What are some simple ways to protect your Identity?

In some ways it is obvious, Identity theft is more likely to occur if you make it easy for someone to take and use your identity information.

Here are a few things you can do to help prevent that happening.

1. If you are asked for your Identity information, ask why they are asking for it and what they will do with it.

2. Keep documents that are used to establish your identity (e.g. Birth Certificates or Passports) in a very safe place. Ideally in a physical safe if you have one.

3. Do not write down PIN Numbers or passwords. If you cannot remember them all then make use of software like myINFOSAFE to store then and keep them safe but accessible.

4. Identity crime does not always result from information that is stolen, but from information that you publish on the internet. It is best not to publish information like your birth date on the internet. Often organisations will user date of birth as one of the verification questions when identifying you and if people can find this out they can easily impersonate you).

5. Be suspicious of any unexpected events (Letters from Creditors, bank transactions you cannot remember making) that could be a result of identity crime.

6. If you have sensitive information on your mobile phone, keep it password protected. It can be inconvenient we know but there is often a significant amount of information on phones that help people steal your identity.

7. Remove all personal information from personal computers before you dispose of them.

8. Make sure you properly dispose (shred or burn) of bank statements, electricity bills, and any piece of correspondence with your name or address on it. These documents should never be put in public recycling bins. Consider getting your statements provided online - it is good for you and the environment as well.

9. Passwords are often sent to you via email when you sign up for new services. Go to your email and search all folders, including your deleted items, for the word “Password”. Check all the emails that are returned and make sure you transfer all the information into myINFOSAFE, or a similar digital safe, to ensure no one with access to your PC could find your passwords.

10. If you believe you are the victim of identity crime, contact the police.

We will be publishing a free guide to preventing Identity theft on our website soon. If you have any other ideas or thoughts that we should include then please let us know.

Would your loved ones have the information they need if something was to happen to you?

One of the main reasons customers tell us they value myINFOSAFE, is that they know that if something was to happen to them, then their loved ones would be able to access all the information they need, in one secure place. This could be just when you are away from home on business or visiting friends, or could be in the event of a major illness or accident, or in the worst case, when someone passes away.

Just think about the scenario; would they know what insurance cover there is in place, would they know where your Will and other important documents are; do they know the details of your past health. and that of other family members; could they log onto banking websites so they can know what money is available and what bills need to be paid regularly; would they know what investments there and when they mature etc.

We have been researching Wills and estate management situations recently, and not only can it be a stressful and emotional time in dealing with the grief over the loss of a loved one, but it is often an expensive and time consuming process as well. It is clear to us that the process of administering an estate is completed much easier, and significantly less expensively, if relevant up to date information is available.

We encourage our customers to make sure someone you trust knows how to access myINFOSAFE in times of need. This can either be letting someone know where to find the password if needed, or by providing them a copy of myINFOSAFE with your information on a USB stick so that they can access in an emergency. You could even print out the relevant pages from myINFOSAFE and provide it to someone to keep in a safe place for when it is needed.

So take this as a reminder for you to go and check if you have all your personal information up to-date and that some one knows how to access it. It is surprising how key information can change overtime. You will also gain benefit from being able to access the information yourself when you need it.

Is your Personal Information Worth Anything?

A recent World Economic Forum (WEF) report titled Personal Data: The Emergence of a New Asset Class proposes that your personal information is very valuable. In fact it quotes Meglea Kuneva, the European Consumer Commissioner as saying “Personal data is the new oil of the internet and the new currency of the digital world”.

Clearly Google and Facebook understand this as they make their money of the personal information you enter into their services. They analyse and mine this information and gain the vast majority of their revenue from helping advertisers match their messages to people interested in their products and services. In turn these revenues are driving the high valuations of these companies and making their shareholders rich from your information.

People are starting to realise not only the value that is being derived from their information, but the issues with privacy related to their information being on the internet. One of the reactions we have seen as a result, is a significant number of people deciding to stop using social media sites like Facebook (In the USA alone 6 Million Facebook users cancelled their accounts in May this year).

So if our information is an asset how do we get value from it? There is no silver bullet here and this will take a lot of thinking from individuals, governments and private companies to find the right mix of controls and incentives to find a new balance.

The WEF report proposes a vision of the future as follows:
• Individuals can have greater control over their personal data, digital identity and online privacy, and they would be better compensated for providing others with access to their personal data.
• Disparate silos of personal data held in corporations and government agencies will be more easily exchanged to increase utility and trust among people, private firms and the public sector.
• Governments need to maintain stability, security and individual rights will meet in a more flexible, holistic and adaptive manner.

What is clear to me is that there needs to be change from how things work today and there will be solutions that emerge in the market that will contribute to the new models going forward. Clearly the Personal Data Ecosystem Consortium (PDEC), of which I am part of, will be one pare of the solution.

For those interested in this area click here to visit the PDEC Website. The WEF report can be downloaded from the "About" page on this website.