Fortunately, utilities like CCleaner and Glary Utilities as well as Firefox add-ons and Chrome extensions fill the need to completely clear your private data from browser cache, flash cookies, and so on.

What we need now is a way to manually and selectively protect certain cookies from cleaning.

A lot of banks and financial institutions are requiring users to take an extra step when accessing their account information from a new computer that has never accessed the site before. For example, Chase Bank, which handles the Amazon Rewards Visa Card, requires users to get an authentication code via text message or email to one of the numbers or addresses on record with the account in order to log in from a new computer.

Bank Login Register Computer First

Online banking customers at ING have to answer one or more of their extra security questions in order to access their high-interest online savings account or online checking account.

This extra layer of security helps prevent hackers from gaining access to your account even if they have your username and password. That makes this extra security precaution a welcome addition for most users.

However, neither banking customers nor credit card companies are interested in making it harder to manage your finances online. After successfully completing the extra security checks, users can "register" the computer that they are using so that they do not have to go through the additional security levels the next time they access the website. This registration occurs by the website placing a cookie on the computer that is used to validate the machine during future login attempts.

Unfortunately, these cookies, like all others, are wiped clean by the best privacy tools resulting in the user having to go through the whole process again.

There are ways around the issue. Everything from creating a separate profile or using a different browser to access financial data can work, but they represent an unnecessary extra step when all you want to do is check your checking balance to ensure that you don’t end up with any high overdraft protection fees from your debit card.

A better solution would be for developers to incorporate a vault or protect option in their products whereby a user could manually protect specific cookies through the program interface. To protect abuse, cookies should not be allowed to be added programmatically, or via API, or clicking on a web-based button or JavaScript.

The first solid privacy utility available with a cookie protection feature will be my new top choice for protecting private data online.

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Online Banking Security Internet Privacy originally published at Finance Gourmet

Amazon Makes Online Shopping OK

Not long ago, online shopping was the exclusive providence of very specific people, typically techies, and ultra-bargain shoppers who linked together in electronic discount finding groups reminiscent of the old coupon clubs. A few appearances on Oprah by folks like "Coupon Mom" helped drive online shopping and deal finding to the forefront of the American consciousness. But, what finally pushed online shopping over the edge from the wary, angst filled, activity it used to be to a common shopping method used by teenagers, little old ladies, and the technological inept alike was the legitimizing factor of Amazon.com.

When Amazon burst onto the scene a decade ago, it was a revolutionary idea. Selling books online meant that not only could Amazon offer deep discounts on books, but it could also stock many more titles than local booksellers could on their shelves. Even the big national chains like Barnes & Noble and Borders couldn’t compete with how many books Amazon sold. The offer to order a book for you began to pale by comparison. Instead of waiting for the bookstore’s regular shipment of books to include the book title you were looking for, you could order the same book from Amazon and have it delivered directly to your house right away.

For a while, books, were one of the things that was OK to purchase online. There were many things that made them safe. First, any book Amazon.com sells is exactly the same as the books on the shelves at Barnes and Noble. In other words, there is no concern about quality or some sort of bait and switch scam. Secondly, shipping costs were relatively low. The savings offered on the price of the book was larger than the cost of sending it in the mail, which meant a good deal, was still a good deal even with shipping. This was no small factor as online pet supply websites found out when it turned out no one was interested in buy 50 lb. bags of dog food online due to the ridiculous shipping costs. Finally, Amazon had good customer service. Products could be returned, and exchanged, and over time, the company became a household name, erasing the fear of giving out your credit card number online.

Once Amazon started selling products beyond books, the barriers were officially broken, and online shopping was a common thing among all groups of people.

Not All Shopping Websites Are Like Amazon

Unfortunately, this familiarization with online shopping via a retailer like Amazon has made many Americans let their guard down when it comes to buying online. It is important to remember that not all merchants are Amazon.com. In fact, precious few are. That means that you need to find out all the facts about who you are buying from FIRST before placing an order, no matter how great of deal it is.

