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Last year, I had the pleasure of meeting Identity Theft expert and author Robert Siciliano when he joined the McAfee Consumer Advisory Board. At first, I enjoyed talking to him about all things Boston, since I lived there for about 13 years. But man! This guy is on a mission!
My favorite story of his was about how he bought an ATM machine off of Craigslist – You know, the freestanding kind that they have in bars and convenience stores? Who knew that store owners sell them to the highest bidder! Well, Robert showed how easily he could buy one and in minutes print off thousands of credit card numbers for the TV show Extra, along with several other scams criminals use to get your financial information.
I am no stranger to identity theft. Over the years, I have had a checkbook stolen and used to steal from my bank account, my credit card number stolen and my PayPal account hacked. Luckily for me, I never lost more than $1000 which thankfully was returned. (I should knock on wood!) However, would you believe the average fraud amount stolen per victim is $4841??? Criminals can buy blank credit cards and fake Social Security cards for as little as $20 to help steal a person’s identity. Unfortunately, most victims don’t know their identity has been stolen for months.
Well, lots of exciting news at McAfee this week on the identity theft front. Robert has teamed up with McAfee to offer some of his expertise and consult on the creation of McAfee Identity Protection. It’s a new tool to aid you in protecting your identity in several ways. Check out some of the things it can do for you:
Two other cool things that I love are: I can get a text message or email alert when suspicious behavior occurs on one of my accounts and that you have a choice to subscribe as an individual or as a family. This sure would have saved me a lot of grief and inconvenience over the years.
What about you? Have you been a victim? Do you think you take the necessary precautions? Why not see how you rate? To find out if you are at risk for identity theft, check out McAfee’s free assessment tool at http://www.counteridentitytheft.com/am-i-at-risk
Tracy
cybermom@mcafee.com
Follow me on Twitter @McAfeeCybermom
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