How would you feel if someone stole your wallet or purse?
Some of your emotions would probably include anger, frustration, being violated, and maybe feeling helpless. Now you have to call your bank and credit card providers to cancel your credit/ATM/debit cards, order a new driver’s license, and cope with whatever cash was stolen. How much worse would it be if you had no idea your wallet/purse was stolen for days, weeks, or even months. Eventually your bank calls you and asks why you bought $1,000 worth of audio video equipment from a Wal-Mart in a state you’ve never been to?
According to a 2014 report from the US Department of Justice, 17.6M people, ages 16 and older, were the victims of an identity theft crime. Sadly, and probably frustrating as well, most victims do not know how the offender obtained the information. Additionally, 32% of the incidents required at least one month to resolve the issue.
Welcome to the world of cyber identity theft.
Free WiFi might not be entirely “Free”
With the advent of WiFi and accessible handheld instruments such as smart phones and laptops, most people do not go long without being connected to the Internet. At work or school, Internet security is usually adequate as it is always a topic of discussion for IT departments; however, the weary traveler could be under constant attack without even knowing it which could cost them.
Free WiFi is offered in increasingly more places. Almost all major airports are WiFi accessible and many flights offer WiFi at cruising altitude. Restaurants, supermarkets, malls, and small coffee shops are all hopping on the free WiFi bandwagon. Wherever you are reading this blog now, I bet that if you opened your WiFi app on your phone you would see a few, if not a dozen, WiFi hotspots in range. What most users do not know is that by connecting to unsecure WiFi hot spots, you are painting a bullseye on your device for hackers.
Some Tips When Using WiFi
- Do not connect to suspicious WiFi
- By “suspicious WiFi”, I mean do not connect to a WiFi spot that says “Bob’s Super Free WiFi” since Bob is probably the odd looking fellow in the corner with a hoodie that set up a WiFi hot spot through his laptop. This situation is a common ploy by hackers. They set up personal hot spots and then scan all the information running through them by anyone who connects. One way to minimize this threat is to disable file sharing on your computer and turning on Windows Firewall if it is not already on. These masquerading WiFi hotspots are not easy to avoid so take precaution ahead of time.
- VPN’s
- VPN stands for virtual private network. A VPN works quite simply by encrypting data sent from your computer with a VPN client. This connection increases the difficulty for hackers to “sniff” information due to the fact that they must first break the encryption. Many businesses will have VPN’s set up on their devices, but there are also pay for and free VPN services available such as CyberGhost and SecurityKISS.
- HTTPS:// Browsing
- Almost everyone has bought something online before using their credit card. But have you noticed that your browser transitions to a secure setting when you reach the shopping cart portion of most e-commerce websites? HTTPS is the secure protocol of a website which means all data sent between your computer and the server becomes encrypted. Mozilla Firefox has ad-on’s that can force Mozilla into HTTPS mode whenever it is available. Basically, if you are buying something online make sure your address line begins with https:// before you enter any information.
- Forget the Network
- Once you are done surfing the web on public WiFi, forget the network so your device does not connect automatically; therefore, your device is not turning over information without your knowledge. Many smart phones have data point acquisition applications that automatically connect to the strongest free WiFi spot without user awareness or direct selection. This type of connection can be particularly harmful as people may come across dozens WiFi spots in heavily populated areas increasing the risk that one is a hacker.
What Does Your Information Go For?
Figured you would want to know what you are worth, right? The rates vary by report. In 2005, when independent watch groups started keeping track of U.S. data breaches, more than 607M confidential records had been lost, stolen, or exposed. The most inclusive black market rates for personal information found is from 2011. There is no problem with supply of personal information and the market is saturated; therefore, rates have been falling. Credit card details range from $2-$90 each and bank credentials $80-$700 each with guaranteed balance information.
Of course, you can play the lottery and roam on the Internet unhindered with the idea that the chance of you falling victim to identity theft are relatively slim … thanks to the sheer number of people with devices that are not secure.
In that case, may the odds be forever in your favor (cue the Hunger Games theme song!).