Top Things To Know About Online Shopping Websites

1. Return Policy – Not just that they accept returns, but the details as well. Who pays for shipping? How long is the return period? If it is also a brick and mortar store, can you return items to the store? Is there a restocking fee? Most importantly, under what conditions can something be returned? Many sites allow returns, but only for defective items. That means if you don’t like it, or it isn’t what you thought it would be, then that is just too bad.
2. Shipping and Handling Charges – Even on Amazon.com you have to be careful of this one. Amazon lets anyone sell on their website. Unfortunately, it sorts prices based on the cost without shipping. That means that the vendor who sells for $9.99 plus $8.95 shipping is listed as cheaper than the vendor who sells for $12.99 plus $2.99 shipping.
3. Is It Really Amazon – Speaking of Amazon. The website doesn’t always make it easy to tell if you are buying a product from Amazon, or from some third-party using Amazon as a store front. It matters because they have very different return policies and shipping time frames.
4. Who Is It?  – Amazon isn’t the only website that makes it harder to see who you are actually doing business with. Don’t check out the main website to see if they are legitimate, check out the actual seller. There is a big difference between how legitimate eBay.com is and how legitimate one of its storefront sellers is.
5. Privacy Policy – Will your name and address be sold on lists as a sucker who buys stuff online from unknown websites? You can never know for sure, but make sure you check the privacy policy to ensure that the vendor at least cares enough about their customers to make it look like they care.

Lastly, never forget that identity theft and credit card numbers are tasty targets for scammers. Protect them as much as you can by not signing up or registering for websites with your real name and address until you are actually ready to make a purchase. Whenever possible, use a temporary credit card number for all online transactions to avoid nasty surprises later.

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1. Free TurboTax Software Online – Deals on Tax Programs
2. Top Deals Websites to Save Money Shopping

Online Bargains Aren't Always Great Deals Check The Details First originally published at Finance Gourmet

Shred Records Files and Documents to Protect Against Identity Theft

One of the easier methods how to steal someone’s identity is to obtain documents or other papers that have personal information printed on them. Everything from old tax returns, to receipts, to old contracts, or even a utility bill can be a wealth of information for an identity thief. Easier still is to do identity theft while getting a fraudulent credit card at the same time. This is frighteningly easy thanks to banks and credit card companies sending out hundreds of thousands of credit card offers, complete with pre-filled information like your name and address.

While neither your nor the identity thief would be able to interpret it, the various letter and  number combinations printed on the credit card application or special zero percent interest balance transfer offer can also direct the credit card company to approve your credit application right away. These numbers tell the bank that your name has already been approved based upon either having pulled a credit report already, or because of the list your name came from.

The credit reporting companies don’t actually make much money by charging people to look at their own credit reports, or even from the fees they charge lenders to get your credit report, although they are only too happy to collect those fees too. Instead they earn huge amounts of money by selling your information to banks and credit card companies in the form of mailing lists. These lists can be selected by the card issuer to include people living in a certain area, with a household income over a certain amount, and with a credit score over 725. If your name comes off of that mailing list, a pre-approval code is almost certainly sitting on that free cash back credit card offer you got in the mail.

Of course, the biggest gold mine for identity thieves are those "courtesy checks" that credit card companies send by the millions through the mail. Whether it is a zero percent interest balance transfer offer, or just a "friendly reminder" that you can use your cash advance credit line really easily, these checks offer a bonanza for identity theft.

Writing a nice big fraudulent check for merchandise, or even for cash is a nice bonus, but that’s not all. Your name and address are on the checks, of course, and not just any name, but your name as it appears on your credit card. Since most people use the same format (with or without middle initial, with or without full names, etc..) on multiple accounts, that info is very nice to have. But, the best part of all is that these check don’t have the security features of real bank checking account checks. And, since they come from the credit card company on paper printed on a laser printer with paper tearing perforations between each check, they are really easy to print up on a printer so that the thief can write even more bad checks courtesy of your credit card account.

What can you do to stop identity theft from occurring in this manner?

The answer is to shred your mail, records, and files that have personally identifiable information. For many people, this ends up being a tedious and overly time consuming task. That means the new paper shredder they bought to stop identity theft gets used for a while, then instead, a "to be shredded" stack gets created, and finally, people have so much to shred that they don’t even bother.

To avoid shredding burnout, follow these tips for smart identity theft protection with a document shredder.

