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Wow… with this new hootsuite app I can really share important information with all my social media; so stay tuned for some great stuff coming from me. Richard Bentley http://www.Richardbentley.us

Every three seconds there is a new victim

            The ITRC data breach report

As of July 22, 2014 there have been 411 data breaches with 11, 059, 749 records exposed. The Ponemon Institute estimates the average cost per records breached is $145.

http://www.idtheftcenter.org/images/breach/ITRC_Breach_Report_2014.pdf

                      What is a breach?

An event in which an individual name plus social security number

, driver's license number, medical records or a financial record/credit/debit card is potentially at risk

                  The financial ripple effect 

The financial impact on the companies that have been breached is immediate and long-lasting, executives have lost their jobs, there have been layoffs and some companies have even gone out of business because of it. It is estimated it can take up to two years for these companies to rebuild trust and confidence in their brand. If you go to the ITRC data breach report you will see a broad spectrum of businesses, government websites,  hospitals and other health care providers that have been victimized.

Visit the ITRC website and go to the victims help tab  you'll find a wealth of guides, tips and tools to help educate you on how to protect yourself and what to do if you are a victim of identity theft.

http://www.idtheftcenter.org/Help-for-Victims/document-
catalogue.html


                        What's in your car?

If your car is ever stolen or broken into it could be a treasure trove for identity thieves. Most people have their automobile registration, insurance cards, bill of sale for the car and sometimes the repair bills with a credit card receipt attached. We sometimes leave our laptops, tablets, wallets and mail in plain view inside the car. In the wrong hands these items and documents could make your life miserable trying to rebuild your identity.


We all should be very aware of what we leave in our car and don't leave these items in plain sight as an invitation to break into your car or steal it. Most cars have a separate key to lock the glove boxes, make sure it is locked before you leave your car and if you valet park it make sure that the key is with you and don't leave any valuables or any information in plain view. It takes just a few seconds to take these precautions.

             How smart is your smart phone ?

The smart phones have changed our lives forever. You can text, email, surf the web, watch movies, and manage our finances through your smart phone. Which means if it is lost, stolen or hacked into  it provides the identity thieves with a tremendous amount of your personal information.


Make sure you always password protect the phone so if it has been stolen the locked phone will slowdown the thieves access to your information which will give you time to protect your other accounts.

                   Other links of interest

Visit this link to hear our weekly small business Mastermind pod casts

http://101smallbusinessmastermind.com/Master_Mind_Pages.html

My website and my LegalShield hub site
http://richardbentley.us/

https://w3.legalshield.com/aasites/Multisite?site=hub&assoc=rdbentley


http://www.101marketingpodcast.com

http://www.seniorscamspodcast.com

http://www.selfdefenseweaponssite.com/

Data breach alert

      Small retailers are especially vulnerable

When hackers breach a large national retail chain their getting the private information on millions of customers. If you think you have less security issues to worry about when doing business with a small business think again.

Results of a survey taken by the Ponemon Institute in 2013 showed that more than 50% of the small businesses surveyed have experienced a data breach, it also pointed out that only a third of the consumers have been notified that their personal information had been breached. The trend in 2014 is showing similar hacking activities.

Typically the hackers are using cyber thief robots searching the Internet 24 hours a day looking for  weaknesses in websites,and they are finding many weak spots to hack into.

Many small businesses cannot afford the expense it would take to patch the weak spots in their systems.

                   What can you do

If you do a fair amount of business with the same small business and you have concerns about the safety of your private information ask the small business owner to provide documentation that their business has undergone a security assessment by a third-party. Most have not.
 To protect your bank account from being siphoned off by a breach it is best to use a credit card rather than a debit card which will limit your liability. And as I've mentioned previously limit the amount of personal information you share with any business that you're doing business with big or small

                        Scams and alerts

The following information are excerpts from the IR TC web page I mention them in  pretty much every blog I have published. That is because the information provided by this web page is invaluable and I am trying to get it to as many people as possible.

