Overcoming Civilized Conditioning

What would you do if confronted by a bad guy? How would you respond? Freeze up? Run? Fight?

You have been taught all of your life not to hurt another human being and that’s a good thing. From birth we are told to be kind to one another and have manners. This is called ‘civilized conditioning.’ Civilized conditioning is why we don’t walk around smacking each other. This cultural conditioning allows us to get along in a civilized society.

However, you know bad things still happens every day. We are all to well aware there are some people out there who are considered un-civilized. These are people who don’t share the same boundaries you and I do.

Civilized conditioning is a double edged sword. On one hand it prevents us from being physical with another person unnecessarily, but on the other hand it prevents us from being physical with another person necessarily to protecting ourselves. Civilized conditioning is also responsible for making a person freeze up, stop breathing and panicking when someone attacks them.

Are you a parent? Ask yourself this, if someone bad was to walk up to your child and put their hands on them, what would you do? Answer? Without hesitation you would respond like a bear protecting her cubs. Why? The parental instinct to protect a child is born within you as an adult and never goes away.  So understand, you do have it in you, you just have to know how to tap into it when it comes to protecting yourself.

Tools to overcome civilized conditioning when necessary:

  1. Recognize that nobody has a right to violate you in any way.
  2. Understand that resistance is often the best way to get out of a dangerous situation.
  3. Ask “What if” questions and prepare your mind and body to respond to danger.
  4. Visualize potential scenarios and act out how you would respond.
  5. Take a self defense class. Learning self defense is a life enhancing experience.
  6. Make sure you have an acute awareness of your environment when you are getting out of your car and walking to your destination. If anything feels wrong seek safety immediately.
  7. When possible always run to safety when attacked. The worse thing you can do is nothing.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to Home Security Source discussing trusting your intuition.

How to Protect Yourself from Identity Theft During Tax Season

Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert

Approximately 155 million tax forms are filed annually.  People need to understand that thieves are inventing new ways to steal identities each and every day.  And since tax time is a key period when we see a spike in identity theft, it’s crucial that we get the word out now and educate people about the latest scams.

File Early. It seems crazy to think that someone would actually file taxes in your name, but it’s being done. Once they get a hold of a few W2’s or other tax related documents that give them an idea of what your tax return will be, they being the process of filing in your name and reap your return. File before they do.

Secure Your Mail. Mail is stolen every day. Tax forms have social security numbers. When mailing your taxes don’t put them in your mail box with the red-flag up. Use a secure mailbox at the post-office or a big blue box.

Tax Preparer Scams. Reports of tax preparers telling clients they must pay back stimulus payments and then pocketing the money is last years scam coming back. Not all professional tax preparers have your best interest at heart. Make sure you do research and choose your tax preparer wisely.

Late Payment Scam. As people fall behind on their taxes, lists are created and available either internally or printed in the local paper as public record. These lists can fall into the wrong hands and thieves call unassuming people to collect.

Internet Phishing Scams. The IRS doesn’t send emails. Phony IRS e-mails that try to lure tax payers into giving out personal information are a common scam. This scam is generally used as a means to convince individuals to provide personal or financial information that enables the perpetrators to commit credit card, bank fraud or other forms of identity theft.

Protect your PC. Whether or not you are filing online it is essential that your PC is secured. All the basics include making sure you have updated anti-virus, a two way firewall, spyware removal software run regularly, and be sure to protect your wireless internet connection with a network key.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to Home Security Source discussing Tax Scams on Fox News

Police: Supermarket Owner ‘Specifically Targeted’ in Home Invasion

Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert

Everyday I see dozens of stories on home invasions. And there are unfortunately dozens of ways  and reasons why home invasions occur.  But one thing they all have in common is violence.

Targets of home invasions vary from the homeowner who just happened to be home all the way to the executive and his family who were purposefully targeted.

Moneyed individuals need to take additional precautions due to their stature in society and bank accounts. High profile individuals often have access to secure facilities, keys to the safe, passwords to databases and power that puts them and their families at risk.

“Several law enforcement agencies are pooling resources to solve the murder of a supermarket owner found gunned down at this home after an apparent robbery. According to police reports, family members said two men entered the house late Saturday and took them in the back, keeping them separated. Police have said the family members did not know the suspects. “In my opinion, he was specifically targeted,” police said. “It was pre-planned.”

However, the most vulnerable people are not the executives, but their spouses and kids who are more accessible and often the path of least resistance to “get to” the executive. For most people this isn’t much of a concern, but for all you c-level company officers and heads of corporations, security isn’t an option, it’s a requirement.