Best Tips For Shredding Papers to Stop Identity Theft

1. Don’t Buy the Cheapest Paper Shredder – The cheapo shredders at most department stores and some office supply stores will only add to the shredding problem. These paper shredders overhead quickly, so you can’t shred very much at a time. Their blades and cutting mechanisms jam a lot and they get dull fast. In short, you’ll have to buy a new one very soon. It can be hard to tell which paper shredders are the junk ones. The best bet is to use the warranty information. Don’t buy any shredder that only has a one-year warranty or less. Also, make sure the warranty covers the WHOLE SHREDDER, not just part of it.
2. Don’t Buy the Expensive Paper Shredder – You don’t need the top-of-the-line shredder either unless you generate a lot of documents for a business or you handle other people’s personal information. No one is going to put the effort into putting back together your shredded documents, so it doesn’t matter if your shredder does diamond cut or strip cut. Also, you don’t need one to shred CDs or credit cards. Instead, buy a good shredder that can shred more sheets at a time. Buy the shredder that can do the most pages per pass instead of one that does less pages but has extras like a credit card shredder or CD shredder. Get a shredder that can handle at least 8 pages at a time and that has both an OFF and REVERSE setting. Shredders without either are cutting corners.
3. Don’t Shred Everything – There is no need to shred everything, only the papers that have your personal information on them, or are part of an application. When you get junk mail, tear it open. You don’t have to be careful, it doesn’t matter if anything rips. Just do it fast. Throw the outer envelope, the return envelope, and any generic advertising materials (usually the color glossy pages) directly in the recycle bin. Shred anything that has your name or address on it, and anything that is a check or application, as well as anything that has a spot for your signature. Watch for fine print on the back of the papers as a way of detecting things that need shredded.

If you want to have less credit card junk mail show up in the first place, have your name removed from the credit bureau mailing lists that get sold to junk mail marketers by calling 1-888-5-OPTOUT. Remember that this removes your name only for your current address. Opt out again whenever you get a new MAILING address, including a PO Box!

It will take about six-months for you to see an actual reduction in the amount of credit report related mail you get. That is because the marketing companies put together their campaigns in advance and your name will still be on the list they got three months ago that they are using to prepare a mailing for next month. So, stay vigilant with your junk mail shredding until then.

Obviously, shredding your files, mailings, and documents won’t prevent all identity theft,
but it can greatly reduce your chances of getting hit.

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Preventing Identity Theft – Paper Shredder Files and Documents originally published at Finance Gourmet

However, the same publicity also made it easier for scammers and dishonest marketers to take advantage of people’s hopes by pretending to have something to do with the government programs when, in fact, they are either outright scams to steal your money or steal your identity, or they are mortgage brokers or mortgage companies that have nothing to do with the government mortgage aid programs trying to insinuate that they are part of those programs.  Unfortunately, many people are falling victim to these con artists and their tricks.

How To Protect Yourself From Scams, Thieves, and Con Artists Using Government Mortgage Aid Lies

First, understand the facts about how people take advantage of these government mortgage aid programs. There ARE NO EMAILS of any kind being sent to homeowners by any government agency or banking institution associated with the programs.  None, zero, zip, nadda.  Any email that you get of any kind, from anyone, no matter how official sounding or looking is a scam.  Delete it immediately.

Second, there are no checks being issued to homeowners.  Some mailings include checks that ask you to call a toll-free number for some official sounding reason.  When you do, they will ask you to deposit the check, but wire some money to another account for some reason.  This is a scam.  The check will bounce and your wire transfer money will disappear.  NO CHECKS ARE BEING SENT TO HOMEOWNERS by the government or banks.  Any and all help you might be eligible for will come in the form of a refinanced loan or a load modification.  Either way, there is no check involved.

Third, is junk mail designed to look like it has something to do with the government’s mortgage aid programs, but carefully worded to actually just mislead you into thinking this without actually saying it.  These come from banks and mortgage brokers and mortgage companies.  They are nothing more than junk mail hoping to get you to refinance with them, most likely at a higher interest rate and with higher closing costs than you could get elsewhere.  There is no proactive attempt of any kind going on to contact homeowners in this way.  Anything that is sent via 3rd class mail, or bulk mail of any kind is clearly not from the government or banks.  It is junk mail, throw it away (actually, shred it).  Even mail sent first class is most likely fake junk mail.