                       Scam introduction

****You have not won the lottery in some foreign country that you never bought a ticket for.

****No one is going to ask you for your help to move money from a dead person's account to another place

****the IRS is not electronically auditing you

****when you get called for jury duty no one is going to ask for your so security number

It is imperative to know the scams that these thieves use to gain access to your personal information and in turn steal your hard-earned money and retirement funds. You must be on high alert at all times and use good common sense when someone tries to get you involved in these phony schemes.

Scam detector--- a new mobile and web-based application

This new app is filled with easily accessible educational tools and resources to find crime prevention partners and has the ability to instantly share news of fraudulent activities at the click of a button. Scan detector is considered the go to app in the fight against identity theft.  If you go to the ITRC website you can see the amazing capabilities this app provides. You will see nine buttons that categorizes the different types of scams such as auto, employment, social networking, financial, real estate and more. Click a button and it will give you a list of every conceivable scam in that category. I know most everyone is involved with one of the social networks, I clicked on that button and found a hundred and forty two different scams related to social networks.

        Support the Identity Theft Resource Center

The IdentityTheft Resource Center has been a lifeline to consumers and victims by providing its FREE services for 15 years. Consumers just like us are reaching out to them more and more both for assistance when they have become a victim and also to arm

themselves with the necessary information to prevent them from becoming a victim. it is important that we do what we can to support their efforts. If you would like to donate please go to the website listed below and click on the donate button, you will also see an address to mail checks to if you prefer to donate in that way. I am sure your help will greatly appreciated.

                 http://www.idtheftcenter.org/

                   

                  Other Links of Interest

richardbentley.us

http://seniorscamspodcast.com/index.html

http://101smallbusinessmastermind.com/Master_Mind_Pages.html

http://infocard.cc/101_Marketing_Podcasts.html

           

Why you need to protect yourself from identity theft

  If you have been following the news for the last couple of weeks you may have read about two major security breaches that have been going on for months and years and nobody was aware that their private information was at risk.  I will talk briefly about both of them.

                             The Heart Bleed Bug

  The heart bleed bug is a flaw in the encryption standard used by a majority of websites. They recently found a programming error that would allow a hacker to trick the computer at the other end into sending your 
confidential information to a bogus computer. This made it possible for hackers to steal the encryption keys, the codes used to turn encrypted data into readable information, allowing the hackers to intercept encrypted data moving to and from a site's servers. Which gave them access to your information.

   Most of the articles that I've read about the Heart Bleed Bug are very technical in nature but the bottom line is this is potentially a very serious problem that we all may have been facing for two years and not realized it.

                       What can you do to protect yourself

  Since the vulnerability has been going on for about two years and using it leaves no trace, assume that your accounts may be compromised.  You should change your online passwords especially for services where privacy and security are major concerns.


              Michael's arts and craft stores are hacked 

  Michael's stores incorporated said Thursday about 2.6 million credit and debit cards about 7% of all debit and credit cards used at its namesake stores may have been affected in a security breach.

  The compromised data includes customer information such as payment

card numbers and expiration dates but there is no evidence that other personal information such as names, addresses or pin numbers were at risk Michael's said.

  Aaron brothers is a subsidiary of Michael's and they also reported that they were attacked with about 400,000 cards potentially affected. About 3 million customers have been impacted by the data breach that lasted over eight months.

                              ITRC
  I've mentioned in previous blogs the Identity Theft Resource Center and the report they produce that lists every company or organization that has had a security breach this year. As of April 15 there have been 233 companies or organizations that have had security breaches. That has resulted in 5,171,507 records that have been compromised. If you open up the link below  you will be able to review the affected companies and see if you have done business with any of them.

