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National Protect Your Identity Week is October 17-23

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The first decade of the new millennium is almost over, another year has passed and by my estimates identity theft as we know it is not getting any better, it is getting worse. I’m a big believer in the fundamentals and some things just can’t be said any other way, and to remind you I’m taking a page from a post from an entire year ago because it is absolutely essential that you – the public, corporations, associations and government agencies, all take responsibility and do what is necessary to protect yourself, your clients and your constituents.

Identity theft isn’t going away any time soon and therefore it is essential that you consume as much information to educate yourself, inform others and prevent identity theft from happening under your watch. Like any problem that we may face in life, we do our best to find a speedy and efficient solution. However identity theft is one of those problems that acts like a 10 headed monster that we keep chopping the head off but it keeps growing a new head, a new leg and a new arm.

Because we are a persistent and resilient people, and we never ever give up, we will prevail. The National Foundation for Credit Counseling has created National Protect Your Identity Week from October 17-23 to create awareness and provide information. The solution requires a coordinated effort between every single citizen, company and government official to see the big picture and to do what’s right and put the necessary systems in place that prevent the bad guy from doing his job. The solutions are near. Some of them are already in place. It’s just a matter of everyone getting on the same page and coming to an agreement.

Understand there has always been, and will always be a criminal element looking to take from those who have. The bad guy (and gal) persistently looks for their next victim all day, every day. Your job is to become informed and know what it means to become a tougher target. And in the meantime those who are responsible on a higher level to protect us, and our critical infrastructures, methods of commerce, and ways in which we identify ourselves will continue to work on the big stuff. But they need you to be aware and alert and actively participate in the process. We are all in this together.

The Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security are hiring thousands of computer experts to protect our networks. But the weakest link in the chain is not the government, but the citizens. Government has lots of work to do, but moms and pops are the most vulnerable. Enterprise networks have become hardened, while small business and the lowly consumer know enough about information security to get hacked. Awareness is key. You are either part of the problem or the solution.

Read this and every possible blog, article and report you have access to so you can stay on top of what is new and ahead of what is next in technology and the security necessary to keep it safe. Build your IT security vocabulary. Become an expert in identity theft and information security. Be the go-to-person in your home or organization who has all the answers to the problem.

A number of national organizations are also putting their weight behind this initiative, joining the NFCC and BBB as Supporting PYIW Coalition Members.  This Coalition includes: American Bankers Association Education Foundation, American Financial Services Association Education Foundation, American Payroll Association, Consumer Action, Consumer Data Industry Association, Consumer Federation of America, Credit Union National Association, Federal Reserve Board, Federal Trade Commission, FICO, Foundation for Financial Planning, Identity Theft Assistance Center, Identity Theft Resource Center, Jump$tart Coalition for Financial Literacy, Junior Achievement USA, National Association of Triads, National Council of La Raza, National Crime Prevention Council, National Education Association Member Benefits, National Sheriffs’ Association, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Social Security Administration.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to  Home Security Source discussing home security and identity theft on TBS Movie and a Makeover. Disclosures.

Five Ways Identities Are Stolen Online

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Cybercrime has become a trillion dollar issue. In a recent survey, hundreds of companies around the world estimated that they had lost a combined $4.6 billion in intellectual property as a result of data breaches, and spent approximately $600 million repairing the damage. Based on these numbers, McAfee projects that companies lost more than a trillion dollars in the last year.

There are several motives for this type of theft, but the most prevalent is to steal identities. Your identity is your most valuable asset, but most consumers lack the time, knowledge, and resources to protect their identities. Five of the most common ways identities are stolen online are through phishing scams, P2P file sharing, social networking, malicious websites, and malicious attachments.

Phishing: Phishing scams still work. Despite consumer and employee awareness, a carefully crafted email that appears to have been sent by fellow employee or trusted entity is probably the most effective spear phish. “Whaling,” or targeting a CEO or other high level executive with a phishing email can be even more successful. As they say, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. Never click links in emails, even if they appear to come from a bank or other trustworthy source. Instead, type the address in manually or use a bookmark.

P2P File Sharing: Peer-to-peer file sharing is a fantastic way to leak company and client data to the world. Obama’s helicopter plans, security details, and notes on Congressional depositions have all been leaked on government-controlled computers via P2P. You should set administrative privileges to prevent the installation of P2P software.

