Swiped : How to Protect Yourself in a World Full of Scammers, Phishers, and Identity Thieves

Increasingly, Identity Theft Is A Fact Of Life. We Might Once Have Hoped To Protect Ourselves From Hackers With Airtight Passwords And Aggressive Spam Folders, And Those Are Good Ideas As Far As They Go. But The Truth Is, There Are People Out There -- A Lot Of Them -- Who Treat Stealing Your Identity As A Full-time Job. One Such Company Is A Nameless Firm Located In Russia, Which Has A Trove Of Over A Billion Internet Passwords. Another Set Up A Website Full Of Live Streams Of Hacked Web Cameras, Showing Everything From People's Offices And Lobbies To The Feeds From Baby Monitors. Even Purchases Made In Person Are Still Logged By Retailers Like Target, Who Are Famously Vulnerable To Hackers. Adam Levin, A Longtime Consumer Advocate And Identity Fraud Expert, Is Your Guide To This Brave New World. By Telling Memorable Stories And Extracting The Relevant Lessons, He Offers A Strategy For Dealing With These Risks. You May Not Be Able To Prevent Identity Theft, But You Certainly Shouldn't Wait Until It Happens To Take Action. Levin's Approach Is Defined By The Three M's: Minimizing Risk, Monitoring Your Identity, And Managing The Damage. The Book Is Also Organized Around The Different Problems Caused By Identity Theft: Financial, Criminal, Medical, Familial, Etc., Enabling Readers To Dip Into The Sections Most Relevant To Them. Swiped Is A Practical, Lively Book That Is Essential To Surviving The Ever-changing World Of Online Security. It Is Invaluable Not Only For Preventing Problems But Helping Cope When They Arrive. An Overview Of The Problem. What's In A Name (and A Number)? ; A Short History Of Identity (and Fraud) : (and You Thought It Was Just About Credit Cards) ; Swiping Happens -- The Basics Of What You Can Do. Understanding The Problem Is The Solution ; The Three Ms -- The Many Types Of Identity Theft. Spies In Your Home : How The Internet Of Things May Violate Your Privacy, Threaten Your Security, And Ruin Your Credit ; A Taxing Situation ; It's A Hard-knock Life : Child Identity Theft ; May The Farce Be With You : Social Media Dos And Don'ts ; From Dangerous To Deadly : On Healthcare Scams And Medical Identity Theft ; Wanted Dead Of Alive :(but It's Easier If You're Dead) ; Culture Eats Strategy : Business Considerations ; The Three Ms For Companies : You Must Build It Because They Will Come ; The Highest Law -- Resources And Terms. Appendix 1. Fraud Stories -- Appendix 2. A Glossary Of Scams -- Appendix 3. Identity Theft And The Deceased : Prevention And Victim Tips -- Appendix 4. Request A Credit Report For The Deceased -- Appendix 5. Deceased Affidavit Of Fact. Adam Levin With Beau Friedlander. Includes Index. Identity fraud happens to everyone. So what do you do when it's your turn? Increasingly, identity theft is a fact of life. We might once have hoped to protect ourselves from hackers with airtight passwords and aggressive spam filters, and those are good ideas as far as they go. But with the breaches of huge organizations like Target, AshleyMadison.com, JPMorgan Chase, Sony, Anthem, and even the US Office of Personnel Management, more than a billion personal records have already been stolen, and chances are good that you're already in harm's way. This doesn't mean there's no hope. Your identity may get stolen, but it doesn't have to be a life-changing event. Adam Levin, a longtime consumer advocate and identity fraud expert, provides a method to help you keep hackers, phishers, and spammers from becoming your problem. Levin has seen every scam under the sun: fake companies selling "credit card insurance"; criminal, medical, and child identity theft; emails that promise untold riches for some personal information; catphishers, tax fraud, fake debt collectors who threaten you with legal action to confirm your account numbers; and much more. As Levin shows, these folks get a lot less scary if you see them coming. With a clearheaded, practical approach, Swiped is your guide to surviving the identity theft epidemic. Even if you've already become a victim, this strategic book will help you protect yourself, your identity, and your sanity. Annotation Identity fraud happens to everyone. So what do you do when its your turn?Increasingly, identity theft is a fact of life. We might once have hoped to protect ourselves from hackers with airtight passwords and aggressive spam filters, and those are good ideas as far as they go. But with the breaches of huge organizations like Target, AshleyMadison.com, JPMorgan Chase, Sony, Anthem, and even the US Office of Personnel Management, more than a billion personal records have already been stolen, and chances are good that youre already in harms way. This doesnt mean theres no hope. Your identity may get stolen, but it doesnt have to be a life-changing event. Adam Levin, a longtime consumer advocate and identity fraud expert, provides a method to help you keep hackers, phishers, and spammers from becoming your problem. Levin has seen every scam under the sun: fake companies selling "credit card insurance; criminal, medical, and child identity theft; emails that promise untold riches for some personal information; catphishers, tax fraud, fake debt collectors who threaten you with legal action to confirm your account numbers; and much more. As Levin shows, these folks get a lot less scary if you see them coming. With a clearheaded, practical approach, Swiped is your guide to surviving the identity theft epidemic. Even if youve already become a victim, this strategic book will help you protect yourself, your identity, and your sanity part 1. An overview of the problem: What's in a name (and a number)? ; A short history of identity (and fraud) : (and you thought it was just about credit cards) ; Swiping happens part 2. The basics of what you can do: Understanding the problem is the solution ; The three Ms part 3. The many types of identity theft: Spies in your home : how the Internet of things may violate your privacy, threaten your security, and ruin your credit ; A taxing situation ; It's a hard-knock life : child identity theft ; May the farce be with you : social media dos and don'ts ; From dangerous to deadly : on healthcare scams and medical identity theft ; Wanted dead of alive : (but it's easier if you're dead) ; Culture eats strategy : business considerations ; The three Ms for companies : you must build it because they will come ; The highest law part 4. Resources and terms: appendix 1. Fraud stories ; appendix 2. A glossary of scams ; appendix 3. Identity theft and the deceased : prevention and victim tips ; appendix 4. Request a credit report for the deceased ; appendix 5. Deceased affidavit of fact.