Writing Solutions

Tis the season to be . . . careful

By Gail Paparian
For the Record Gazette

It's hard to tell when the advertising world got so out of whack. I have vowed to boycott stores that begin advertising Christmas merchandise on July 5th! Even the most loyal fan could not take five months of hearing Jingle Bells. Think of the poor store employees.

Along with holiday fare and good wishes to man (and woman) comes a whole set of scams we need to watch out for. The holidays seem to bring out the best and the worst in people. For my handy dandy tips, you can start reading the circulars that come in your bank statements (if you still get hard copies). These inserts are geared to remind you about identity theft (it's actually called identify fraud) and how to avoid it.

In 2003, approximately 10 million people in the United States found they had been victims of identify theft. The numbers are increasing yearly. The variety and sophistication of scams have been perpetuated since the wide use of Internet began in earnest over a decade ago.

AVOID THE OBVIOUS! Never give your social security number online, or on land unless you know where it is going. Sometimes giving your social security number is unavoidable, but consider the circumstances. You would give your SSN online to a bank over a secure connection versus purchasing sports tickets from a complete stranger!

Your bank, financial institution, credit card company will never ask for your password in an email. If you receive communiqués from your bank, go to the bank's website and log on in your usual manner; entering your password and whatever security codes they require.

Hopefully by now, you have all heard about “phishing”. This is a website designed to mirror the site you are actually going toŠ More often than not, if you click a link in an email message, you might be taken to a site that resembles the one you are accustomed to but don't be fooled. If you input your user ID and password, you could be on your way to compromising your identity. As I said, go to the site first, and then log in independently.

I have been shopping online since the early 1990s. It was a bit more complicated then and has gotten much easier and much more secure as more people trust the medium and spend billions of dollars annually for the convenience of ordering online.

Over the years, people have continued to ask me why I shop online as much as I do and aren't I afraid of security breaches? I like the comfort of shopping at home; particularly for gifts that need to be shipped and no, I am comfortable with the security.

As I mention to many people who view this with skepticism, when I am about to charge something, or check my banking online, I check two places on the web page: 1) there will be a little lock icon, usually in the lower right hand corner and 2) the “http” in the web address at the top left of your browser with change to “https”. The “s” stands for secure.

Now I feel much better about this kind of security than handing my credit card to a minimum wage person in a restaurant, or giving the number to a person on the phone when ordering from a catalog. When the person at the other end of the phone says, “let me repeat that” - I visualize someone else sitting there, copying the numbers and encrypting my credit card number into a new piece of plastic.

Okay, we all exhibit our paranoia in a plethora of ways! Again, it's not what you expect; it's what you inspect. Being careful can save you a ton of time and money in the end. It is estimated that 160 hours can be spent to try to undue identify theft and there is no guarantee that you will be totally successful.

On a less dangerous note, do you grow weary of the endless number of emails you receive? Forget the spam, if you can. Many of the emails I receive arrive from well meaning people. Yet not all of them check the validity of the content. I will admit to succumbing to this too!

A few examples: “Bill Gates will donate $1,000 ifŠ” “Cell phone numbers given to telemarketers willŠ.” These claims can seem credibleŠ why else would people pass them along? The fact is, these two statements are false, as are many of the emails perpetuated by innocent people trying to share good news or good fortune with friends.

The fact is, before you take these claims as gospel and make a fool of yourself and/or spend hours writing to the same people you just sent the email to with a “mea culpa” - do yourself and everyone on your email list a favor: Visit www.snopes.com (“Rumor has it”).

This site goes a long way to debunk urban legends or myths than any I have found. Periodically, I'll get an email that sounds soooo real and I will forget to verify it at snopes.com. Invariably, I will receive an email, usually from my very smart stepson with cryptic words like: “Gail, you didn't verify at snopes.com. Shame on you.”

There's just so much shame I can handle in my life. Now I check everything before I pass it along. On the rare occasions when these message warn of an impending virus or damaging Trojan horse and they are verified as true, I do pass the message along to people I care about.

If you have some tips to save folks problems and lower the level of angst, please send me an email and I will mention them in a future column. Email: gail@WritingSolutions.com.

IN THE REAL WORD is written for the Record Gazette by Gail Paparian, a Banning resident for nearly six years, has served on Banning (and Riverside County) commissions and committees. She currently serves on these boards: Community Blood Bank, San Gorgonio Pass Rotary, San Gorgonio Pass Boys and Girls Club and a member of the Banning Economic Development Committee.

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