Monthly Archive: April 2011

medical records

Correcting Misinformation on Medical Records

Misinformation on medical records may be caused by human error or identity theft. It can lead to an inaccurate diagnosis of a condition and could be fatal if the information causes a drug interaction, allergic reaction or inappropriate diagnoses. You should be able to fully correct medical records created in your name. HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, is a federal privacy act that protects patients from unauthorized access to personal medical information and addresses the problem of errors in medical records.

browser

Report from the InfoSec World Conference: Game-Changing HTML5 Will Alter Browser Security

What’s HTML5? In this week’s post from CEO Kent Lawson, he says it could mean that every time you visit a website, you will be potentially ceding control of your laptop, tablet, or phone to someone else. Read on for more information about the future of website browsing security and what it means for our safety and security online.

Medical Identity Theft Could Be Dangerous to Your Health

Nearly one and a half million U.S. consumers were victims of medical identity theft in 2010, according to a study by The Ponemon Institute. Even more shocking: Nine out of ten U.S. consumers know nothing about the crime. If you’re one of them, that could be dangerous to your health and your finances.

privacy

That’s Not My Blood Type: Financial Medical Identity Theft

Consumers are usually surprised to find out how far reaching identity theft can be. It can affect many different parts of a victim’s life. One growing form is medical identity theft, which is often difficult to deal with due to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and other privacy laws. Even within the category of medical identity theft, there are multiple forms of the crime. Read on for some basic information on one form of medical identity theft called financial medical identity theft, and also the process for cleaning up the mess.

mobile apps

Smartphone Safety and Tax Apps

Filing your taxes? There’s an app for that. Actually, there are a few apps for that. These days time is a precious commodity and the ability to file your taxes through your Smartphone seems like a dream come true. You are now able to snap a picture of your W-2 with your Smartphone, have the information automatically entered and then submitted to the federal government. It doesn’t get much easier than that. Convenience though, often goes hand in hand with a lower level of security and these Smartphone apps are no exception. In order to understand the risks of using these apps one must look at just what is available, what the risks of usage are, and how to protect oneself.

How Identity Thieves Can Steal Your Tax Refund

If you find yourself waiting longer than usual for your income tax refund this year, it could be because identity thieves have already claimed it. Tax related identity theft is the fastest growing form of ID theft, according to a recent Scripps Howard News Service investigation. Find out what you can do to avoid becoming a victim.

cell phone privacy

Can You Trust Your Cellphone With Any Personal Privacy?

Since mobile phones are a necessary part of modern life, are we handing over our personal privacy to be part of the 21st century? CEO Kent Lawson explains how a German man set out to learn exactly what his cellphone provider knew about him — and the staggering results are astounding and will make even the most die-hard smartphone fans question their privacy.

taxes

Protecting Yourself While Filing Your Taxes Online

There are actually four “tax times” throughout the year, but for most people April 15th is “THE tax time.” It can be a very stressful time of year and the last thing you need to worry about is identity theft. While figuring out if that new pair of shoes could be a “business expense” may have you pulling your hair out, taking some simple precautions can help you avoid having your identity stolen. Follow these precautions to help ensure that finishing your taxes is a time to celebrate, not a time to start worrying.

privacy

Ask the Expert: What Are Supercookies? Do They Affect My Online Privacy?

Do you know what a cookie is? No, not the sweet kind we like to eat with a big glass of milk. A cookie (at least the kind found on the Web) is a short line of text that a website puts on your computer’s hard drive when you visit it. And new “supercookie” filess can store more information than a normal cookie and are scattered in multiple locations, which makes them harder to identify and remove. Check out our latest Ask the Expert to learn everything you ever wanted to know about cookies but were afraid to ask.

Tax Season and Online Security: The Social Media Privacy Report

Tax season is here and the deadline to file your taxes, April 18, is rapidly approaching. This time of year normally brings some added pressure, as taxpayers must organize their financial paperwork and sit down for the dreaded conversation with their accountant. But with the new world of social media in the mix, things get even more complicated as invasions of privacy and online scams make tax time even more difficult.