, prevention, protection, security, speaker, theft, uniball

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Comment by Xproject187 on April 9, 2009 at 1:38pm: Great story thanx which reminds Me of a question:
A friend says She's been told by a neighbor that her Wifi is being accessed by Kids in her neighborhood (via PSP)!
I told her to log into her Router's GUI & look for "SSID broadcast" & to disable it & then to look for & enable Encryption & to also make sure to change "ALL" login-passwords for both the PC & the LAN. So she did, But she's afraid they're still getting in.
So I told her to get a Software Firewall,set it up & monitor the traffic on it,but she says it's all so confusing!
Well all I could say to that was "true-true" a Firewall can be confusing.

So I was wondering if anyone knows of a Slim Low Overhead Program that requies lil user input,but will keep a list of all Wireless login attempts(successful or otherwise) that she can easily install & keep an eye on ?
~X~

Comment by NeferSif on March 12, 2009 at 7:55am: I also think it is BS that we have to give our SS out so often. Every job application you have to fill out has it on there. Even if you do not get the job, they still have it. This puts the number out all over the place. There should be a way to change this practice.

Comment by NeferSif on March 12, 2009 at 7:51am: I have a friend who's Ex did this too their daughter. This is pathetic.

Comment by Eddie on March 11, 2009 at 6:12am: Some people actually prefer to share their wireless with the neighbors where I live. We just use a higher then default encryption and share the access code to log on. A great help when you have MySpace and Facebook addicts online often.

Comment by wehype on March 10, 2009 at 6:21am: Very interesting story, thanks! It's shit, when nobody believes you and when you can proof it - no one cares.