** THIS IS NOT AN OFFICIAL FAIRFAX COUNTY WEB SITE **  

INTERNET & COMPUTER SECURITY
 and ID THEFT CLASS SUPPORT PAGE
Instructor: Bob Brubaker

Identity Theft - !!One of the fastest-growing crimes in America!!

EVERYDAY GOOD PRACTICES  

Avoid giving out account numbers to unsolicited callers or orally where others may be listening and use Secure Credit Card Numbers

Shred - Destroy pre-approved credit card offers, bank or brokerage statements, old pay stubs and tax records, credit card receipts, utility bills (which could be used to obtain a credit report), personal correspondence (which could be used to corroborate my identity), cancelled checks, expired credit cards

Know billing cycle - credit cards, utilities, bank and brokerage account statements

Don’t put outgoing mail in home mailbox

Place postcards with sensitive information in envelopes

Blank out bank & credit card & account number on receipts for expense reimbursement

Don’t put driver license or SSN’s on checks

Avoid Internet "profiles" (rebates, contests, online resume) -use incorrect data if necessary

Protect your CHECKING ACCOUNT!

Disable overdraft protection
Use Bill Pay

REVIEW CREDIT REPORTS

• One Stop Starting Point
• Sample Summary

FTC's DETER DETECT DEFEND WEBSITE

ONLINE THREAT AND GOOD PRACTICES 

ONE TIME USE CREDIT CARDS   Example Card  PDF

• DiscoverCard - Secure Online Account Numbers

• CitiCard - Virtual Account Numbers

• ShopSafe - Used by many Banks 

• American Express "disposable transaction number" "private payment"

DiscoverCard view on protecting your computer, your ID and your account

ADDITIONAL THREATS 

SKIMMING - Replacement POS scanning devices - Credit vs Debit Card

Use disposable email address’s - ISP or free services ex mail.yahoo.com

Set up a disposable Phone numbers - Innoport.com or Local Phone Company 

Encrypt sensitive computer files - use innocuous file and folder names or drop vowels from file & folder names (Helps with the grand-kids) 

Use long passwords that would fail a spell check and are mixed with upper case and numbers. Use different passwords for truly sensitive data vs. that used on un-trusted Internet sites

BROWSER SECURITY

ENCRYPT DOCUMENTS PDF Example 

DROP VOWELS FROM FILE & FOLDER NAMES