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As we continue to discuss the Identity Diet program and how to create a customized identity protection plan based on the Identity KAOS principles, we are going to talk about the importance of locating all exploitable personal information or identity components. Last time, we spoke about the first Identity KAOS principle which was to Know or identify your exploitable information. As we discussed, not all information are equal depending on where we live and the level of importance placed on our identity components. For example, in the USA, the social security number is heavily relied on to identify individuals; however, this identifier could be different in other countries. As we identify our exploitable identity components from an identity theft stand point in our own societies, we need to apply the highest protection to our most vulnerable information. As I mentioned last time, about 43% of identity theft cases can be prevented with proper protection of the physical identity components such as wallets, credit cards and documents. That being said, do you know what items you have in your wallet or purse? Do you know where all your valuable documents, credit cards and written passwords are? If not, the second Identity KAOS principle suggests to completely locate your information after you have identified them. Without proper identification of your most valuable and exploitable information and their location, you can’t even start protecting your identities. Most people just sign up with a service they find online to monitor their identities and detect fraud without educating themselves about the identity theft threats and paying attention to their own actions which might increase their identity theft risks. We can sign up with all the available services in the market, but until we make an attempt to identify our identity fat and reduce our "identity obesity" levels and apply best identity protection practices, we will not reduce our risks to the lowest possible levels. In conclusion, go ahead and create a list to include all your family’s exploitable personal information and their location. Also include all relevant and needed details such as card number, passport number, and issuer contact information. Such details are necessary to continue our discussions about the next Identity KAOS principles, but more importantly, they will also come in handy when you need to resolve identity theft when it happens. I will be talking about the other 6 Identity KAOS principles in future issues which you can also learn about on the www.identity-theft-awareness.com website or in the Identity Diet book. Identity Protection Articles There are numerous new articles posted on the Identity Theft Blog a few of which are listed below for your convenience. Consumer Articles Consumer Complicity - When the private information of celebrities and others is obtained illegally and sold for financial rewards without approval, consumer complicity becomes evident when they pay for such information. Collect Your Debit Card - When you forget to collect your debit card from the cash machine, the ATM swallows the card for security purposes however; you still need to follow up with the bank. Small Purchases - Using credit or debit cards for frequent small purchases unnecessarily increases the risk of identity theft each time we use the card. Business Articles Internet Security Initiative - An internet security initiative was announced by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) which aims to improve cyberspace and secure online identification. Define Personal Information - We must first define personal information per the appropriate privacy laws in order to properly identify and protect them. Protect Stored Information - As confidential information is stored on mobile storage devices, management must protect stored information through policies and automated tools for detecting and preventing unauthorized storage. Announcements We are currently in the process of creating an online Identity Diet course which will help interested consumers identify and understand their identity theft risks, learn about best identity protection practices which they can apply daily, and create an Identity Diet plan to protect their identities with their own actions as well as third party monitoring and resolution services. Stay tuned for more information about this unique and first ever online program. Resources To learn more about customized identity protection plans, please visit www.IdentityDiet.com. Also, if you are interested in becoming a certified identity protection coach and help consumers, visit the Identity Management Institute and learn about the Certified Identity Protection Advisor (CIPA) designation.
Until next time, be identity safe, |