Have you ever been a victim of identity theft or know someone who has? If so, you realize full well what a royal pain in the backside it is, and the damage that was done to your reputation and your credit report will take years to resolve.

Now that you know what can be the result of identity theft, you can look back and probably recognize various things you could have done differently to protect yourself more fully. Please understand that identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in our current high-tech society, and precautions you took 5 or 10 years ago need to be modified to be effective today.

Usually, by the time the victim realizes that his identity has been used, the identity thief has long since disappeared from the face of the planet, leaving a wake of damage to the victim’s name and credit report. The laws in this country are only now starting to realize that new laws need to be enacted to protect consumers from this type of theft, as well as making additional provisions and avenues for those who are victims. In Texas, a law was passed to limit a consumer’s credit freeze privileges until they can prove that they have been a victim of identity theft or credit card fraud. That is very similar to saying that you cannot buy a lock until you can prove that your house has been broken into, at which point it is too late!

If you discover that you are a victim of identity theft, the very first thing you need to do is to contact all of your lenders, including credit card companies, department stores, gas stations, your mortgage lender and your bank and let them know what happened. Depending on their policies, they may require you to fill out some paperwork.

One of the best things you can do at this time is to get a notebook and start taking very detailed notes. When you call your credit card company to report this, note the date and time of your call, and write down the name of the person you spoke with. Do this for every account you contact to alert them of what has happened. While you are talking with each one, ask them exactly what is covered if charges are discovered on your account that you yourself did not do. Sometimes all or some charges are covered by insurance, but other times there is no coverage.

Although the laws are changing, you should still contact the police and get legal help. Frequently, as unbelievable as it sounds, the police will not even open an investigation or become involved. The really strange part of this is that if they arrested someone who was “you” via identity theft, they could then come and arrest the REAL you if you did not show up at a court hearing.

If you are a victim of identity theft, you need to take action and take it NOW. Delays only allow the thief to get further away and drastically lessen the possibilities of finding them. For more tips about what to do about identity theft and measures you can take to prevent identity theft from happening in the first place, please visit our web site.

Did You Lock the Doors and Windows When You Left For Work This Morning?

Part 4: Tips for the Office

IT Policy

I will not say much on this other than to say, you should have a policy in place that tells your employees what they can and cannot do on the network and with your data. You can get such policies from lots of places on the internet.

You cannot really have a go at staff if you have not given them guidelines.

Business Continuity Planning

Companies should always have a continuity plan in place that will be activated should there be a business disaster like a flood at your office, meaning you have to relocate. Belt and Braces is my advice, have a good BCP, make sure it is written by someone with the right knowledge and experience, it can be written by a third party but they must be able to fully familiarise themselves with your company and sometimes your clients and their requirements, depending on the nature of your business. BCPs should be fully tested where possible. The internet is a valuable tool for finding out how to write a BCP, but I would advise caution…

Even the most experienced consultants make mistakes, ever heard of stories like, there was this large company who had a huge generator on their roof in the event of power failure; it automatically cut in. To start the generator unfortunately required mains electric; there had been a mistake in the specification. What a mistaka to maka!

In a worst case scenario, you may not have access to your normal site at all, off-site backups etc., suddenly become the life and death of your BCP.

Backups

I mentioned earlier in this article, backups are very important especially in business. All I am saying here is that there are a few things backups should be:

· Done Regularly

· On Reliable Media

· Be Secured

· Some backups on-site with a copy off-site

· Must be tested regularly

o Restore random files and check they work

o Restore an entire backup to another machine

· Should be monitored for failures

· Be checked to make sure everything you need backed up is backed up, especially if users create new folders

Backups should incorporate all valuable data, make sure users all save files to where they are meant to and that they get backed up.

I once came across a situation where a PA to the MD of a company, had been saving all files locally and her machine was not being backed up with the network, when the hard drive failed – well you can imagine, there was not a happy face in the company.

Virus Protection and Firewalls

All networks and PC’s must be protected; security suites are available for everyone (note that there is much less choice for 64bit PCs).

