Identity Theft - How your identity gets tracked online

How much can Internet companies learn about you while you're surfing? They can actually learn a lot about you, your likes and dislikes, habits and purchase history. Here is how they can find this information:

1. You go to http://www.google.com/ and do a search on electronics stores.
2. You click on www.circuitcity.com
3. Whether you register or not, browser information and cookies can be retrieved from your PC by web sites that you have visited. The following Internet Explorer option, AutoComplete, is automatically turned on by default on home versions of Windows. Most companies configure Internet Explorer security features so that this option is turned off. When this option is turned on, personal information is automatically populated when conducting a transaction (e.g. purchasing a CD form Circuit City). In order to turn off this option: Within Internet Explorer, navigate to Tools menu, click Internet Options, click the Content tab; Under Personal information, click AutoComplete; Deselect any boxes that are checked; Click OK
4. Circuitycity.com now knows that you came to their site from http://www.google.com/. They know that your IP address is 168.105.79.52, (if using a firewall can translate to 192.168.20.7). Your IP address might also reveal the surfer’s ISP, town, company or school.
5. You navigate to http://www.chicagosuntimes.com/. This is a site you visit regularly to browse for news, but you are not a registered user. You have visited this site 6 times in the past month. You typically spend 30 seconds on the home page before clicking on the sports and business pages before leaving.
6. You navigate to http://www.cnn.com/. A banner ad network which is CNN’s partner recognizes you (not by name, but by computer) CNN uses technology that maps IP addresses to real-world locations. As a result, they are able to determine that you live in Schaumburg, IL.
7. You now register at the http://www.sweepstakesonline.com/ contest Web site. Sweepstakesonline.com now knows your name, address, phone number, gender, birth date, work phone and personal tastes. This information can now be sold or shared many times over. This information can be mapped to any additional information gleaned from cookies, such as previous Web sites visited. Hackers can break in and steal this information. If the Web site is acquired, the new company owns the information
8. You now navigate to http://www.amazon.com/ and buy a book. Amazon now knows all of your prior purchases, any product you have ever searched for, and all of your personal information. In addition, using a technique called collaborative filtering, Amazon is able to determine what other types of book you might want to purchase

Identity Theft - 10 Ways to Protect your Identity

1. Burn or shred, with a cross shredder, any mail or financial papers with your personal information on it. Never recycle them.

2. Call 1-888-5OPTOUT and ask to stop credit card companies from sending pre-approved credit card applications to your house. They are ticking identity theft time bombs.

3. Ask your credit card firm to cease delivery of "convenience checks." They, too, are ticking time bombs.

4. You're entitled to one free credit report each year. Get it as soon as possible and review it carefully.

5. Order a credit report a month or more before you make a big purchase or apply for credit, to be sure there are no surprises in your history.

6. Hassle companies that ask for personal information, such as your phone number at a checkout line. The harder we make it on companies, the less they will be inclined to continue the practice.

7. Its impossible to tell what's real and what's fake online. Just delete any e-mail that asks for personal information.

8. Just hang up on telemarketers, particularly ones who seem to be fishing for personal information, like your birthday.

9. Limit the number of credit cards you hold, and religiously inspect your financial statements each month. Consumer rights quickly fade over time; the sooner you discover an identity theft incident, the better.

10. Most of the time, you can't prevent an ID theft incident from occurring, because two-thirds of the time, some company that leaked the data is to blame. So be prepared, and be organized. Save paper bank records for a year, at least. You'll need them to prove your account balance in the event of an ID theft incident.

Identity Theft - What to do when your Identity has been stolen?

Step 1: Protect your finances

Contact the fraud departments of each of the three major credit bureaus:

• Equifax
  1-800-525-6285
  www.equifax.com
• Experian
  1-888-397-3742
  www.experian.com
• TransUnion
  1-800-680-7289
  www.tuc.com

Get a copy of your credit report, which is free to ID theft victims. Ask that your file be flagged with a "fraud alert tag" and a "victim's statement." That will limit the thief's ability to open new credit accounts, as new creditors will call you before granting credit, generally. Insist, in writing, that the fraud alert remain in place for seven years, the maximum, according to PrivacyRights.org.

Step 2: File a police report

You will need a police report to dispute unauthorized charges and for any insurance claims. Be persistent; your local police department may suggest that this isn't necessary, because they don't want the paperwork hassle. Also, fill out an online ID Theft complaint with the Federal Trade Commission or call 1-877-ID-THEFT.

That enters your case in the FTC's "Consumer Sentinel" database, a nationwide list of ID theft cases which can be used by law enforcement officers to find patterns and catch criminals.

Step 3: Close all compromised accounts

The list may be wider than you realize. This includes accounts with banks, credit card companies and other lenders, and phone companies, utilities, ISPs, and other service providers. Dispute all unauthorized charges - The FTC offers a sample dispute letter on its Web site. Disputes may require a sworn statement and a police report. The FTC also offers a form affidavit which can be used for the sworn statement at

www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/affidavit.pdf

Other Useful Sources of Information regarding Identity Theft

• "When bad things happen to your good name" - FTC document full of sample dispute letters and other recovery procedures
  www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/idtheft.htm
• U.S. Department of Justice ID Theft kit
  www.usdoj.gov/criminal/fraud/idtheft.html
• Identity Theft Resource Center
  www.idtheftcenter.org

Top Frauds, scams & mishaps
1). Internet Auctions (16%)
2). Shop-at-home/Catalog Sales (8%)
3). Internet Services & Computer Complaints (6%)
4). Foreign Money Offers (6%)
5). Prizes, Sweepstakes & Lotteries (5%)
6). Advance-fee loans & Credit Protection (3%)
7). Business opportunities & Work-at-home plans (2%)
8). Telephone Services (2%)

Planning Assumptions for your Pandemic Implementation Plan

Pandemic are unpredictable. While history offers useful benchmarks, there is no way to know the characteristics of a pandemic virus before it emerges. Use the following assumptions to assist you when developing your pandemic implementation plans.