Security details in some cases at the executive’s home may be necessary. Evaluations should be made to determine whether family members should receive any personal security training or additional protection of their own.

In the least, all company officers must have a home alarm system that is monitored, surveillance cameras and one of my personal favorites, a trained German Shepherd. Another consideration is a home safe-room also known as a “panic room” where executives and their families can hide out in a relatively bullet proof, well stocked room equipped with wireless communications and wait for law enforcement to show up.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to Home Security Source discussing Home Invasions on NBC Boston

Safety and Security on College Campuses

Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert

You’re in high-school and you’ve been having numerous discussions with friends and family about what colleges you want to go to. Maybe you’ve even applied to a few and have been accepted and in some cases rejected. Your search for schools generally involves the type of education you will receive, costs, location and the notoriety of the school. Choices like this weigh heavily on the student and the parent.

One of the most overlooked aspects of selecting a school is consideration for its safety and security on campus. When you or your child heads off into the real world, their safety needs to be the most important part of your decision making.

College is a mish-mash of people from all over the place from different cultures, backgrounds and ages. This melting pot can be a great learning experience. But things can go wrong too.

The stresses of college life can lead to violence at times. Additionally, college students are sometimes targeted by locals who know the students are in an unfamiliar environment. Then there’s dating violence, stalking, and way too much alcohol and sometimes drugs involved.

Another security issue here is that learning institutions are generally “open” and inviting opposed to locked down and secure.  Not doing your security homework can turn a student’s life for the worst if they don’t put systems in place to protect themselves.

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (20 USC § 1092(f)) is the landmark federal law, originally known as the Campus Security Act, that requires colleges and universities across the United States to disclose information about crime on and around their campuses.

Do your research into the crime climate of the learning institution you plan on attending. Don’t sit idly back and hope everything will be OK. Educational institutions aren’t meant to be secure fortresses. They are meant to be open learning institutions. While many districts are beefing up security, others are doing less than their share of making it difficult for a predator to gain access.

  1. Directly call the institutions security office and get statistics for on and off campus crimes. You want to know exactly what has taken place in the last 3-5 years.
  2. If you go to the campus have an onsite meeting with the security office. It is in the best interest, and required by law for colleges to offer personal security training for their students.
  3. Determine what systems are in place to head off danger in regards to campus security personnel and technology.
  4. Ask if they have “threat management teams” (TMT) in place.  The sole purpose of TMT is to predict and prevent violence by having reporting systems in place that identify students and their behaviors who have the potential for acting out. Threat management teams intervene and provide those students with the necessary help they need.
  5. If they have a rape counseling center or any type of victim’s advocacy on campus talk to them too.
  6. Find someone on campus who has been there for at least a year. Ask around how people feel in general.
  7. Whether living on or off campus invest in your personal security. Wireless home alarms and portable home security systems are cost effective and an additional layer of protection. Security cameras are inexpensive and can greatly enhance your security too.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to Home Security Source discussing Self Defense on Fox Boston

The $6.75 Million Dollar Laptop

Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert

Dan Yost Chief Technology Officer of MyLaptopGPS brought attention to the Ponemon Institute, with sponsorship from PGP, has released their “Fifth Annual U.S. Cost of Data Breach Study.” As usual, the report is a treasure trove of great data (just like most people’s laptops are).

The average cost per breached data record rose $2 in 2009, to $204. That’s actually not too bad. The average cost of a breach was $6.75 million, compared to $6.65 million in 2008.

PC World has a good article to summarize, and thanks to lyger at DataLossDB for the pointer.

Not very many businesses are taking serious note of the fact that, on average, they have $6.75 million laptops walking around out there. For those who are, our hats are off.

Here’s an interesting excerpt:

“Overall, 42% of all cases in the Ponemon data-breach study involved third-party mistakes and flubs. In addition, more than 82% of the cases in the Ponemon study were organizations that had more than one data breach in 2009 involving the loss or theft of more than 1,000 records containing personal information. At about 40% of the companies that participated in the study, the chief information security officer (CISO) was in charge of managing the response related to the data breach.”

And how about the maximum data breach cost in the study? $31 million.

That’s a rather expensive laptop, and probably worth a few dollars to protect instead. (Note: the breach may actually have been the result of something other than a lost/stolen laptop, such as a network break-in).

The least expensive breach? $750,000. That beats $31 million, but $750k is still a pretty penny to pay, compared to protection.

Many thanks to Ponemon and PGP for another excellent study.