   The message I am trying to deliver in this blog is that everyone in this day and age should have a identity theft protection program.
As you can see the two incidents mentioned above were going on for months and years and you have either no or very little knowledge of them. If you will take the time to review the ITRC report I believe you'll be shocked when you see the names of the companies, charities and agencies listed there. The first link is to their homepage, the second link takes you directly to the report.


           http://www.idtheftcenter.org/
                      http://www.idtheftcenter.org/images/breach/ITRC_Breach_Report_2014.pdf 
  
                    Other links of interest
                 

                                                  richardbentley.us

                https://sites.legalshield.com/aasites/Multisite?                      site=hub&assoc=rdbentley

                 http://seniorscamspodcast.com/index.html

                 http://infocard.cc/101_Marketing_Podcasts.html

                         http://101smallbusinessmastermind.com/Master_Mind_Pages.html
                         

Five ways to protect yourself from identity theft

     There are a number of ways for you to become a victim of identity theft, sometimes it's accidental such as you lose your wallet or the theft of your pocketbook and sometimes it's the  devious route through fictitious emails requesting personal information over the phone.  And then there is the much-publicized hacking of  major corporations billing systems to get your credit card information and other personal information. Identity thieves are getting more sophisticated in their attempts at stealing our identities.

     The information I am providing you today comes from the Identity Theft Resource Center website. I have spoken of them in previous blogs and their website is one of most comprehensive sites on identity theft that I have read.

             http://www.idtheftcenter.org/ 


                                  
        Protect your personal information

Social security number, health insurance policy number, and other pieces of key data are unique to you. Before you give them to anyone whether you know them or not verify the reasons for needing the information.

                  Don't toss it in the mail

Do not use your curbside mailbox for mail that contains sensitive personal information (checks, health insurance statements or tax documents) drop them off at your local post office.

               Don't make it easy to steal from you

     Make sure to review your financial statements thoroughly each month or if you can, set them up online so you can  review them a minimum of once a week. Shred everything, if possible sign up for paperless billing if that service is offered to you.

           A password is only as good as you make it

     When developing a password you should avoid using the obvious such as birthdays,street addresses, names of family members or the infamous 1234 or password. There should be a minimum of eight characters using uppercase, lowercase, numbers or symbols. You should change your passwords frequently and try not to use the same password on different accounts.

      Because they ask, doesn't mean you have to tell   them.

     Finally don't fall for the oldest trick in the book: the direct question if you get an email or you are speaking with someone on the phone and they ask you directly what is your social security number don't give it to them.  It doesn't matter if it's a company you

recognize and you have done business with them before or the  person on the other end of the line is a complete stranger. Remember your SSN is not an identification number and should not be used to verify your account information and anyone who presses you for that information is probably not someone you should give it to. 

     I hope you find this to be informative and beneficial. I encourage feedback and would like to have this blog become more interactive. 

                    Richard Bentley
                    richardbentley.us


                 Other websites of interest
         http://seniorscamspodcast.com/index.html                http://infocard.cc/101_Marketing_Podcasts.html 


                    

IRS dirty dozen tax scams for 2013

     In my last blog I covered a press release the IRS had put out at the end of last week, dealing with what they called the largest scam of this kind. It informed us they had received over 20,000 calls from people complaining they were receiving calls from individuals claiming to be  with the IRS and they owed back taxes that  needed to be payed immediately to the IRS via prepaid debit cards or money order or face substantial punishment. This blog will deal with a couple of the dirty dozen scams for 2013 that I have not talked about before.

                             Phishing

     A phishing scam usually contacts you via an unsolicited email or a fake website that poses as a legitimate site.  It will try to entice you to provide valuable personal and financial information. If you provide them  this  information you will be

opening the door to identity theft and financial fraud. Keep in mind the IRS  does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email to request personal or financial information. This includes text messages and social media.


     If you receive an unsolicited email that appears to be from the IRS or an agency closely linked to the IRS such as the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System( EFTPS) you can report it by sending it to
                   phishing@IRS.gov. 

                  Return  Preparer fraud 

     When hiring an individual or firm to prepare your return you should choose carefully. The IRS wants to remind all taxpayers that they should use only preparers who sign the return they prepare and enter their IRS tax identification number. Most 

return preparers provide honest service to the clients but there are some unscrupulous preparers who prey on unsuspecting taxpayers and results can be refund fraud or identity theft.

       Remember taxpayers are legally responsible for what's on their tax return even when prepared by someone else.Therefore make sure that the preparer you hire is up to the task.