Some of these tools are expensive, especially on larger networks, but they work out a lot less expensive than the repercussions of an attack by hackers or the effects of an email or web based virus etc.

I am only stating here that you need them and that they must be kept up to date, not which ones are best or how to use them.

Stop Data Going Walkies

Data can leave your network in many ways, some legitimate and some not. Prevent the data leaving that is not legitimate as best you can, it is almost impossible to prevent employees breaching your trust and running off with data to competitors and alike. Always watch out for disgruntled employees as mentioned below.

· Make sure application access fits the users Job

· Do not enable USB ports unless you have to (Disable them)

· Make sure your IT staff know what they are doing e.g. There is no point locking down everything on the PC and then leaving the cmd/Command prompt or run command.

· Disable or do not install CD/DVD Recorders

· Strictly control all data exporting/reporting tools

· Make sure senior staff do not share their passwords and user Id’s

· Keep your network secure, WiFi with WEP, Virus Protection and Firewalls

Disgruntled Employees

Disgruntled employees and employees who are leaving your company can do much more damage than the average hacker. It may be required that you pay the balance of their contract and require them not to actually work, this is often the safest option, it protects you and your data but also protects them, if coincidentally there is a data security breach during their notice period and they are still on site, the finger by default ends up pointing at them, and they may be completely innocent. My advice, protect yourself and them.

In Summary

There are enough pointers in these articles to make for a more secure IT infrastructure and reduce stress by preventing some of the bad things that can happen both at home and work with IT.

If you are unsure, worried or do not have the IT knowledge or confidence to feel comfortable with following the guidelines in this article or generally just muddle through with IT, then I recommend you sit back and let a reputable and knowledgeable individual or company help you, do not just get worried and sweep it under the carpet, act and act now, it is for you and your company’s own good.

I hear a lot of people in companies whinging about their IT departments or ‘IT bod’. If they truly are that bad at getting things sorted, then have your system checked out by a professional, there are lots of us out there, let them put your mind at rest, or recommend changes and training for your IT.

Lastly, not entirely regarding security, but more a general comment for businesses…

If your business has to work around your IT department and procedures put in place by your software and how it works, yet you want to work in another and better way, which your competitors may already be doing; something is wrong and it may be time to get someone to advise you.

David designed and created SME Guild, the business community so all businesses (self-employed to large SME’s) could benefit from each other’s experience, find business contacts, new suppliers, networking opportunities, buy and sell online and much, much more!

A number of companies are coming out with identity theft insurance programs but there is still a debate as to whether identity theft insurance is actually required. In this article we will look at a number of points regarding this subject in order to help you make your decision regarding taking out identity theft insurance.

Firstly, what is identity theft insurance? Identity theft insurance is insurance which is supposed to cover expenses incurred through identity theft. It is supposed to insure you against both the costs as well as helping you to restore your identity after the theft.

It is important though to look into what expenses are reimbursed through identity theft insurance. Some of this coverage includes phone bills, lost wages, and lawyers’ fees; but it may not include the biggest expense which is the actual money that has been stolen from your account or by using an account opened in your name. This is normally where the reimbursement is actually required and although lawyers’ fees are covered, identity theft lawyers are often not necessary in cases of identity theft so this reimbursement is unnecessary.

If you do decide to take out identity theft insurance then you should carefully look at what different companies offer and be certain of what you are actually receiving in your insurance policy. There are a number of websites where you can obtain information about identity theft insurance programs in order to make your decisions about which one to choose.

Ultimately though the best identity theft insurance you can have is to take precautionary measures yourself. Order your credit reports regularly and check them yourself for any suspicious activity, shred any receipts, bills or paperwork that you are throwing in the trash, keep a careful watch on your credit cards and basically take whatever precautionary measures you can to protect yourself both online and offline.