Social Networking: One of the easiest ways into a company’s networks is through social media. Social networking websites have grown too big, too fast, and can’t keep up with security. Criminals know exactly how to take advantage of this, so create policies and procedures that outline appropriate use, and beware of social networking scams.

Malicious Websites: Websites designed to attack your computer and infect it with viruses number in the millions. Hacked websites, along with out-of-date operating systems and vulnerable browsers, put your identity at risk. Use antivirus software to protect your PC and your data.

Malicious Attachments: PDFs used to be safe, but Adobe is the same boat today that Microsoft found itself in years ago: hack central. Adobe’s software or files are used on almost every PC and across all operating systems, and criminal hackers love it. Every browser requires software to view PDFs and many websites either link to PDFs or incorporate Adobe Flash to play video or for aesthetic reasons. According to an estimate from McAfee, in the first quarter of this year, 28% of all exploit-carrying malware leveraged an Adobe Reader vulnerability.

Identity theft can happen to anyone. McAfee Identity Protection offers proactive identity surveillance, lost wallet protection, and alerts when suspicious activity is detected on your accounts. McAfee Identity Protection puts victims first, providing live access to fraud resolution agents who work with victims to help restore identities. For additional tips, please visit http://www.counteridentitytheft.com.

Robert Siciliano is a McAfee consultant and identity theft expert. See him discuss P2P file sharing on Fox News. (Disclosures)

Half Billion Records Breached in 5 Years

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In the late 90s and early 2000s, hacking had evolved from “phreaking” (hacking phone systems) to “cracking” (breaking into networks). At the time, hackers hacked for fun, for the challenge, and for fame and popularity within the hacking community. But soon enough, the public began spending more time online, shopping, banking, and managing personal affairs. Hackers are no longer wreaking havoc for its own sake, deleting files, or tormenting IT administrators. Now, they’re stealing proprietary data. Instead of fun and fame, today’s hackers are motivated by illegal financial gain.

Over the past five years, criminal hackers from all over the world have been targeting huge databases of Social Security and credit card numbers. The endgame for criminal hackers is identity theft. Once they obtain stolen data, their objective is to turn it into cash as quickly as possible. This either entails selling the data to identity thieves on black market forums, or using the information to create new accounts or to take over existing credit card accounts.

According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse’s Chronology of Data Breaches, more than 500 million sensitive records have been breached in the past five years. The Chronology of Data breaches lists specific examples of incidents in which personal data is compromised, lost, or stolen: “employees losing laptop computers, hackers downloading credit card numbers and sensitive personal data accidentally exposed online.”

So when a so-called “identity theft expert” claims that you can protect yourself from identity theft for free, simply by shredding documents, not giving out your Social Security number, locking your mailbox, and monitoring your online accounts, that person does not have the full picture. You should take all these precautions. But when almost everyone’s personal information has been stolen or compromised once or twice, as a result of breaches that are entirely out of our control, it’s clear that you simply can’t protect yourself on your own. This is why identity theft protection is a must.

McAfee Identity Protection includes proactive identity surveillance to monitor subscribers’ credit and personal information, as well as access to live fraud resolution agents who can help subscribers work through the process of resolving identity theft issues. For additional tips, please visithttp://www.counteridentitytheft.com.

Robert Siciliano is a McAfee consultant and identity theft expert. See him discuss an identity theft pandemic on CNBC. (Disclosures)

Social Media is a Criminals Playground

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Social media has become a playground for adults, teens, and tweens. And like on any playground, when you hit the jungle gym or horseplay on the seesaw, there is always a chance that you may go home with an egg on your forehead. Or, if you are like me, a broken collarbone.

Twitter and Facebook have become the most popular sites for frolicking, and the most popular sites for identity thieves — the bullies in the playground. These criminal hackers make social media very dangerous. They are attacking these sites to get at you, the end user. Users’ computers can become infected after users click links that appear to be safe, but actually prompt a malicious download or lead to a spoofed website.

New worms and viruses are infecting social networking websites every day. As these sites expand, they adopt new technologies that sometimes create holes through which they can be attacked. Social networking websites’ open nature allows users to upload content including files that may contain “scripts,” or code, designed to infect the site. Participating in user-submitted surveys, quizzes, and other applications may result in spam or stolen data.

