Safeguarding yourself, your identity and your loved ones in our digital age : Part 1 of 3 : Phones and home valuables.

Before I start this article I would like to share a personal experience about fraud and my grandparents.

Last year my grandfather received a phone call from a man who claimed to be a lawyer in Virginia who told him that his grandson was in that state at a wedding, that he got drunk, drove, was arrested and needed $3,000 for bail money. My grandfather did exactly what any other caring family member would – he raced to a Western Union office to send the money.

My grandmother thought it was a bit odd and decided to call me and ask if my brother had travelled out of state to a wedding. He had not. My brother was safe at work in Ventura. I told them to get back in the car and get back over to the Western Union office to put a stop on the wire transfer. Thank goodness they called me in time and got back to the Western Union office in time. We were very fortunate and happened to get their money back.

Very scary!

This scam is very common right now and these criminals target grandparents specifically.

So how can you protect yourself from crafty digital-age criminals?

Thieves are always looking for new ways to catch people unawares and take advantage of them. A lot of the technology you use everyday can leave you open for a possible attack. There is no guarantee that anyone’s information is 100% safe, no matter how careful you are, but there are a few small things you can do to reduce your risks of becoming a victim.

Phones and home valuables.

When it is possible, try to keep your private conversations private. In order to ensure that private conversations are not being spied on, sensitive conversations should be done in person and in a private location.

Cell phones are less secure than landline telephones and with the right technology your cell phone signal can be intercepted. It is best to keep your cell phone password protected and all of the information backed up. There is quite a lot of personal information stored on your cell phone that you may or may not know about:

Your social security number
Your full name
Your address
Your bank account numbers
Your credit card numbers
Other miscellaneous account numbers

Living in a gated community offers you excellent advantages such as:

Secure locked mail boxes
Flood lights
Controlled entry
Security patrols

There are additional safety measures that you can take. Always keep valuables hidden in your home; don’t leave things like jewelry boxes sitting on top of dressers in plain sight. Small portable fire safes are great for keeping your valuables safe from fire… but if a criminal finds one in your home, you saved them the trouble of having to collect your valuables in one place. If you need a fire-proof safe install one that is large enough that it cannot easily be lifted by one person and make sure it is bolted securely into concrete.

Don’t broadcast that you are leaving town, or that you are out of town, on social networking sites. That is sort of like putting up a flashing neon sign over your house that says “no one is home and no one will be home for a while, so come on in and take what you want.” Wait until you return home from your trip to share it with everyone.

Next week : Part 2 : Computers, spyware and deleting files.

~TeCHS