A number of identity theft insurance programs are available, but whether or not it is right for you to take out identity theft insurance is up to you. Insurance policies normally cover expenses such as lawyers’ fees, lost wages and phone bills but do not cover the major expenses of money stolen from your account. If you do decide to choose identity theft insurance it is important to look carefully into what you are actually getting; but still the best identity theft insurance is to take precautionary measures yourself and to always be alert for possible risks.

Your credit score is a number between 300 and 850 that shows lenders how risky a borrower you will be, based on your past history. In the overall breakdown of that credit score number, 35% is based on your payment history, 30% is based on how much credit you’ve been offered but haven’t taken, 15% is based on how long you’ve had a credit history, 10% is based on the amount of debt you’ve accumulated over the last year, and 10% is based on what kind of credit you have, such as installment vs revolving and secured vs unsecured. There are many ways to improve low credit scores, although it does take time and capital.

The history of identity theft shows us that criminal activity can cause a bad score but the most common way people get poor credit scores is to miss a credit payment or to pay late. At the time you may think, “Who cares if it’s just a few days late? They’re still getting their money.” However, once that lateness or missed payment is reported, a credit score can drop as much as 100 – 150 points according to one leading credit repair attorney and will take 24 months to be fully restored. To remedy the situation, be sure you bring all your credit accounts current, paying off late payments and always paying at least the minimum monthly fee, rather than waiting to pay it all at once. For many people, paying automatically through debit or setting a monthly cell phone reminder a week in advance are the best ways to ensure bills get paid on time.

In some situations, getting new credit cards is a good way to actually improve credit scores. If any of your cards have double digit interest rates, it’s best to shop around for a better rate. Sometimes you can consolidate several other cards onto one low-rate card, like a Virgin Credit Card, which offers 15 months interest-free and a transfer fee of 2.98%. Another is Barclays, which has 14 months interest free and a 2.9% fee. However, be careful if you choose this route because your interest rate will be hit very hard if you miss even one payment. Also be aware that applying for numerous credit cards in a short amount of time will bring down a credit score as well. If you’ve had big trouble in the past, then you may want to look for a secured credit card, which is sort of like a debit account: you pre-pay and can only borrow what’s guaranteed in your account, yet the positive activity is reported to the credit bureau.

Checking your own credit score will have no impact on your report. You can gather basic information at www.AnnualCreditReport.com, which allows you one free assessment each year. Experian, Equifax and TransUnion are the three major providers of financial report information. Even though you won’t get the exact number without paying, you may gather useful information that you could use at www.MoneyCentral.MSN.com/Investor/CreditReport/Main.asp to see where your approximate score may fall. To improve your credit score, your first step should be to pay down your credit cards, then your loans. Do not close your credit cards because this will decrease your capacity. Make all your bill payments on time. Move some of your revolving credit card debt to installment debt if you can. For example, you can sometimes take a home equity line of credit and transfer it to a fixed 10-15 year pay off. If you need more assistance improving credit scores, try www.CCCServices.com.

Free Trans union is one of the FCRA. Which has a legal authority to provide you free credit report? But the important of the information is how it’s interrupted. So to get the maximum benefits from your credit report, it helps to see the report data like a creditor does.

A Trans union deals with four types of information:

Identification
Credit History
Public Records
Report Requests

Trans Union identification section has your name, current and former address, phone number, social security, your working address. From all the most important is your name and social security code it will help agency to get more information about you. To get your credit report issued in time one should provide all the correct information and with all the details. This is especially especially for married and previously married women who can have several version of their name.

This credit report is the record of all your financial transactions you have previously done. The lender pays more attention regarding have you paid your bill on time and for the full amount? How long have you had credit established, any new account opened, you account balance is low or high, how much do you owe overall.

If your bill shows any problem in your bill paying then it may be problem for you when you are applying for any loan, as lender always want an security against loan.

Trans Union provides you a copy of your credit report under Fair Credit Report Act (FCRA) once in 12 months. Online is the best way one to get their credit report. Trans Union has its own legal online site where online form is provided where one can fill all their detailed information to get their credit report. If and false information is provided your form will get rejected.