The websites themselves host millions of users and they simply can’t protect every user. New technology is developed at a rate that vastly outpaces the security necessary to keep those technologies bulletproof. Essentially, you’re on your own.

While it is rare for a user to post Social Security numbers, which can directly lead to identity theft, on a social networking website, these websites or their users’ actions can compromise PCs, which does ultimately lead to identity theft.

Always make sure to run antivirus software, such as McAfee Total Protection, and invest in McAfee Identity Protection, which monitors your Social Security number and several other parameters of your identity. Learn more about how to protect yourself at http://www.counteridentitytheft.com/.

Robert Siciliano is a McAfee consultant and identity theft expert. See him discuss Facebook scammers on CNN. (Disclosures)

Identity Theft Consumer Education is Paramount

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Credit card companies, banks, financial advisors, retailers, hospitals, insurance companies, and just about every other industry and organization that deals with finances has been affected by identity theft.

All these entities have to deal with fraud at some level. For some it’s an occasional nuisance and for others it’s a part of their daily grind. Most have heavily invested in multiple layers of security, but all remain targets. Each has its own set of issues to overcome and each copes with the same underlying constant: the consumer is often the most vulnerable variable in the equation.

Joe and Sally Main Street generally offer the path of least resistance when a scam is launched. Everything from phishing emails, spoofed websites, un-patched or unprotected PCs, open wireless connections, lack of attention to statements, not shredding data, carrying too much information in a wallet, and overall lack of attention to personal security allows fraud to flourish.

Anne Wallace, president of the Identity Theft Assistance Center, explains that the risks are compounded by the increasing popularity of new technologies like mobile banking and social networking. “The crooks are ever-creative,” she says. “They’re always exploiting new schemes to extract information from consumers.” According to Wallace, ITAC members have an obligation to educate consumers about the security threats posed by emerging technology. “It’s so important to keep talking to people about the old threats, the new threats – on a recurring basis.”

I totally agree. Every institution that deals with identity theft has an obligation to effectively inform and educate their client base about how they can protect themselves from fraud.

Many of these organizations have policies that shift the burden of loss away from the consumers. This is a double-edged sword that does not stop fraud. I’m a big believer in personal responsibility. Whether fraud is the fault of the consumer or a larger entity, a resolution in the best interest of both parties should be sought. It is imperative, however, that the party responsible acknowledges that responsibility. This is how we learn from our mistakes, and how we will eventually overcome fraud. If all parties escape blame, only the scammer wins, and fraud flourishes.

For additional tips and identity theft education, please visit http://www.counteridentitytheft.com.

Robert Siciliano is a McAfee consultant and identity theft expert. See him discuss identity theft victims on The Morning Show with Mike & Juliet.(Disclosures)

College Students At Risk For Identity Theft

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September is National Campus Safety Awareness Month. I helped Uni-Ball conduct a survey of 1,000 college students and 1,000 parents. The survey revealed that while about 74% of parents believe students are at a moderate to high risk for identity theft, and 30% of all identity theft victims are between 18 and 29, only 21% of students are concerned about identity theft.

It’s no surprise that most college students are indifferent when it comes to their personal and information security. When you are in your late teens or early twenties, you feel a sense of invincibility. However, once you have a few years under your belt, you begin to mature and gradually realize the world isn’t all about keg parties and raves.

Here are a few more interesting statistics:

  • 89% of parents have discussed safety measures with their kids, yet kids continue to engage in risky behavior
  • 40% of students leave their apartment or dorm doors unlocked
  • 40% of students have provided their Social Security numbers online
  • 50% of students shred sensitive data
  • 9% of students share online passwords with friends
  • 1 in 10 have allowed strangers into their apartments

College students have always been easy marks because their credit is ripe for the taking. Students’ Social Security numbers have traditionally been openly displayed on student badges, testing information, and in filing cabinets and databases all over campus. Landlords and others involved in campus housing also have access to students identifying information.

Any parent sending a child off to college should be concerned.

Limit the amount of information you give out. While you may have to give out certain private data in certain circumstances, you should refuse whenever possible.

Shred everything! Old bank statements, credit card statements, credit card offers, and any other documents containing account numbers need to be shredded when no longer needed.

Lock down your PC. Make sure your Internet security software is up to date. Install spyware removal software. Secure your wireless connection. Use strong passwords that include upper and lowercase letters as well as numbers. And never share passwords.

