Entry bubble Your Online Privacy

By: Joanne | March 17, 2009 | Category: General

South by Southwest Interactive Festival

I’m at the South by Southwest Interactive festival and a few days ago, I went to an interesting session about privacy, specifically online privacy. It’s something that concerns us all when we use social networking sites, or shop online, or even do a simple search on a commercial search engine. I hear it all the time and heard it in the session too: people are especially concerned about their privacy on government websites. The good news is that there are lots of laws and regulations related to privacy and government websites, and I think that in many ways that’s a good thing. We should be free to browse and interact on government websites without the fear that our personal information is gathered and aggregated and used for some unknown purpose.

At the same time there are a lot of really good reasons why government websites may want to gather personal information. If we could do it, we could deliver information and services in a more personal and effective way. I imagine a world where I could visit a government website, sign in with a username and password and then have a dashboard that would tell me useful things relevant to my life. Maybe I would see my property tax bill and be able to click a button to pay it, or renew my driver’s license when it expires, or see an estimate of my future social security benefits.

It sounds pretty easy, doesn’t it? I love the idea of integrating local, state and federal information in one location. I mean, why not? Wouldn’t this be a real convenience? Isn’t it silly and outdated that my property tax bill and driver’s license renewal and social security estimate are all paper that comes to me in the mail?

The hurdles are more than just technology, and there are a few key things that have to happen to get us there. First, government on every level will have to update existing laws and regulations to allow this sharing of information and, to protect its usage, citizens should be able to opt in, so they can chose to participate, or not. Lastly, websites that collect information have to be completely clear and honest about how the information will be used, not used, shared and not shared. What else needs to happen to make the public comfortable with this?

| View Comments [0] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: identity   internet   joanne   online   privacy  

 

Entry bubble ATM Safety

By: Colleen | July 09, 2008 | Category: Money

I pretty much live in a cashless universe. It's a rare day when I have over two dollars in my wallet. ATM

I've been just fine using my credit/debit card for pretty much everything. In the rare occasion I need cash, I simply make a withdrawal (or "tap MAC" as Philly folks say) from whatever ATM is closest.

This was not something I ever thought twice about until recently when ATM safety came up in the news.

In an era of identity theft, we have to be super careful to protect all of our private information. Apparently, it's very easy for an ATM machine to retain your account information after you've swiped your card. This is particularly more common for machines found at convenience stores or bars and restaurants. Using an ATM at your bank's branch office is much safer, as they are videotaped and constantly maintained.

Another thing you must be mindful of is your PIN. It should be changed frequently (strike one for me) and a different number should be used for each account (strike two).

To protect yourself, it's important to monitor your account frequently. Keep ATM use to your bank. And always select the "credit" option over "debit" to minimize PIN usage.

Have you been a victim of ATM identity theft? Any pointers?

| View Comments [4] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: atm   colleen   credit   debit   identity   money   safety   theft  

 

Entry bubble Credit Card Offers

By: Colleen | May 07, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

Few things are consistent in life. The alarm clock doesn't always go off when it's set. The Patriots ruin a perfectcredit card season by choking in the Super Bowl. A bright and sunny Saturday can turn to thunderstorms in the blink of an eye.

As far as I can tell, I can guarantee only two things:

  • If I am wearing white to dinner, something with spaghetti sauce will be served.
  • At least three times a week I will find a credit card offer in my mailbox.

Wearing white will never stop me from eating spaghetti, but I can help eliminate the seemingly endless stream of credit card offers.

Receiving these offers makes you a target for identity theft. To prevent your information from falling into the wrong hands, you should "opt out" of pre-approved offers.

You can opt out for five years or permanently.

Eliminating these offers helps protect your identity and is also eco-friendly. You're saving paper and creating less waste. It is reported that my generation is in an endless cycle of post-graduation credit card debt—so the fewer offers you get, the less temptation you have to add another card to that bulging wallet.

| View Comments [9] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: card   colleen   credit   identity   mail   offers   theft  

 

Entry bubble Free Credit Report? Make Sure You're Getting The Real Thing

By: Nancy | February 28, 2008 | Category: Money

dollar signIf the thought of identity theft scares you like it does me, or you're looking to make a major purchase and you need to check your credit rating, those ads for companies that promise you "free credit reports" may have caught your attention. Truth is, you don't need those guys. You can get a copy of your credit report for free, all by yourself.

The Federal Trade Commission requires the three major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian (formerly called TRW) and Trans Union to give you a free copy of your credit report once a year. The credit bureaus are not part of the government; they're companies that keep track of your borrowing and debt records so lenders can get an idea of how good a risk you are when you apply for credit or for certain services.

It's really easy to get your free credit report and it's available from only one central place: AnnualCreditReport.com. There are companies that have websites with similar names. And they may offer you a "free" copy of your credit report but you'll have to buy other services from them first to get it. AnnualCreditReport.com is the only official site where you can get a genuinely free copy of your credit report from all three reporting agencies. And if you'd rather order your free credit report by phone or by mail, you can do that too.

You can choose whether you want to get your credit report from just one of the credit bureaus at a time or if you want to get a report that has the information of all three combined. I like to get my reports one at a time, spread out over the course of a year. I stop back at AnnualCreditReport.com every four months for a report—Trans Union in January, Equifax in May and Experian in September, for example. Since all three agencies have very similar information, this allows me to check my credit for free more than just once a year.

When you're on the AnnualCreditReport.com site, you'll be asked some identifying information including your Social Security number. Normally, you wouldn't share that with anybody—especially online—but because this is the official place to get your free credit report, and it's a secure website, it's safe to share the personal information they need to make sure you're you, and to get you the right credit report.

If you've never seen a copy of a credit report or you're not sure how to read one, here's a good sample from Experian. (If you can't see the sample report, you'll need to download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader onto your computer.)

Next Thursday, we're going to talk about how to fix mistakes you might find on your credit report. If you have a chance between now and then, grab that free copy of your credit report, and I'll see you back here next week. ;)

| View Comments [4] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: credit   debt   identity   nancy   theft