Online Safety Rules for Students: New Report

As we head into August, millions of teens will begin the transition to adulthood by matriculating to college. Many of these newly independent teens will find themselves the target of online scams.
In this 24/7 digital world, sending a son or daughter off to college can be a daunting task. Of course, parents want to do everything possible to prepare their children for a successful transition. Previous generations didn’t need to have “the digital talk” but in a world where what goes online stays online, it’s essential.

iovation, the trusted source for mobile and online fraud prevention to safeguard businesses, is providing eight digital safety tips for college-bound kids as part of its dedication to making the Internet a safer place for everyone.

“We understand how sophisticated fraudsters can be and everyone at iovation works hard to stop schemes that negatively impact businesses and consumers,” said CEO Greg Pierson. “As a company focused on stopping online fraud, and as parents, we strongly recommend talking about online safety early and often. The transition to college is a great time to remind young people to be careful and stay safe online.”

Here are the top eight tips to keep your college-bound teenager safe online.

1. The Internet is forever—think about future employers, including those coveted summer internships
Don’t post anything online, including inappropriate photos, which would make a future employer think twice about hiring you. Good judgment is something employers look for, show that you have it.
2. Don’t add your address to your Facebook profile
Keep your address private. Anyone who needs your address can get it from you directly.
3. Don’t broadcast your location
Go ahead and check-in at your favorite coffee place and post photos of you and friends at a concert. Just do it sparingly. People don’t need to know where you are all the time or when your dorm room or apartment might be empty.
4. Don’t “friend” people you don’t know
Be choosy when it comes to friending people on social media. Just because someone sends you a friend request doesn’t mean you have to accept it—especially if you have no idea who they are.
5. Guard your social security number
Your social security number is a winning lottery ticket to a fraudster. It is the key to stealing your identity and taking over your accounts. Keep your social security card locked away in a safe place. Memorize the number so you can minimize using the card itself. Question anyone who asks for your social security card. Employers, banks, credit card companies and the department of motor vehicles are some of the few legitimate entities who may need your social security number. Never give it out online or in email.
6. Don’t use the same password everywhere
All your accounts need a password, but not the same one. Consider using an all-in-one password manager. If you choose this option make sure that you log out of the service when not in use. Get in the habit of locking your computer and shutting it off at night.
7. Beware of emails phishing for personal information
Be very wary of any email with a link that asks you to disclose your credit card details, username, password or social security number. These emails can look official but no bank, or other legitimate business, should email asking for this information.
8. Be Wi-Fi savvy and safe
Free Wi-Fi at coffee shops, libraries and restaurants make these great places to hang out and study. However, free comes at the cost of security. Unsecured networks create the risk of identity theft and other personal information being stolen. Make sure sites you visit use encryption software (website addresses start with https:// and usually display a lock in the browser address bar) to block identity thieves when using public Wi-Fi. Additionally, be careful to avoid using mobile apps that require credit card data or personal information on public Wi-Fi as there is no visible indicator of whether the app uses encryption. In general it’s best to conduct sensitive transactions on a secured private network or through your phone’s data network rather than public Wi-Fi.
Your college-bound teenager is more connected to their friends, and the world, through devices like smartphones, tablets and laptops, than any generation before. Every day they like, tweet, text and share. As long as they use common sense and take a few precautions, their online world can be a safe one that provides value.

About iovation
iovation protects online businesses and their end users against fraud and abuse through a combination of advanced device identification, shared device reputation and real-time risk evaluation. More than 3,000 fraud managers representing global retail, financial services, insurance, social network, gaming and other companies leverage iovation’s database of Internet devices and the relationships between them to determine the level of risk associated with online transactions. The company’s device reputation database is the world’s largest, used to protect more than 10 million transactions and stop an average of 200,000 fraudulent activities every day. The world’s foremost fraud experts share intelligence, cybercrime tips and online fraud prevention techniques in iovation’s Fraud Force Community, an exclusive virtual crime-fighting network. For more information, visit www.iovation.com.

Identity Theft and Your Security

Identity theft has become an increasing problem as our world shifts to being more online and mobile. Many people feel like there is no way to keep their information safe should someone want to steal it.

Is this the case, or are there things that you can do to make your information harder to steal?

These 18 blog entries touch on what you can do to protect your identity online, at work and when you are out and about living your life.

The press is doing an admirable job of bringing scams to light so that the public can be better informed and thus better able to protect sensitive information.


To learn what you need to know to keep your personal information safe, keep reading.