Be alert for online scams. Never respond to emails or text messages that appear to come from your bank. Always log into your bank account manually via your favorites menu.

When sending students back to school, consider protecting your family with a subscription to an identity theft protection service, such as McAfee Identity Protection, which offers proactive identity surveillance, lost wallet protection, and alerts when suspicious activity is detected on any of your accounts. For additional tips, please visit http://www.counteridentitytheft.com

Identity Theft Targets Hispanic Community

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Jose Marrero, who was born and lived his entire life in Puerto Rico, had no idea that someone else was using his name and Social Security number to charge thousands of dollars in Miami and Chicago. At least, not until the police showed up at his job to arrest him for car theft. Marrero told the Associated Press, “All of the information [on the warrant], all of it, the driver’s license, the Social Security, my address, was mine. I was shocked. I told them simply that it wasn’t me.”

In the U.S., a Puerto Rican’s identity is worth as much as $6,000, since it can be used to hide illegal immigrants. Like most personally identifying documents, Marrero’s were probably stolen from schools or church rectories.

Puerto Rican stolen identities have surfaced in immigration raids all over the country. “Birth certificates have become legal tender,” said Puerto Rico’s secretary of state. Here in the U.S. there are over 14,000 variations of the birth certificate. I personally have five versions of my own. That’s a stupid system.

Puerto Rico’s current solution is to void all existing birth certificates and have everyone reapply for new ones with better security, a plan that will make it harder to get fake documents in the future. But with millions of legal existing passports and driver’s licenses still valid, how is the real person identified?

The AP article states that the problem stems from the Puerto Rican tradition of requiring birth certificates to enroll in schools or to join churches, sports teams, or other groups. But the fact is, all Americans of every descent do the exact same thing. I remember having to bring my birth certificate with me to the YMCA summer camp. That’s why I have five, because we always needed duplicates for school, camp, even field trips!

Organized crime is likely involved in selling “tripletas,” consisting of a birth certificate, a Social Security card, and a driver’s license. Similarly, in criminal hacking communities, full sets of identifying information that can be used to steal an identity are packaged as “fullz” and sold for less than $100.

Victims face damaged credit, criminal records, and years of credit restoration. The time spent restoring one’s identity can potentially result in thousands of dollars in lost wages.

One victim, a 32-year-old married father of two whose credit has been ruined, told the AP that local authorities were dismissive: “They told me, ‘There are cases more important than that little case.’”

Not all identity theft can be prevented. However McAfee Identity Protection continually monitors your information and works to proactively protect you and will be there to assist you in the even your identity is compromised. Protect your most important asset, your identity.

Robert Siciliano is a McAfee Consultant and Identity Theft Expert. See him discussing illegal immigrant identity theft on Fox news. (Disclosures)

MCAFEE, INC. LAUNCHES THE FIRST COMPREHENSIVE PERSONAL IDENTITY PROTECTION PRODUCT FROM A LEADING SECURITY COMPANY

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SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 14, 2010 – McAfee, Inc. (NYSE: MFE), the world’s largest dedicated security company, today announced that it has launched McAfee® Identity Protection, one of the most comprehensive and easy to use identity protection services on the market. The product features proactive identity surveillance which keeps consumers’ identities safe by providing multiple layers of protection, including monitoring the major credit reporting agencies and public records as well as Internet scanning for indicators of identity theft.

Javelin Research reports that individuals who took six or more months to detect fraud suffered more than 14 times the cost of those victims who discovered fraud in its early stages.1 McAfee Identity Protection alerts users of potential threats to their identities, ultimately saving them both time and money.

“There have been more victims of identity theft in the last year than any other time in the past six years2 and consumers repeatedly rank identity theft as a top concern because of the substantial remediation costs,” said Todd Gebhart, executive vice president of McAfee consumer, mobile and small business. “To address this market need, McAfee has created a product that is truly customer-focused and proactive. We put victims first, offering a best-in-class fraud resolution service that provides unlimited support, and the strongest collection of identity monitoring and alerting capabilities in the industry. In combination with a McAfee PC security suite, McAfee Identity Protection offers complete personal and online identity protection.”

