Concerned about customer privacy and security, as well as the cost to banks of fraud, credit card issuers are offering single use “virtual credit card” numbers for online, telephone and mail order shopping. The numbers are computer generated, used one time and then discarded. Only the customer and the issuer know the real underlying number.
Although the system slightly differs on each card, the principle is the same: For no extra charge, consumers sign up at the credit card’s Web site, often downloading software on their computers.
Then, when they’re ready to shop, they receive a randomly generated substitute 16-digit number that they can use at the online store. The number can be used once or, in some cases, repeatedly at the same store.
The Cincinnati Post - The virtual card
A Japanese man convicted of creating a fake version of the Yahoo website and using it to steal account information from Yahoo users was given a suspended sentence. With attacks coming from parts of the world that may not even bother to prosecute online fraud, as well as countries like Japan that give a slap on the wrist, consumers can’t rely on government to protect their personal information. It’s up to you to know who you are dealing with online, to be properly cautious and to protect your computer and your information.
RED HERRING | Phisher Gets Slapped on Wrist
A Japanese man convicted of creating a fraudulent website to steal personal information was given a 22-month suspended sentence earlier this week, alarming security analysts who said Thursday the penalty is too soft and sets a bad precedent in the fight against scammers.
In Japan’s first case against phishing, Kazuma Yabuno, 42, was recently convicted of creating a website that tried to mimic Yahoo Japan by replacing the ‘h’ in the Yahoo with ‘f’ creating the name ‘Yafoo!’ The trick site’s name closely resembled the original and has the same pronunciation in Japanese.
Through the spoofed site, Mr. Yabuno proceeded to obtain account names and passwords of Yahoo members and gained illegal access to their email accounts.
As many as 5% of computer users targeted by “phishing” scams respondent to the realistic looking emails claiming to be from banks and creditors.
Tahlequah Daily Press
One industry organization, the Anti-Phishing Working Group, estimated that thieves collectively launch more than 14,000 such schemes monthly and that about 5 percent of computer users respond to the fraudulent messages.
“They make it look completely real,” said Jennifer Phillips, 25, of Martinsville, Ill. She was tricked into disclosing her card number, mother’s maiden name, bank routing number and more. “You wouldn’t think this could happen to anybody living in the middle of cornfields,” she said.
Your Social Security Number. Everyone wants it. Employers, cell phone companies, utility companies, landlords, insurance companies - and identity thieves. While certain agencies and companies are required to have it for tax reporting purposes, most people who ask for your Social Security number aren’t required to have it and use it merely for convenience. Some will use another number if you ask.
Secure Social Security number is key to privacy
Legally, a Social Security number only must be divulged in limited situations, but for many years consumers readily rattled off their numbers to anyone who asked. With the rise of identity theft, it has become clear a Social Security number is the key to your finances and much more. If it falls into the wrong hands, the culprit can assume your identity and establish accounts in your name.
Consumers can protect themselves by controlling when they give their number. That can mean politely refusing to disclose a number when there’s no legal reason to do so or even walking away from doing business with a company that won’t take “no” for an answer.
The new version 2 of Google’s Desktop Search, which indexes files on your computer’s hard drive so you can search them through the Google interface, has been produced with an eye to privacy concerns.
Google Gets Better. What’s Up With That? - New York Times
Google has also beefed up your privacy options. You can omit search categories like secure Web sites (banking sites, for example), password-protected Microsoft Office files, and so on, and you can even flag individual files so that they’ll never appear in the search results again.
The usual privacy concerns expressed with “nanny cams” involve the propriety of “spying” on your nanny. But it turns out there is a much more serious concern. These cams are small wireless devices and anyone with a compatible receiver can view the video from outside your home. Anyone, even potential burglars and kidnappers, can sit somewhere nearby and see inside your home.
Nanny-Cam May Leave a Home Exposed
The wireless video camera, which is heavily advertised on the Internet, is intended to send its video signal to a nearby base station, allowing it to be viewed on a computer or a television. But its signal can be intercepted from more than a quarter-mile away by off-the-shelf electronic equipment costing less than $250.
