Author: Eva Velasquez

Thought Leadership

Military and Social Media Scams

Often a vulnerable population from a consumer protection standpoint, the military has a unique set of challenges when engaged in social media as well. In fact, the Army has a division (the Online and Social Media Division in the Office of the Chief of Public Affairs) that recognizes the need for educating its soldiers on the effective and safe use of social media. Additionally, just a few weeks ago, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, commonly known as CID, warned the Army community to be “vigilant of internet scams and impersonation fraud, especially within popular social networking and dating websites.”

The Identity Theft Resource Center offers up some tips on how military personnel can keep themselves protected against social media scams.

Thought Leadership

Where Are Data Breaches Really Coming From?

Last week’s Citi Bike data breach caused quite a flurry, exposing 1,174 pieces of user data after a technical glitch; like a hurricane, the story broke, caused confusion and chaos, and then just as quickly died down.  In relative terms, the Citi Bike breach is a small one.  However, one of the most surprising elements of this breach were the public comments which expressed outrage at the banks, credit card companies, even the government.

But the reality is: this was a business breach and it was the responsibility of NYC Bike Share to protect the information. With all these people up in arms about the financial industry reporting yet another breach, we think it’s important that consumers really know what they are up in arms about.  Read on to learn more about where data breaches come from.

Thought Leadership

The Pros and Cons of a Credit Freeze vs. Fraud Alert

Individuals who receive a data breach notification letter are not automatically victims of identity theft.  There is, however, a strong correlation between data breaches and identity theft.  According to a recent Javelin study, one in four data breach notification letter recipients eventually becomes a victim of identity fraud.  However individuals that are not yet victims of identity fraud will not necessarily face the same level of complexity in responding to the issue.

Two of the strongest tools in the arsenal are the Fraud Alert and the Credit Freeze.  Below is the explanation of what each action will accomplish, the pros and cons of each, and why timing is also key.

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