As it is vacation season, here are some scams to keep top of mind.  Once again, we credit OnGuardOnLine.gov as our source for valuable id theft information.

A first tip is to be wary of the late-night call from the front desk telling you there’s a problem with your credit card.  The caller will ask to verify the number.  Keep in mind, it may really be a scammer on the line. If a hotel really had an issue with your card, they would ask you to come to the front desk.  Best practice, if you get a call like this, go to the front desk to do the verification in person.

Likewise, hotel guests are finding a pizza delivery flyer slipped under their hotel door. When you call to order, they take your credit card number over the phone. Unfortunately, the flyer is a fake, and a scammer now has your info. Before you order, make sure you check out the business, or get recommendations from the front desk.

Lastly for this week’s blog, the good old “Wi-Fi” network scam is one to be mindful of.  Just because it has the hotel’s name, it may not be secure.  By using it, you could give a scammer access to your information. Check with the hotel to make sure you’re using the authorized network before you connect.

We hope everyone is getting out and enjoying a summer vacation.  Keep these tips in mind to optimize the fun and minimize the stress.

For more information on best practices for identity theft protection, please visit www.hvshred.com

At HV Shred, we want to take a moment to focus on one of our favorite topics—the concept of “Think Local First”.  As small businesses across America struggle to keep their independent, locally owned businesses alive during the current economic downturn, the idea of keeping it local has never been more important.

Recent national estimates state that for every $100 spent at local businesses, $68 stays in the community. When you spend that same $100 at a national chain, only $43 stays in the community.

Local businesses contribute sales tax, income tax, and keep our local people employed.

Aside from the obvious financial benefits of keeping our dollars local, there are many intangibles that speak to the pride our islanders feel about what local means to their community.

When we shop local, we:

1. Keep dollars in our economy.

2. Create local jobs. Local businesses are better at creating higher-paying jobs for our neighbors.

3. Help the environment. Buying from a local business conserves energy and resources in the form of less fuel for transportation and less packaging.

4. Nurture your community. We know you, and you know us. Studies have shown that local businesses donate to community causes at twice the rate of chains.

5. Conserve your tax dollars. Spending locally instead of online ensures that sales taxes are reinvested where they belong – in your community.

6. Create more choice. Local businesses carry a wider array of unique products because they buy and sell based on what they know local customers like.

7. Take advantage of expertise. Local merchants are passionate about what they do and how to serve you.

8. Invest in entrepreneurship. Creativity and entrepreneurship are what the American economy are founded upon.

9. Make us a destination. The more interesting and unique we are as a community, the more we will continue to attract new neighbors, visitors and guests.

10. And…it feels good!

To learn more about your local choice for on-site paper shredding and data security, please visit www.hvshred.com

Relying again on a favorite resource for the latest news in identity theft protection, this week’s blog comes from OnGuardOnline.gov. In today’s economy, Big Data is big business. And data brokers — companies that collect consumers’ personal information and resell or share that information with others — play a key role.

The Federal Trade Commission recently released a study of nine data brokers. These data brokers collect personal information about consumers from a wide range of sources — including public records, loyalty cards, websites and social media — and provide information for a wide range of purposes — including verifying someone’s identity, marketing products and detecting fraud.

Here’s a summary of what the FTC learned:

• Data brokers collect consumer data from numerous sources, largely without consumers’ knowledge.

• Data brokers collect and store billions of data elements, including some on nearly every U.S. consumer.

• Data brokers combine and analyze data about consumers to make potentially sensitive inferences.

Under the circumstances, the Commission unanimously renewed its call for Congress to consider enacting legislation that would enable consumers to learn of the existence and activities of these data brokers and provide consumers with reasonable access to information held about them by these entities. With respect to brokers that sell marketing products, a majority of the Commission had four specific suggestions for Congress:

1. Consider giving consumers a way to easily identify which brokers have data about them and where they can go to access it or opt out. One way to do that: A central online portal.

2. Consider whether data brokers should have to clearly disclose that they not only collect raw data, but also combine it with other information to draw inferences about people. That’s especially important when it comes to sensitive topics like health conditions.

3. Consider requiring data brokers to reveal more about their sources. That would make it easier for consumers to track down and correct the source of inaccurate information (for example, a mistake in a public record).

4. Consider whether consumer-facing businesses should have to clearly disclose that they share information with data brokers and to give consumers choices, including opting out. For sensitive data – health information is one example – the FTC is asking Congress to consider legislation to require consumer-facing sources to get people’s affirmative express consent before they collect it in the first place.

The Report finishes with three let’s-get-real recommendations for the data broker industry: Implement privacy by designs, come up with better ways to stop collecting information from children and teens, and take reasonable precautions to ensure downstream data users don’t use it for illegal purposes.

For the good of our local and global community, these are real issues to keep in the forefront. For more on identity theft protection, please visit www.hvshred.com

College grads are already out for the summer and the grade school students will be close behind.  Vacations are on the horizon.  What follows are some gentle reminders while on vacation.  Truly, these are best practices all year round.  It’s the free feeling of vacation that leads us to want to reinforce common sense when we otherwise tend to let our guards down.