     The IRS has created a new webpage to assist taxpayers  in choosing a preparer, red flags to look out for and details on preparers qualifications and information on how to file a complaint by  visiting the website below.
                  http://www.irs.gov/


                                              New Scam update


     I want to share with you a couple of new scams that I received this week via  email.

The first one is from the Powerball Lottery Board

            Subject line says " winners list"  

     The email or website  says  please check the attached file for details. It doesn't have my name on it as the recipient, that is a red flag to proceed with caution.If I were to open up the attachment I will have compromised my personal information.

   The second one is addressed to dear account user

 we noticed your email account has been opened in one other location with the network IP address  of 93.210.13.68 with instructions to click here

     The next sentence  says please log out your email account within the next 24 hours or your account will be locked by our webmail administrator which you will not be able to send or receive emails.
Finally my failure to carry out the above as soon as possible could result in new incoming emails being blocked
Signed regards

webmail support
Then it leaves this do not reply message

*Please do not reply to this message. Mail sent to this address cannot be answered.

     As you can see there are errors in grammar which is a big clue that this is a bogus email. Even without the grammatical errors common sense would dictate that you would want to delete this email and not respond or open it and put your personal information in jeopardy.

     If anyone has been a victim of identity theft and would like to discuss it or would like to talk about a scam that I have not discussed please send me the information at  rbentleygiant@gmail.com. Also any comments you may have, good or bad I welcome. 

                  Richard Bentley
                 richardbentley.us
                                    http://seniorscamspodcast.com/


  
                   

Dirty dozen tax scams for 2013

     Largest ever U. S. Tax – fraud  phone scam                                targets thousands:

    If you get a call and the caller says he represents the IRS be suspicious.


    In case you haven't seen it in the news, federal authorities are warning the public about a nationwide phone scam that has stolen millions from thousands of unsuspecting people. They are claiming to be an IRS service representative and tell their intended victims they owe taxes and they must pay these taxes immediately via prepaid debit card or wire transfer. They are threatening the people who refuse to pay with  arrest, loss of business, deportation or loss of their driver's license.

     The Treasury Department is calling it the largest scam (of it's kind) that they have ever seen. With more than 20,000 callers complaining of receiving phone calls from the IRS demanding payment of back taxes.

     Technology has made it easy to manipulate the numbers being displayed on your phone. So you can't always trust the numbers displayed.

     The IRS is doing its best  to make the public aware of the scam. They have notified major phone companies as well as  voice - over- the- Internet call services and are providing news bulletins to all major news outlets.  People who receive such calls or other suspicious requests should contact the IRS.

     The best advice we can give you is the same as we have advised in the past do not provide personal information or financial information to anyone over the phone or online unless you are absolutely certain that you know who you are speaking with.



     You can be sure that major banks and financial institutions plus government agencies do not and will not call and ask for this information or payment over the phone via debit card or wire transfers.

     This tax related phone scam as well as phishing emails, preparer fraud and claims a preparer can offer you free money are all part of the dirty dozen tax scams of 2013.  I will discuss the dirty dozen tax scams in more detail in future blogs. The deadline to file your taxes is less than a month away so please take the steps to securely file this year. 

         California is the number one target

     This segment is for the readers who are California residents. I received an email today from Peter Brusso who produces marketing podcasts on http://infocard.cc/101_Marketing_Podcasts.html  referencing an article from the Drudge Report, the headlines are "California is the top target in the U.S. for international crime enterprises that operate from safe havens in Eastern Europe, Africa and China." This is according to a report released Thursday.

     When you read this you'll think of trafficking in drugs, guns and humans. But cyber crimes targeting the wealthy and financial institutions has become their fastest-growing targets.

      Los Angeles region is vulnerable to digital piracy due to the fact it produces much of the nation's movies and other mass-market media.

California leads all states in the number of computer systems hacked or infected by malware; victims of Internet crimes and identity theft. The impact is in the hundreds of millions of dollars from small businesses, mom-and-pop operations and individuals who can lose their life's work and savings to the schemes that have originated from the far corners of the world.


     Although this report is based on California being the leading state in the union for these crimes it doesn't mean that the other 49 states should feel that they are immune from these crimes.

                     Richard Bentley
                     richardbentley.us