Protect your identity.

1. Get a credit freeze. Click on the preceding link and follow the steps for your particular state. This is an absolutely necessary tool to secure your credit. In most cases, it prevents new accounts from being opened in your name. This makes your Social Security number useless to a potential identity thief.

2. Invest in anti-virus and keep it auto-updated and check out my spyware killer IDTheftSecurty HERE

3. Go to my website and get my FREE ebook on how to protect yourself from the bad guy.

4. Invest in Intelius identity theft protection and prevention. Not all forms of identity theft can be prevented, but identity theft protection services can dramatically reduce your risk. (Disclosures)

Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Speaker discussing laptop security on The Today Show

How to Begin the Child Abduction Prevention Conversation

Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert

In the past decade we have witnessed child abductions like never before. One would be led to believe that “times have changed” and abductions are a new phenomena. The reality is child abductions have been going on since the beginning of time. In the 30’s, Charles Lindbergh Jr.’s 20 month old son was abducted and it made huge US media coverage.

The media since, especially over the last decade, has deemed this a hot button and seems to have picked up on it.  At any given time one can turn the channel and see live coverage of the next kid absconded. The old-school training, I and many others received early on was “don’t talk to strangers” as if strangers were the dangerous ones. Actually, most abductions occur when a family member takes the child as a result of a custody battle.

When a true stranger steals a child, they often don’t survive beyond 3 hours.

No matter what the statistics are, child abductions are real and they happen far too often.

Protecting yourself and children begins with understanding basic security.

As simple as it sounds, do not engage in behavior that creates an opportunity for the bad guy. Today most helicopter parents won’t take their eyes off their kids, and I don’t see that as a bad thing. I know many will argue that point, but I don’t care.

Always have recent pictures and video of your child for police if they go missing. If you are inclined to invest in a fingerprint of DNA kit that certainly doesn’t hurt.

In the event that a child was to be approached, the best defense is a good offense. Resistance has often been a proven tactic for removing oneself from a dangerous situation. Running, screaming, biting, hitting and kicking feel unnatural to teach your kids, but are certainly natural traits they possess. I say if they are good at it now, train them to do it better!

As soon as your child is at an age where they can comprehend this issue it’s time to discuss it. Age 4 they have a pretty good grasp, but age five they seem to be on solid footing.

Role play with your kids. This is a delicate balance of awareness and play. Intellectually introduce scenarios for them to respond to. See how they articulate a response. Let them figure it out on their own. Then if they don’t give you the answer you were looking for, work with them to understand the nature of their choice and its negative impact.

Be specific, but be careful how you associate your analogies. Example: “if a white van pulled up next to you” will freak your kid out every time they see a white van and only make them wary of vans opposed to those in cars or on foot.

Make sure to discuss the Internet and online predators. This is an entire future post. But in the meantime, do your research and know what risks they face. Take control of their access to PC’s and monitor everything they do.

Most importantly, this kind of education is about empowerment. It’s about taking control. It’s a gentle awareness that can very well save their lives. Don’t guilt them into making the right decisions and make them feel bad about not understanding the issue. If they aren’t ready to comprehend the issue then back off.

And because they spend the majority of their time at home, do all the necessary things to strengthen your fort. Yes, I call my home my fort. Invest in home alarms systems. Install home security cameras inside and outside the home. Install proper fencing that keeps them in and others out. Always keep an eye on people who look out of place. Don’t take your eyes off the ones who belong either. Question authority. And live in peace and harmony. The chances that something like this can happen are very very slim. But there is a chance. So these are your options.  Here’s more from PsychologyToday

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to Home Security Source discussing child security on CNBC

Is Chip and PIN the Future?

Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert

Chip and PIN is the name of a government-backed initiative in the United Kingdom to implement the EMV standard for secure payments.

There have been rumblings from Europe over the past year  about American based credit cards that solely rely on the magnetic strip not being accepted in the future due to security issues.  Australia recently stated they were getting rid of all magnetic strip based cards and going Chip and PIN within the next few years.

Meanwhile ZDNet reports Researchers at Cambridge University have found a fundamental flaw in the EMV — Europay, MasterCard, Visa — protocol that underlies chip-and-PIN validation for debit and credit cards. As a consequence, a device can be created to modify and intercept communications between a card and a point-of-sale terminal, and fool the terminal into accepting that a PIN verification has succeeded.

“Chip and PIN is fundamentally broken,” Professor Ross Anderson of Cambridge University told ZDNet UK. “Banks and merchants rely on the words ‘Verified by PIN’ on receipts, but they don’t mean anything.”