Online
With more and more people shopping and banking online, keeping your information safe from thieves becomes both more important and more difficult. Avoid common or easy to guess passwords, as many times you are making the thief’s job easier. For more online safety tips, take a look at these six blog posts.

• How to Prevent Identity Theft and Stay Safe Online (Infographic) Learn how to protect yourself online and what makes a password a good one.
• How You, and Google, Can Help Prevent Identity Theft Tips from Google on how to secure your personal information to prevent identity theft.
• Tips to be Safe Online and Prevent Identity Theft in 2013 Advice about online passwords and shopping online are shared by an expert in web design.
• How to Protect Your Online Security This blog post suggests that you avoid mobile banking and to be careful where you shop when you shop online.
• Tips to Prevent Identity Theft Steps to protect your information from dumpster divers is covered in this entry.
• Protecting Your New Smartphone Learn how to encrypt your data on your phone, as well as many other steps to protect yourself.

At Work
While your employer likely has their own security measures in place, you still need to make sure that you are keeping your personal information safe from hackers or other co-workers. When you go to a meeting make sure that your desk and computer are locked. Don’t get your personal e-mail on your work computer, as that information can stay in that computer, even if you delete it. To learn more important safeguards, read these six blog articles.

• Tips to Avoid Identity Theft at Work The use of shredders and protected software are discussed in this blog post.
• Workplace Information Protection An extensive article about security measures that can and must be taken at the workplace.
• Identity Theft in the Workplace Sensitive information about employees is kept at the workplace, and many times thieves will have inside help at accessing that information.
• Preventing Identity Theft in the Workplace This post is full of tips regarding avoiding personal e-mail on your work computer, as well as many other ideas for keeping your information safe.
• Identity Theft in the Workplace: Protect Sensitive Customer Information Methods of collecting sensitive data are discussed in this post.
• Protect Yourself from Workplace Identity Theft Learn how to keep your information safe while you are at work by creating unique passwords and locking your computer when you are away from your desk.

Out and About
If you pay for your gas and other snacks with a credit card that you can tap and go, you may want to stop using it. While it’s a convenient way to pay for things, it’s also an easy way for a thief to pick up the credit card number at the same time. When you are out for dinner and you pay the bill by sending your credit card with the waiter, you may want to keep an eye on him. Specialized equipment designed to steal credit card numbers in a hurry have been found in various restaurants. Check out these six blog articles and learn more about identity theft scams going on today and how to avoid becoming a victim.

• Prevent Identity Theft When Using a Public Computer Tips about deleting your browser history and clearing any sensitive information when you are done are covered in this blog entry.
• Shredding will Help Prevent Identity Theft Be careful not to throw away any piece of mail or paperwork that may have sensitive information on it without shredding it.
• How to Avoid Identity Theft Keep your wallet safe and remember to avoid carrying your social security card in your wallet.
• How to Help Prevent Identity Theft—10 Easy Ways To keep your credit card safe at a restaurant make sure that you keep it visible at all times so that your credit card number is not stolen.
• Tips to Avoid Id Theft When Traveling Abroad Alert your credit card company that you will be traveling and make sure that you keep your electronics secured at all times.
• Identity Theft Scams and How to Avoid Them Many common scams and different techniques to stay safe are discussed on this blog post.

Source: Nanny Website

Sue Scheff: Give the Gift of Virtual 'Presence'

Many people are out shopping those sales or using the Internet to shop for them. Have you stopped to think about who you are? What does your online identity say about you?

Maybe you have been a victim of identity theft? Worse could be character theft! That is irreplaceable without a lot of time, energy and tech savvy. Which brings us to a recent column and a perfect holiday gift to yourself or others (especially those hard to buy for).

Recently Wall Street Journal columnist Elizabeth Bernstein wrote an excellent column on Internet revenge, 'The Dark Side of Webtribution' and I was flattered to be in her article. She shared how it is imperative that people realize the power of the Internet, including social networking.

What people and especially small businesses need to understand is your online presence is priceless - giving someone (or yourself) a gift of their own URL, Blog or website can be cost effective yet valuable beyond words.

*Help jump-start your potential college applicant/application.
*Out of work? Learn to promote your skills online.
*Professional or small business owner? Learn to own and manage your virtual image.

Let's learn how to begin to create this gift of virtual holiday presence. Click here for tips and ideas.

Click here for part 2. Offers great tips and ideas for giving a virtual gift of pressence.

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