Use these guidelines to see if the offer you have received MIGHT be legitimate.  You will still have to follow up with your mortgage company, but if any of these apply, don’t even bother, what you have gotten is phony.

• Only Mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are eligible.  If yours isn’t, there is no aid program for you.
• The official title of the Government Refinancing program is “The Home Affordable Refinance” program.  Scammers will carefully avoid using those exact words to avoid fraud liability.The overall program name (both loan modification and refinance) is “Making Home Affordable”, again, scammer will avoid the exact wording.   If those exact words are not used, then you are holding onto a scam.
• There is no charge, no fee, and no up front payment of any kind.  Anything asking you to send money is a scam.
• There is no need for you to send your personal information to anyone.  The government and the banks already have your name, address, and social security number.  There is no need to “verify” this information for any reason.  Anyone calling on the phone, or any mailing asking you to reveal your social security number for any reason including verifying your identity is a scam.

The best way to avoid scams is to look-up your lender’s phone number independently (do not use the number provided which obviously rings where the scammers want it to ring) and call them to ask if you qualify.

Remember, there are no government mailings, government phone calls, or government emails of any kind.  Anyone saying differently is a con artist, fraud, and liar.  Hang up, shred, or delete immediately and save your money and your identity.

Here is the latest OCC Tips for Avoiding Mortgage Modification Scams and Foreclosure Rescue Scams

Copyright 2009 – Exclusively Published at FinanceGourmet.com – ArcticLlama, LLC

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Government Mortgage Help Programs Scams and Deceptive Marketing and Mailings originally published at Finance Gourmet

Legally Required Annual Privacy Notice

Don’t remember seeing any of those?

That is no coincidence.  Jammed into the same envelope as your year end statement and/or certain tax forms will be a very plain looking piece of paper printed with dense black and white text.  Unlike the piles of glossy full-color materials you get in those envelopes year round, this one is designed to NOT be read.  The plain text and simple font will make you assume that it isn’t something that you care about, just more legal mubmo-jumbo from the bank.  And that, of course, is exactly what the companies are hoping for.

You see, tucked somewhere in that boring piece of “junk” that you throw in the recycle bin without a second thought are all the ways those companies collect private information about you, and what they do with it.  For some, it is exactly what you think it should be.  The bank has your name, address, and phone number because it has to communicate with you and they don’t share or sell that information with anyone else.  But, some of them would shock you.

There are plenty of banks, brokerages, and credit card companies whose privacy statement says that not only do they collect way more information about you than you might be comfortable with, but that they share that information with every other business unit, subsidiary, and parent company even remotely associated.  Even worse, many of them will flat out state that they routinely disclose that information to unrelated third-parties without your consent and without notifying you.

How can they get away with that?

You didn’t read yours did you?  Do you think anyone else read theirs?

Even if you do read it, opting out is not made easy.  For companies that bend over backwards for you to sign up for online statements and access, they seem surprisingly uninterested in you being able to go online to opt out of having every detail of your personal information being sold to anyone and everyone.  Instead, you’ll have to fill out a form in pen and paper and send it back to them.  Is there an envelope included?

You must be joking.  Just finding the right address can be a chore.

Still in this day and age of rampant identity theft and computer break-ins (and based on my mail an alarming number of lost and stolen corporate laptops), the fewer places that have your personal information the better. 

So, gather up your mail as it comes in and look for the words “Privacy Notice” or “Privacy Update” or something like that.  Put them all in a basket somewhere and then one day, sit down and go through them one at a time and opt out of every single one.  Don’t assume that a big brand name bank isn’t engaged in these kinds of tricks because they are just as much as that fly-by-night mortgage broker who sold you that negative amortization adjustable rate mortgage a few years ago.

Spread the word to your friends and family.  Maybe if enough people opted out and spoke of their outrage companies would change their behavior.  But that day is far in the future, because for now, most people just throw their privacy in the trash.

.

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Here Comes Your Annual Privacy Notice originally published at Finance Gourmet