This new research has shown that a PIN still needs to be entered, but any PIN code would be accepted. That’s not good. The researchers who cracked the code stated that the ability for the badguy to do this in the future is probable due to the fact that the attack itself is “elementary”.  That’s got to warm the cockles of organized crime.

The US has not adopted CHIP and PIN and many argue it is due to the costs involved. With 213 million cardholders and 1.2 billion credit cards in the U.S., there’s no shortage of opportunity for carders to maintain their current pace. However, an investment in a flawed technology isn’t wise.

You can’t protect yourself from these types of scams. However, by paying attention to your statements and refuting any unauthorized transactions within 60 days, you can recover your losses. When using any POS or ATM, pay close attention to details, and look for anything that seems out of place. If your card gets stuck in the machine or you notice anything odd about the appearance of the machine, such as wires, or error messages, don’t use it.

Protect your identity.

1. Get a credit freeze. Click on the preceding link and follow the steps for your particular state. This is an absolutely necessary tool to secure your credit. In most cases, it prevents new accounts from being opened in your name. This makes your Social Security number useless to a potential identity thief.

2. Invest in anti-virus and keep it auto-updated and check out my spyware killer IDTheftSecurty HERE

3. Go to my website and get my FREE ebook on how to protect yourself from the bad guy.

4. Invest in Intelius identity theft protection and prevention. Not all forms of identity theft can be prevented, but identity theft protection services can dramatically reduce your risk. (Disclosures)

Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Speaker discussing ATM skimming on NBC Boston

We Love Them Dumb Criminals

Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert

Dumb criminals are often just ignorant people who do stupid things for a number of idiotic reasons. But one thing’s for sure, they sure are fun to watch.

This kid in Florida used his index or “pointer” finger to hold up a convenient store. The store manager at first thought it was a joke, which in a sense it was, but the kid was serious, and when the cashier confronted the cocked finger, the dude fled.

A poor unfortunate lost soul whose drug addiction overtook him, didn’t trust his crack dealers and went to the local police to see if they could check the quality of his crack. That didn’t go over to well.

A car gets pulled over by the police for a moving violation. The driver already had a prior record and didn’t want to get into any more trouble. So he provided the cop with someone else’s name. Turned out that name was for someone who was wanted for homicide. Karma man, karma.

Two guys walk into a bar…..to rob it. They had machetes. The bar was full of burly bikers who use machetes to butter their bread. The two guys leave bar on stretchers.

Guy is convicted of receiving stolen goods. Gets home detention and has to wear a GPS ankle bracelet. Guy leaves his home to break into other homes to get more stolen goods. They call this man a “recidivist”. Cops get the alarm that ankle boy is not where he should be. They track him to his car full of loot. That’s one dumb criminal.

Lawyers say that people get into trouble for 2 reasons, 1: they do illegal things and 2: they tell police what they did. Bank robber is arrested suspected of bank robbery. Cop says it’s for robbing four banks. Robber gets belligerent, and says I only did 3!

Bubble head tries to get a date with the cashier in a liquor store. He gives her his digits. Then he steals a bottle of vodka. She calls the cops, he gets a court date.

More from Readers Digest here

Not all criminals are dumb. But unfortunately many homeowners aren’t too smart either. And it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to secure your home and valuables.

  1. Install a safe in your home and bolt it to the floor. A safe prevents theft of jewelry, cash and other smaller easily lifted items. Many insurance companies won’t even insure without a safe on premises.
  1. Install a security camera system. Even the dumbest of criminals don’t get caught, but they will think twice if you have a camera on their dumb mug.
  1. Keep that home security alarm on all day, every day. You’d have to be a complete tool to break into a home that is alarmed. And frankly in today’s crime climate, you’d have to be dumb not to have one.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to Home Security Source discussing home security and scams on TBS Movie and a Makeover

The State of Information Security Sucks

Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert

The sheer volume of potential targets coupled with the vast amounts of money to be made has captured the attention of the global criminal hacking community.

Enterprise networks are becoming hardened and they are still vulnerable. Some are being penetrated directly while others are accessed through 3rd parities such as their clients or end users. Unprotected networks are being sniffed out and data breaches continue.

The organizations that track these breaches are bored, frustrated, hate the industry and offer no good news. Innovation isn’t happening fast enough and new laws and regulations aren’t effective in solving the problems.

PCI and all those who fall under its requirements are chasing their tail. Infighting continues and rumblings of lawsuits against PCI persist.

