Nancy C. Muir - AARP Protecting Yourself Online For Dummies

Protecting Yourself Online For Dummies

Published by
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
111 River Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com

Copyright 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

AARP is a registered trademark.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions .

Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER, AARP, AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER AND AARP ARE NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. THE PUBLISHER, AARP, AND THE AUTHOR SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR, AARP, OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ.

For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.

For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport .

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com . For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com .

AARP publishes a variety of print and e-books. Visit www.aarp.org/bookstore .

The Library of Congress Control Number is available upon request.

ISBN 978-1-118-90455-8 (ePDF); ISBN 978-1-118-92033-6 (ePub)

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Chapter 1

In This Chapter

Identifying private information and where it is online

Keeping your private information private

Eliminating privacy pests

Taking swift and effective action if your identity is stolen

Its all too easy to share information about yourself online these days, whether youre active in social media or shopping online. Overall, this book helps you guard your online activity, and this chapter specifically helps you understand the kind of information that youre asked to provide online and the potential ramifications that can occur if that information falls into the wrong hands.

By using your personal information, identity thieves can party hard on your nickel and your good credit reputation. They spend like theres no tomorrow because they know that someone else (you) is picking up the tab.

Identity thieves can use your personal information to open accounts, such as a cellphone account, in your name. Of course, they skip paying the bills and continue to use the phone until you discover the theft and take action; then they drop that account and move on to another unsuspecting victim. Worse, even major corporations that you trust can be compromised and leak your information whether you do anything wrong or not.

To get started, take stock of the information you may have out there on the Internet and the risk it poses if its stolen. Sensitive information involves numbers and other key facts about you that together comprise your paper and online identities. The vulnerable personal information that identity thieves use is described in this list:

• Social Security number (SSN): Your 9-digit personal identification number (assigned by the federal government) is the key to the kingdom for identity thieves: The identity thief uses your SSN to apply for credit, file false tax returns, get a job, open bank accounts, and so on.
• Date of birth (DOB): A DOB is a piece of the personal information puzzle that really isnt a problem if thats all the information the bad guys have, but put together with other information, it lets an identity thief become you.
• Security questions: You see these questions asking for your first pets name and where you attended high school, for example when youre setting up an online account.
• Mothers maiden name: This name is used to verify your identity when accessing financial information.

  Security questions have begun to include a fathers middle name as well. Everybody gets equal time!

• Personal identification numbers (PINs): These are usually 4- (or more) digit numbers used to access your bank accounts online or when using your ATM card.
• Passwords: Your passwords which are the keys to any information stored electronically are discussed in detail in Chapter .
• Drivers license number: A thief who has your drivers license number can make a phony license that shows your name and drivers license number with his picture.
• Social media posts: This information can convey where you live or even where you are right this minute your alma mater, your likes and dislikes, and other information that people can use to form a complete picture of who you are. Think about all the information youve distributed on these networks (both new and old hello, MySpace and Friendster!) and how likely it is that somebody could unearth this information by looking quickly on a search engine. Even if you deactivate or delete your account, that information can still be accessible via cached searches and archives.