Industry Statistics

  • 59 percent of identity theft happens through lost or stolen wallets and criminals ‘dumpster diving’ to get financial records and other sensitive personal information3
  • The average fraud amount per victim is $4,8414
  • 50 percent of victims do not discover  that someone has stolen their identity for  several months or years, according to the 2009 ITRC Aftermath Study
  • For as little as $20, criminals can purchase a fake Social Security card at “ID mills” around the country5
  • Every year, the Social Security Administration (SSA) receives eight to nine million earnings reports where the name doesn’t match the Social Security number6

Consumers at Risk:  McAfee Identity Theft Risk Assessment Tool Findings

McAfee also released findings from its Identity Theft Risk Assessment Tool, a free service that can help consumers determine how they are leaving themselves and their identities at risk. McAfee evaluated responses over a nine-month time frame with more than 5,743 participants:

  • 47 percent of respondents carry their Social Security card with them at all times. Experts say this is alarming, as lost/stolen wallets account for a large portion of identity theft
  • 88 percent of consumers have responded to emails and instant messages from people they do not know. McAfee Labs researchers warn against this, as cybercriminals develop elaborate scams to steal consumers’ information through email scams

McAfee Identity Protection Key Benefits

McAfee is the only company to offer a full range of identity protection services including credit and public records monitoring, Internet scanning, alerts, lost wallet protection, identity restoration services, a $1 million product guarantee, and Internet security products to address online identity theft.

Comprehensive Detection: The proactive identity surveillance capability constantly scans multiple sources for indicators of identity theft. This includes millions of Internet black market sites, chat rooms, blogs, and emails where identity thieves obtain stolen personal information. Additional monitoring of public records and change of address databases assists in the early warning of potential identity theft.  McAfee Identity Protection also includes daily monitoring of all three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) to quickly detect and alert consumers to any red flags associated with their credit file such as new account creation or delinquent payments.  

Effortless Protection Against Theft: McAfee Identity Protection is designed to give consumers an effortless way to protect themselves and quickly resolve issues associated with their identity. The product will alert users by email or text when potentially suspicious activity is detected, and lost wallet protection helps users safeguard their credit/debit card accounts by assisting customers in canceling and ordering replacement cards.  McAfee Identity Protection also allows customers to stay on top of their credit reports with unlimited access to Experian credit reports.

Complete Resolution and $1 Million Product Guarantee: Dedicated fraud resolution experts work with consumers beginning to end to help fix identity theft issues. McAfee Identity Protection is designed to provide peace of mind and also includes a $1 million product guarantee if the product fails and a subscriber is ever victimized while his or her membership is active.

Easy to Use: Leveraging McAfee’s expertise in creating consumer-friendly security products, McAfee Identity Protection features an intuitive interface that clearly displays users’ personal identity health as well as actions required. The Web-based McAfee Identity Protection requires no software installation and is available anywhere with an Internet connection.

McAfee Identity Protection is priced at $109.99 for an annual subscription, or $9.99 on a monthly basis for an individual account. Consumers can also select the family option which includes coverage for the subscriber, another adult in the household and children for an annual subscription of $199.99 or $16.99 on a monthly basis. McAfee expects to offer product bundles of McAfee Identity Protection with McAfee core security products in the second half of this year.

McAfee Identity Protection was co-developed with Experian’s ProtectMyID.com™, a leading, full-service provider of identity theft detection, protection and fraud resolution. McAfee is not a credit repair organization and McAfee Identity Protection is not a credit repair service. McAfee Identity Protection cannot remove legitimate credit history information from a consumer’s credit report.

McAfee Taps Identity Theft Expert Robert Siciliano

McAfee also announced it has recruited leading identity theft expert and author, Robert Siciliano, as a McAfee consultant and identity protection expert. Mr. Siciliano consulted on the development of McAfee Identity Protection product, and will continue to team with McAfee to drive awareness about identity theft risks. Consumers can read his blog at www.mcafee.com/id-theft-expert.

“I’ve been in the business for more than two decades and I’ve watched identity thieves become increasingly savvy and relentless,” said Siciliano. “The tales I’ve heard would boggle your mind. Most of the time, consumers don’t even know they’ve been victimized, making the damages more devastating and increasing the hours it takes to resolve the issue. In some case, it can take up to three years to clear your name. Consumers have to wake-up to the dangers.”