Here are some helpful tips to help reduce your risk of identity theft.

• Be careful with ATMS. It is not difficult to set up a fake ATM. Stick to the ones that are in banks and check it over to make sure it has not been tampered.
• Clean out your wallet. Only take along the credit cards and identity you really need. Leave a photocopy of the front and back of each card at home. This makes it easier to replace if they are lost or stolen.
• Stop your mail. Don’t let your mail build up in your box. The post office will hold it until you return for free.
• Use the hotel safe. While hotel safes are not Fort Knox, they are a better option than keeping it on your person.
• Beware of open Wi-Fi. Try to use networks that require a login and make sure you use encryption when passing any information.

For more on identity theft protection and best practices, please visit www.hvshred.com

Taxes are filed and it’s that time of year when it’s not too hot and not too cold to venture into the storage unit or attic to take stock of files that still need to  be stored and files that are obsolete and should be destroyed.  Many of us need to make room to get the most recent boxes out of our way.

On-site shredding is the most secure and efficient way to safely and quickly dispose of obsolete paperwork.  Whether it’s proprietary information or client information, it is in a business’ best interest to shred any and all personally identifying information.  HV Shred aims to make the whole process simple and straight forward.

HV Shred is a NYS licensed, on-site mobile document shredding company.  All shredding is done ON-SITE, in the parking lot or we will even meet you at your storage area.  Clients are invited to witness each shredding service on the color monitor mounted to the side panel of the truck.  As part of our service, we provide a certificate of destruction for your records which serves as hard copy support that clients are doing their due diligence to comply with the federal regulations which require proper disposal of consumer private information.

Helping to protect the environment, we recycle all shredded paper!

Security, compliance, and environmentally friendly.

For more information, please visit www.hvshred.com and submit a request for a free quote.

We hope you have come to expect valuable suggestions for best practices in Identity Theft Prevention from the HV Shred blog.  Along those lines, what follows are some reminders about taking necessary precautions to secure confidential information.

First, run a virus scan on a regular basis.  Many people only ever run a virus scan on their computer when they think something is wrong. By constantly running virus scans, you ensure that nothing can get a foothold on your computer. In addition, by updating your anti-virus software constantly, you ensure that newer viruses can’t get through, providing you with identity theft prevention.

In addition to keeping anti-virus software up to date, it’s a good idea to make sure that every program you use is as up to date as possible. People looking to steal your identity will make use of outdated patches to hack into your system. Don’t give them the opportunity. In particular be sure to update your web browser as well as operating system every time they require it.

Another way to limit exposure is to be extra mindful of the emails you open.  Email messages often include links that will install invasive software onto your computer, making it vulnerable to future attack. Do not open messages from people you do not know, regardless of what they say.

Similarly, be wary about clicking on a website you are unfamiliar with. Some websites will install programs onto your computer when you click a link. In addition, they can corrupt your web browser, logging everything you type and then stealing that information. This can include user names, passwords, and bank information.

Identity theft is common, and the best thing you can do is to be cautious. Treat every good offer or threat with a grain of salt, keep your software up to date, shred all documentation with sensitive information, and stay safe.

The more sensitive the information, the more important it is to have it destroyed securely.

HV Shred will help keep you compliant and safe.  Please visit www.hvshred.com

Workplace identity theft is a growing problem.  To combat the issue, we need to hone in on how the thieves are obtaining our private information.

The most common victims are little organizations with fewer than a hundred employees, in line with the most recent study by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Report. Typically, smaller companies have fewer controls, limited policies, and less training/coaching on handling private information than larger companies.

Handling personal, sensitive & confidential information properly is critical and the law. Inadequate business practices might result in liability suits and loss of consumers.

What follows is some tips to shield your customers, staff, & company:

Shredding all unneeded client and proprietary paperwork is not just good practice; it is the law. Using a reputable shredding company takes all the worry off your shoulders and can give you peace of mind and security.

Be wary of con-artists–if someone calls or emails asking for private information, claiming that they are from the IRS, do not give it out. The IRS states that they only ask for that information by mail. There has been a huge rise in this approach over the past 12 months.

Be mindful of employee access to information.  A lot of identity theft occurs when employees give (sell) sensitive information to these crooks. In a recent case starting in Florida, a human resources worker was paid $3,000 for co-workers personal information. These thieves used this information to obtain a driver’s license, open a new credit card, and/or trick a retailer into giving them the credit card number.

Spot check to make sure everyone is following the policy & procedures on handling sensitive information.

Another best practice is splitting duties. By splitting & separating the information that employees can access, you cut down on the chances an employee will be able to sell the information without someone noticing.

Train everybody in the company on correct ways to handle, track, and eliminate sensitive data: Do not leave this to chance. Put together a training program for handling this information.

Create a hotline for reporting suspected deception: Have a safe way for honest employees to report abuse.

HV Shred can help keep you compliant and lessen the burden when handling consumer’s sensitive information. Visit www.hvshred.com