Law enforcement is getting better at investigating and catching the badguy, but there are far more of them then there are of us.

Between the TJX breach and the Heartland hack there were as many as 224 million credit and debit card numbers hacked. The criminals penetrated the networks “in broad daylight” so to speak, which means they didn’t have much trouble getting in. The hacks may have occurred via unsecured wireless networks, SQL injections or via social engineering though a phishing email with infected links.

While IT security professionals and white-hat hackers are fighting the battle with newer, better, faster, more robust technologies to keep the bad-guy out, the bad guy still gets in via the path of least resistance, which may be human error, laziness or a zero-day attack consisting of  something we’ve never seen before. Often it is the former.

New stories keep coming out depicting small businesses losing hundreds of thousands of dollars via online banking hacks and the banks filing suit so they don’t have to pay it back.

I just spoke to 60 bankers at a conference in Las Vegas. Many of them professed to learning a lot. . No offense here, but I am of the belief that nothing I say should be in any way “new information” to anyone in the banking industry.

As we move closer to mobile banking and a dozen new ways to process credit cards we create new opportunity for the criminals and we haven’t tightened up existing vulnerabilities yet.

We are fragmented and all over the place with an incredible array of interdependent technologies that are set up with convenience in mind and security second.

Somebody please tell me to shut up.

Protect your identity.

1. Get a credit freeze. Click on the preceding link and follow the steps for your particular state. This is an absolutely necessary tool to secure your credit. In most cases, it prevents new accounts from being opened in your name. This makes your Social Security number useless to a potential identity thief.

2. Invest in anti-virus and keep it auto-updated and check out my spyware killer IDTheftSecurty HERE

3. Go to my website and get my FREE ebook on how to protect yourself from the bad guy.

4. Invest in Intelius identity theft protection and prevention. Not all forms of identity theft can be prevented, but identity theft protection services can dramatically reduce your risk. (Disclosures)

Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Speaker discussing ATM skimming on ExtraTV

How to Prevent Home Contractor Fraud

Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert

It’s a scenario played out every day. Harry Homeowner needs a new roof, home security system, or kitchen installed. He does his due diligence searching out reputable contractors who offer fair pricing. He may look in the classified section of the local paper, do a search online, look on Craigslist or make some calls to friends and family who recently had a new roof installed.

And in every single scenario Harry can get burnt. Each resource provides their own set of pros and cons, and every resource is used by scammers.

The biggest issue consumers face is the fact they don’t do their homework. People fall into 2 categories, 1: they are naïve and have no clue that someone may be looking to scam them or 2: they think they are so smart that nobody can scam them. But if you are smart enough to know that this can happen to you, and do your best to prevent it, you reduce the risks associated with contractor fraud.

Before embarking on hiring any contractor, do your homework. Read up on what the processes are to do the job at hand. While a new roof or home alarm may not be something you want to learn how to do, there are plenty of “do it yourself” or DIY websites that can teach you. Spending 2 minutes searching and 20 minutes reading can save you money and make you sound intelligent to the contractor when asking the right questions.

The best resource is always doing business with someone you know like and trust.  Well known brands often vet out contractors and have zero tolerance policies for shoddy work. But you may not know a roofer or alarm installer. So, find a friend or other trusted source who does know a contractor and higher them. But that doesn’t mean you automatically trust. The Better Business Bureau is a great resource for consumers looking to deal with reputable companies. This is your best resource.

Rule of thumb is to always get 3 contractors to bid the job. Be cognizant of how they handle themselves, their level of understanding of the work at hand, and whether or not they voluntarily offer up references. Don’t just automatically trust the guy with the whitest teeth and lowest price. Pay attention to your gut.

Always check references thoroughly. If it makes sense for the job at hand, drive by the house that was referenced and actually look to see the quality of the work that was done. Often construction jobs costs thousands and taking the time to check work is worth your time.

Get everything in legible writing that is laid out in a contract that clearly spells it all out.

Many contractors will request money up front to do the job. Often they need that money as a “commitment” to do the job and motivate them to fill their trucks up with the tools and stock to do the job. This is where I get nervous. I recommend requesting you go with them to whatever supplier they get their stock from and paying for it directly. If they charge a markup on the stock (it’s usually 15%) tell them you’ll gladly give that to them.

It’s best to break the payment down in 3 parts. You’ve already paid for the stock so now all you have to do is pay for labor.  One third upon showing up to do the work, one third halfway through the job and one third when they are done.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to Home Security Source discussing scam prevention on The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch on CNBC