Protecting your privacy

Guard your information

Information on you is very important for many things in live like buying a home, creating a good credit profile, hunting for jobs etc. There are people in this world who find an adventure in stealing such an information. This probably satisfies the detective in them or the need to know for ulterior motives. The information may be stole for many reason: Fun sake, Making prank calls, or any other ulterior motives. As per the data published by Canadian Anti-fraud centre and mass marketing fraud (ref.below) the loss in September 2011 was close to $3.275 Millions

Most of the people are unaware on how to make sure their privacy is kept under guard. The result; some unscurpulous elements take advantage of this ignorance. We are in an era of internet marketing and commerce, where we have to leave our information for the vendor or service provider to know that he is interacting with a live human being and not with a robotic program. When you are submitting information online, be careful to read the privacy regulations of the information seeking page and make sure you are not submitting your data to a spam site or a phising website. The spam site floods your mail inbox with all those silly messages from pharmacies, surveys, product informations, and much more while the phising websites are designed to steal your personal information to be used either for hacking your computer system, or operate your accounts for their own ulterior motives. This doesn't mean that you stay scared and obstruct your online business.  Use of a reputed internet monitoring program and anti-virus is a solution to such spam and phising websites.  I have been using a program that effectively removes all such online threats and I am enjoying all net commerce and share information online.

Apart from online privacy protection here are a few tips to keep your self safe:

Remove and damage sticker
with your information on it

1. Don't throw out any letter or envelope with your addess on it. Try shredding all such matter.
2. Don't discard used prescription containers without removing your information on the stickers. Remember, these stickers carry your patient ID/your date of birth and medication. These can be used for getting some fake cards/debits cards or unimaginable motives.
3. When you receive a call from an agency you never heard of before, be cautious. Don't disclose your vital information over the phone. If they say that they are calling from reputed companies like Rogers, Bell, Telus, or any other service provider you have an account with, ask for their associate number and telephone number. It is better to call them back so that you are sure you are speaking with a bonafide person or customer service representative.
4. Password protect your cellphone. A friend of mine suggested me that I change the contact for my home to something different so that if it goes in some bad hands they can't trace your home. some people use like Ghar or base or ground zero.  It could be any thing unidentifiable.  Also it is not wise to have your family members appear as contact with their relations like, Spouse, or better half, or my love etc. Please keep it indescript.
5. Faxing your credit card information to a service provider is better than emailing it or saying it over the phone.
6. Always check for encryption or make sure the server is secured when you divulge your information. The encryption and securd server scramble your information which is not readable in transit.

The list is endless and not exclusive in any sense.

Example telephonic spamming 

Someone calls you and pretends to be calling from a credit card company saying that a suspicious activity has taken place on your card. You are given all information and you have only to say yes or no to that question. This is how the convo goes on:

Caller: Hello sir, am I speaking with Mr. human being?
You: Yes
Caller: Do you remember having shopped within last 2 hours?
You: yes/no
Caller: <if yes> Did you shop for over $800? <if no> We suspect a fraudulent transaction has taken place sir.
You: Yes/no
Caller: To make sure you are not charged for this expense and that we do proper investigation let me verify a few things with you sir. Sir, my name is _________________ and my associate number is 123456 (whatever). Should you need to call me again or if the call drops you can call me at 123-456-7890. Your call will be recorded for quality purpose (to make it look authentic). Are you okay to go ahead now?
You: Yes, yes (eager to get out of this issue)
Caller: Is your name Mr. human being?
You:Yes
Caller: Do you have a visa with CIBC?
You: yes
Caller: Are the last four digits 9999? (Can be from stolen card statement from your mailbox)
You: yes
Caller: Expiry date: 01/13?
You: No it is 01/14
Caller: Thanks. That was intentional sir. Now to maker sure you have the card in your possession, can you read out the last three digits on the other side beside the magnetic strip?
You:123
Caller: Thank you sir. Your credentials have been verified and we will proceed with our investigation. You will soon hear from us. Good bye.

And that's when you see something purchased on your card for $900. As far as I know, no investigation is launched if the theft is less than $1,000 (sick)!


Hope this helps you understand how your innocence or ignorance could be taken advantage of. Therefore the keyword is: BEWARE! BEWARE! & BEWARE!

Important links:

1. Tougher Law targetting Identity Thefts
2. RCMP- Identity theft
3. Safely buy and sell homes
4. Statistics of Mass Marketing Frauds and Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre

For more information or discussion you can always call me or email me.

Thanks for your time.