• Multiple employees will be out on extended sick leave at the same time
• Universal susceptibility to the pandemic influenza
• Clinical disease rate will be 30% in the overall population. Illness rates will be highest amongst school-aged children (about 40 percent) and decline with age. Among working adults, an average of 20% will become ill during a community outbreak.
• Risk groups for severe and fatal infection are likely to include infants, the elderly, pregnant women, and persons with chronic or immunosuppressive medical conditions.
• Ensure systems are in place for receiving and disseminating reliable health information
• Assume that there will be 2-3 waves of the virus over a 12-18 month period of time
• Each wave will last 8-12 weeks long
• People will be ill for 2-4 weeks
• Cumulative absentee rate will be 25-40%
• Build your plans based on the fact that a virtual workspace is the only real solution that could really be effective during a pandemic outbreak
• Strategies to Promote Employee Wellness that can begin now that would benefit a company during a pandemic outbreak include encouraging sick employees to stay home, conducting health education campaigns (including Hand washing and Cover your cough) and encouraging routine health maintenance (e.g. Annual flu shots, Employee wellness programs)
• The typical incubation period (interval between infection and onset of symptoms) for influenza is approximately 2 days
• On average, infected persons will transmit infection to approximately 2 other people
• Some common non-medical intervention and prevention procedures include
  · Hand washing and Purell dispensers in every bathroom
  · Frequent risk communications
  · Personal Protective Equipment (e.g. Surgical Masks)
  · Limit spread of infection by decreasing amount of domestic and international travel

How is a pandemic virus spread?

• Pandemic influenza is spread from person to person primarily through “respiratory secretions”. The virus may also be spread through contact with respiratory secretions on hands or any other object or surface.

• Influenza viruses are known to survive on non-porous surfaces such as steel and plastic, for up to 24 to 48 hours and on cloth, paper, and tissues for up to 8 to 12 hours.

• Influenza’s incubation period is 1 to 5 days and it is contagious 1 day before symptoms appear and up to 7 days after.

Why should I be concerned about a Pandemic?

According to the W.H.O. (World Health Organization), the world is “now overdue” for an influenza pandemic, since mass epidemics or pandemics have occurred every 20 to 30 years and it has been nearly 40 years since the last one.

All signs point to the world being on the verge of another influenza pandemic. The World Health Organization has encouraged every country to develop a plan to deal with the up-coming global health crisis.

In 1918, it took 4 days to cross the US and 2 weeks to cross the Atlantic and both trips were

Today, it takes 4 hours to cross the country and 8 hours to get to Europe and both trips are common. Simply put, the virus can spread quickly and an outbreak on the other side of the world can quickly spread to every other region of the world if precautionary measures are not followed.

While vaccine is the primary method of prevention, a vaccine is hard to produce due to the fact that the strains of the virus mutate frequently.

US Emergency resources are limited and a pandemic outbreak could result in:

• Overwhelmed medical and civil services
• A partial to complete breakdown in civil services
• Riots

What is a Pandemic?

What is a Pandemic?

Pandemic Influenza – a large, worldwide epidemic of a new human influenza strain; an outbreak of a new viral strain that spreads rapidly around the world.

An influenza pandemic is a public health emergency that rapidly takes on significant political, social, and economic dimensions.

As with other emerging infectious diseases, the course of its evolution is governed by factors – including the properties of a new causative agent – that cannot be known in advance and require some time to understand.

In the phases moving from the pre-pandemic period to a full-fledged pandemic, health authorities will need to make a series of emergency decisions in an atmosphere of considerable scientific uncertainty and fragile public confidence.

A pandemic is cyclical occurring every 20 to 30 years
A pandemic comes in 2 or 3 waves often months apart
It may take as long as 24 months for a pandemic to run its course

For the most part, the bird pandemic is not currently impacting the average person. On the other hand, if you are a bird or poultry farmer, the current H5N1 strain of avian influenza has already had a significant impact on your profession. If the virus mutates to humans, there will be an impact to pretty much everyone.

Bird Flu or “avian influenza” is not a concern to humans. The concern is that the virus mutates to humans and becomes a pandemic that then affects humans.

The H5N1 strain of avian influenza first surface in Hong Kong in 1997.

In the 20th Century, Spanish influenza (1918), Asian influenza (1957) and Hong Kong influenza (1968) were all Avian influenzas.

It is worth noting that the Swine Flu in 1976 and SARS in 2003 were epidemics and never reached pandemic proportions.

As of 3/20, there were 177 human cases that resulted in 98 deaths

As of 7/4, there were 229 human cases that have resulted in 131 deaths in 10 countries but there has not been sustained human to human transmission