McCoy in the News

Michael McCoy, co-author of The Silent Crime: What You Need to Know About Identity Theft is now in Orlando, Florida for an industry conference and for several presentation's on identity theft.  Below is a link that will give you all the details to Michael McCoy's upcoming and recent interviews on Florida radio and tv.

http://www.pplmediaroom.com

Use the Michael McCoy calendar link to keep up to date on McCoy's travel schedule. Thanks and hope to see you in a town near you. 

To request Michael McCoy to speak in your area send a email to insurancenow@hotmail.com

Thanks.

Michael McCoy

Customize Your ID Theft Service

"Customize Your ID Theft Service"

 

Over the years, dozens, if not hundreds, of so-called "identity theft protection services" have been developed, with only a handful having any real substance.  Many of these companies have either gone bankrupt or have changed their names and re-presented themselves like how ID Rehab changed into ID Watch Dog.  What if, instead of marketers just reinventing the same wheel, YOU could customize your own identity theft protection service??  What would you like to see included?  Here's your chance!

 

I want to hear from you, the consumer -- what types of features are important to you in an "identity theft protection service?"  Send all your suggestions to insurancenow@hotmail.com and be sure to mention what product or service you may already have. 

 

It is time to get serious and build the product that will best serve you, the consumer.  Our research at Iowa State University is taking a REAL look at what is fluff or perception only and what is real substance.

 

Remember the old adage, "you can't complain if you didn't participate."  This is a chance to customize the response to identity theft in a way that will truly meet the needs of the end user and not just the design team of the developer.

Sound Off!!

email me @: insurancenow@hotmail.com

Is Your iPhone Tracking You?

by: Dr. Steffen Schmidt

As if life were not insecure enough, every day there are new claims that our security and privacy are at risk. The following was posted just hours ago and raises some interesting privacy issues with iphone use. Of course, we have indicated in previous posts (and in our first book “Who is You”) that wireless phones and computing is not secure at all unless encrypted.

“As I sit here applying a new layer of Reynolds tin foil to my international hat of conspiracy, its been proven that Apple tracks iPhone usage and tracks IEMI numbers of all their iPhones worldwide. Hidden in the code of the “Stocks” and “Weather” widgets is a string that sends the IMEI of your phone to a specialized URL that Apple collects.

When the widgets perform a query an IMEI is handed off to Apple’s servers:

dgw?imei=%@&apptype=finance

This let[s] Apple knows which app you are using when connecting with your iPhone. Obviously, they know the IP address you were using, the stocks companies you are interested [in], and so they can track down their customers all around the world. This also proves that there are probably other apps that do the same. Weather.app is also acting the same way. (Offset 13AE0)

Any attempts to modify the URL to exclude the IMEI information will not allow you to retrieve any information in the “Stocks” and “Weather” apps. It is still unknown if any other applications leak information to Apple HQ.

And did you know you actually consented to this gross invasion of privacy?

When you interact with Apple, we may collect personal information relevant to the situation, such as your name, mailing address, phone number, email address, and contact preferences; your credit card information and information about the Apple products you own, such as their serial numbers and date of purchase; and information relating to a support or service issue.

Obviously “Weather” is kinda benign, but Apple knowing your Stock habits, isn’t that a little personal? What’s next, they read your email too? Now who thinks I’m crazy?”

This is posted on the following web site and while we cannot verify the accuracy we will be more careful using our iPhone until this is cleared up.

http://uneasysilence.com/archive/2007/11/12686/
The reality of life in the early 21st century is that we should suspect that most of what we do is being monitored, tracked, scrutinized, and recorded. Hopefully the privacy intruder is relatively benign such as we assume that Apple and iphone folks are,. Unfortunately often it is malignant and dangerous to our personal health, safety and financial protection.

Only If You Must

I can not remember a seminar or lecture that I have given when I have not been asked, “What should I do when someone asks me for my Social Security number?”

I always answer, “Give it out only if you must.”

Each person must make a decision whether to give out there SS# or not, but remember each business asking for it can decide whether or not to do business with you. So you must decide, does the benefit of giving out your SS# outweigh the risk? You need to ask yourself, “DO YOU FEEL LUCKY”. (Clint Eastwood)

The Social Security Administration states:
“Your Social Security number and our records are confidential. We do not give your number to anyone, except when authorized by law. You should be careful about sharing your number with anyone who asks for it (even when you are provided with the benefit or service). (SSA Publication No. 05-10064)