10 Ways To Prevent Phishing

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Identity Theft Expert Robert Siciliano

The Anti Phishing Working Group published a new report seeking to understand such trends by quantifying the scope of the global phishing problem, especially by examining domain name usage and phishing site uptimes. Phishing has always been attractive to criminals because it has low start-up costs and few barriers to entry. But by mid-2009, phishing was dominated by one player as never before—the ―Avalanche‖ phishing operation. This criminal entity is one of the most sophisticated and damaging on the Internet, and perfected a mass-production system for deploying phishing sites and ―crimeware – malware designed specifically to automate identity theft and facilitate unauthorized transactions from consumer bank accounts. Avalanche was responsible for two-thirds (66%) of all phishing attacks launched in the second half of 2009, and was responsible for the overall increase in phishing attacks recorded across the Internet.

There were 126,697 phishing attacks during the second half of 2009, more than double the number in the first half of the year or from July through December of 2008, the APWG report said. Avalanche, which was first identified in December of 2008, was responsible for 24 percent of phishing attacks in the first half of 2009 and for 66 percent in the second half. From July through the end of the year, Avalanche targeted the more than 40 major financial institutions, online services, and job search providers.

Adapted from APWG

1. Be suspicious of any email with urgent requests for personal financial information. Call the bank if they need anything from you.

2. Spot a Phish: Phishers typically include upsetting or exciting (but false) statements in their emails to get people to react immediately

3. They typically ask for information such as usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, social security numbers, date of birth, etc.

4. Don’t use the links in an email, instant message, or chat to get to any web page if you suspect the message might not be authentic or you don’t know the sender or user’s handle

5. Avoid filling out forms in email messages that ask for personal financial information in emails

6. Consider installing a Web browser tool bar to help protect you from known fraudulent websites. These toolbars match where you are going with lists of known phisher Web sites and will alert you.

7. The newer version of Internet Explorer version 7 and 8 includes this tool bar as does FireFox version 2

8. Regularly check your bank, credit and debit card statements to ensure that all transactions are legitimate

9. If anything is suspicious or you don’t recognize the transaction, contact your bank and all card issuers

10. Ensure that your browser is up to date and security patches applied

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)

Mobile Phone Becoming Bigger Target For Hackers

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Identity Theft Expert Robert Siciliano

Mobile Internet access and mobile service usage is growing rapidly and cyber criminals are expected to pay more attention to this sector. Mobile device platforms compete for innovation created by application developers and other content creators who are increasingly demanding more device access. As their requests grow in numbers and they distribute their products more widely, security breaches will be inevitable.

Mobile phones used to be bulky and cumbersome; they had to be carried in bags or briefcases. Then they became chunky, heavy bricks. Clearly, cell phones have evolved. Today’s mobile phone is a compute, that rivals many desktops and laptops being manufactured today. I’m continually blown away at the capabilities of my iPhone.

What makes Mobile phones vulnerable is the speed and advancement of technology and businesses continued demand for products and services that work on a phone. In other countries almost all banking is done on a phone.

Complicating matters is spyware. Spyware was created as a legitimate technology for PCs. Spyware tracks and records social network activities, online searches, chats, instant messages, emails sent and received, websites visited, keystrokes typed and programs launched. It can be the equivalent of digital surveillance, revealing every stroke of the user’s mouse and keyboard. As a virus, spyware on a PC or phone is an immediate compromise of that phone’s data.

When anti-virus vendors like McAfee introduce anti-malware solution to secure Android-based smartphones, then you know mobile phone hacking has gone mainstream. The McAfee® VirusScan® Mobile technology is available now for users of Android and Windows Mobile-based smartphones providers.

The scary part is mobile phone spying software is affordable and very powerful. I worked with Good Morning America (GMA) on this issue.

GMA found thousands of sites promoting cell phone spying software, boasting products to “catch cheating spouses,” “bug meeting rooms” or “track your kids.” Basic cell phone spying software costs as little as $50.“ Someone can easily install a spyware program on your phone that allows them to see every single thing you do all day long, via the phone’s video camera. GMA spent $350 to get the features that remotely activate speaker phones, intercept live calls and instantly notify you every time a call is made.

Not all spyware is bad. Certainly if you install spyware on your 12 year old daughters phone, it’s to monitor and protect her, but when installed unknowingly on a phone that’s used for mCommerce, or business applications, then there is cause to be concerned.

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)