"I have Control Over Your Cell Phone"

Read this and be afraid.

Imagine someone watching your every move, hearing everything you say and knowing where you are at every moment. If you have a cell phone, it could happen to you. 13 Investigates explains how your cell phone can be secretly hijacked and used against you - and how to protect yourself.

After four months of harassing phone calls, Courtney Kuykendall was afraid to answer her cell phone.

The Tacoma, Washington, teenager was receiving graphic, violent threats at all hours.

And when she and her family changed their cell phone numbers and got new phones, the calls continued.

Using deep scratchy voices, anonymous stalkers literally took control of the Kuykendall's cell phones, repeatedly threatened Courtney with murder and rape, and began following the family's every move.

This is a frightening situation but for us it raises the greater and ominous problem of how the techniques used to terrify this woman might be used to monitor your cell phone activity and steal your valuable personal information. Here is why we are concerned.

Spyware marketers claim you can tap into someone's calls, read their text messages and track their movements "anywhere, anytime." They say you can "catch a cheating spouse", protect your children from an evil babysitter and "hear what your boss is saying about you." And while you're spying on others, the Spyware companies say "no one will ever know" because it's supposed to be "completely invisible" with "absolutely no trace."

Security experts say it's no internet hoax.

So, be careful and report any suspicious behavior to the authorities.

The Item for today is "Another Way to Lose Your Identity."

Well, as you'd expect, the bad guys have found another way to launch an attack against us.

PORTLAND, Ore. - Users of the popular social Web site Facebook are being warned that a computer virus is being spread through a well-disguised e-mail masquerading as a video from a friend.

The site boasts over 60 million registered users, including many employees at KATU.

Reporter Dan Tilkin recently registered on the site on the advice of friends and co-workers and received what he thought was a friendly e-mail from a former producer.

A link in the e-mail led him to a Web site that appeared to play a video and prompted him to update his computer's software to see the video.

However, the download was a virus instead.

It's not clear exactly what the virus does, but it should be assumed the purpose is malicious. A computer virus is also commonly referred to as "malware," which is short for "malicious software."

Many viruses scour a computer for personal information including banking and credit card information and then send it out of the country where hackers use it steal funds from the victim.

A virus can also turn a computer into a "zombie" and help to spread the virus to other computers or launch Denial of Service attacks on Web sites without the owner realizing what is taking place.

Computer experts warn users never to download any file with an ".exe" prefix sent from anyone, even if they are a friend, and to carefully monitor what page your browser lands on.

http://www.komonews.com/news/tech/27449439.html

Welcome to Campus! Give me Your Identity!

It's college time kids!

Now we need to prep ypu for all the perps out there who will find you easy pickin' for stealing your credit card or more. The statistics on growing ID theft cases at colleges are frightening and we need to more quickly to change your behavior and teach you to be "Identity Theft Aware."

We have been working on an ID theft "condom" to make sure you practice "safe computing."

After all, the college health serives (in spite of Rush Limbaugh) may be handing out actual condoms so you have "safe sex" so we want to make sure that you also protect your identity information from "viruses" just like you do against STD's.

Unfortunately we have had a hard time making the ID condom big enough to cover your laptop so instead we are developing a short, one hour, on-line "Safe Identity behavior" workshop for you kids.

We want to encourage every college and university in the USA to include a short 10 minute presentation on Safe Identity Behavior right after the talk about safe sex during incoming or freshman orientation. Then they should send you to the web site so you can take the short seminar.

Also, don't get trashed and let someone steal your wallet, purse, bag or backpack and all that personal info you keep in there. A drunk is the best target for old fashioned "analog"ID theft!

Have fun ! Be safe!

As soon as it comes out I'll be posting a link to an article on this that will be published in a college-oriented publication soon.

Seasons Greetings

At the start of the holiday season this year my friend Moses Whiffington of Boston, Mass went to fill his car with gas and his credit card was refused. His wife Wilhelmina was turned down at Walgreens Pharmacy an hour later and could not buy Robitussin for little Benjamin – “Sorry, mam, your credit card has been frozen”. The credit card company said they were over their limit in the last hour because of the $6 K charges they had made in Boston at Bonwitt Teller. Moses was at home filling his snowplow with gas when those charges were made. The Whiffingtons had not mail ordered six gold Christmas gift bracelets to be sent by currier to an address only 2 blocks from the store.

The next day they got the notification from the famous MM Kean Outdoor Wear Catalog Company in Pawamatuxet, Maine that, as per application, a business account had been activated and the first shipment of Wully Pully cashmere sweaters in the amount of $12,000 had been shipped, as per instructions, to Whiffington Outlet Bazaar in Amarillo, Texas. And, MM Kean proudly announced “We are pleased to tell you that you’ve been authorized for the Platinum Credit Line of up to $60k. Congratulations and Happy Holidays!”

Moses and Willy are typical of millions of Americans whose credit information is stolen by cyber crooks. Then the long, frustrating, and angry process of trying to recover credit ratings and their good name begins. What a way to spend Christmas!

Moses was innocent and had mostly ignored news stories and reports about ID Theft. His company, Vizagnez Pharmaceutical Packaging had never run an employee training program on Identity Security and Moses who is VP of Marketing had never had alarm bells go off when customers complained that after doing business with Viz (as the company is known) they suddenly had unauthorized charges in the tens of thousands on their company accounts. Little did Moses know that the marketing web site had been hacked, spyware installed, and vital, confidential information leaked out on customers accounts.

Moses called me on my cell and I authorized a download of our book on ID Theft as my Christmas present to him and his family. He followed the check-list of ten steps and is now spending New Years applying for new and more secure credit cards. He also has ordered a complete security review of all customer data. My associate and I are flying out to Boston to do a one-day training seminar for all employees at Viz Packaging. This seminar will be archived and available for all new Viz employees who are required to take it and pass the certification testing of our ID Secure CompanyÔ training program.

Meanwhile, preoccupied with cutting the size of the federal government and “getting government off your back”, the Congress and the Executive Branch have still not stepped up fully and robustly to enact much tougher and proactive identity theft legislation.

Last week Moses got a package from DHL Delivery Services that his corporate account for package delivery and small business credit had been approved. He expects to get approved for many more unsolicited business accounts and the charges that come with those as the thieves continue their spending spree.
Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and we hope that your New Year 2008 is free of these hassles.