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Becoming Invisible - Both Offline and On
Learn how to protect your assets, your identity, and your life by becoming "invisible" both in the on-line and off-line (real) worlds.
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Why Am I Bothering You With This Article?
I was a victim of identity theft, truly a living hell for me, and my goal is to keep it from happening to anyone else ever again.
For example, the police won't help you, in fact, they may even suspect you of being the perpetrator, and arrest you and put you in jail. Merchants who have checks bounce or credit card charges denied want their money and will often sue you and destroy your credit rating via the use of debt collection agencies. As for the criminals who did this to you... the sobering reality is, chances are, they'll never be caught. That's assuming, of course, that your case even has a chance of being investigated.
This hellish scenario can last months, even years. It's as if you're guilty until you prove yourself innocent. You must respond to every bill by faxing or sending certified mail that includes:
• a police report of your identity theft case (if you can get one),
• a copy of your driver's license and other identification,
• a copy of the bill sent to you by the merchant not paid,
• and a new sworn, separate affidavit for each bill notarized by your bank saying you were a victim of identity theft, and did not write the check, charge the credit card, etc.
You must do this for every bill that you find out about, while somebody is "out there" emptying your bank accounts living the good life, and having a good laugh at your expense. All the while, your bank charges you overdraft fees for bad checks, interest on credit card balances, etc. Somewhere along the line, you eventually have to pinch yourself to be reminded that you were the victim, after all.
The worse part, however, is the feeling of being violated. Knowing that "it's your problem", and that the thieves will most likely never be caught... It's hard to relate the absolute and naked feeling of vulnerability you feel for yourself and your entire family.
My story is relatively long, so I won't relate it here. Suffice it to say I had my bank accounts emptied, and it took me almost 2 years just to clean up the mess. It is just incredibly difficult for me to try to explain the mental and emotional violation you feel when this happens! If you want the details, just email me.
Strangely however, there is one side-effect of going through this nightmare that I would like to share. It converted me politically, from being a Republican, into becoming a Libertarian. In the past, I never really thought national politics mattered much in my life. All I can say here, is that the school of hard knocks has now fully educated me and completely dispelled my ignorance on this topic.
Why Should You Care?
It can happen to you. The scary part is, like in any other kind of ambush, you don't really have a clue how, by who, or from where it will happen to you. I really don't usually like quoting government statistics, but last year alone, according to the FTC, over 9 million citizens of the United States reported being victims of identity theft and fraud. Those were just the ones reported, many weren't, as I'm sure happens with many other types of crime. If you think it won't, or can't, happen to you... without taking the appropriate measures to protect yourself... well... wake up.
If you would like to see what other people, possibly just like you, went through, here's a great web site you can go to and get a really good sample of what is happening right now:
http://www.privacyrights.org/cases/victim.htm
What's In It For You?
Peace of mind. Security. Freedom.
All those things you may be taking for granted right now.
These are the rewards to you and your family when you become invisible to these malicious predators. Of course, lest I forget mentioning it, there is also the reward of knowing that your identity, bank accounts, and credit rating is safe from theft and fraud...
What Can You Do?
Is there a cure? Nope.
You can probably... eventually... straighten everything out and clean up the mess done to your bank accounts and credit rating. But if that's all you do, there is nothing stopping it from happening it all over again...
Prevention is your only protection.
This is something I had to learn the hard way. Becoming invisible is the only way to protect yourself from these predators. If they can't find you, they can't ambush you. More than likely they will simply move on to another victim since you've made it too much trouble for them to pursue you.
Offline Real World Protection...
I would love to tell you that I am an expert in this area. But I'm not. However, I can point you in the right direction. Go to Amazon (or other favorite online or offline bookstore), and look for the title:
"How to Be Invisible: A Step-By-Step Guide To Protecting Your Assets, Your Identity, And Your Life" by J.J. Luna; Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; ISBN: 0312252501
The first edition was published in July, 2000. But a new second edition is being rumored to be released this year (2004), taking into account all of the legal changes since the advent of the 9/11 catastrophe.
Luna, who spent 11 years running a secret operation in Franco's Spain, is a highly trained and experienced security consultant. In this book, he spends much of the early part relating some frightening details about stalkers and even mistaken identities. But eventually, he makes his case successfully that a few adjustments to an individual's personal information can make a "matter of life and death" difference in a person's personal security.
Luna's book is completely practical. Best of all, it is a fun and easy-to-read book. The early stories are good, but of course, the important part is the really useful information offered later that came across to me as completely honest advice. As you read the book, it becomes obvious that Luna is an expert, yet some of his advice's simplicity surprised me. For example, the key in a lot of situations is not giving out your social security number, drivers license number, or having your name attached to your real (physical) address. It never had previously occurred to me that when asked for the information, I wasn't necessarily legally bound to give it out. Wow... was I programmed!
In essence, Luna reveals the methods that private detectives use to uncover information, and then shows how to safeguard against them. For me, just learning how a private eye, computer hacker, ticked-off neighbor, or even a former "ex" can find out about and exploit your personal information made me want to learn and do all I can about becoming, and then staying, invisible in the "real" world.
Online Virtual World Protection...
Not too long ago, it was possible to become invisible in the "real", or offline, world and that was enough. Today, with the intrusion of computers and the Internet into the daily functioning of our lives, it is no longer enough.
Computers and the Internet make sharing information fast and easy. That includes your personal identity, bank accounts, financial data, surfing activities, account passwords, and even your shopping habits. It is bad enough someone can harm us when we inadvertently give away our social security number, drivers license number, physical address, etc.
But what would you do if you didn't do anything wrong, made no mistakes, only to find out your information was stolen from your PC while you were surfing the web?
Online theft and fraud is just as dangerous as it is in the offline real world. There is no after-the-fact cure. Only before-the-fact prevention. Once a hacker or spyware program steals your personal identity and information from your computer, it vanishes forever.
Fortunately for myself, I have been in the computer industry for over 25 years. I know how computers and the Internet work. I have been able to protect myself, and my family, while we use our computers when connected to the Internet. I don't want to call myself an "expert", but I do have a lot of experience in this area.
Something you may not realize, is that when in the online "virtual world", the computer you are using while attached to the Internet, may become your worst enemy, or more accurately, biggest traitor.
To protect yourself, and your family, from your own computer... I recommend performing the following four steps:
1. Learn to surf the Web, and send email anonymously. In effect, becoming invisible and untraceable on the Internet. This requires an online anonymous web service.
2. Protect your computer from unauthorized connections and intrusion by other computers and hackers out on the Internet. This requires a good firewall.
3. Rid and scan your computer continuously for spying software infestations. This requires a real-time anti-spyware scanner... don't confuse this with anti-virus scanners, as today they are almost useless (except as profit generators for their makers) since most viruses are detected and stopped by firewall software and/or anti-spyware software anyway.
4. Remove all "sensitive" personal identification and financial information from your PC's hard drive after each use. This can be automated.
All four steps require investment in either software or an online service. This is because Microsoft is no friend to your privacy and security. What came with your PC's Windows operating system was the very stuff that allows all this "back door" hacker access in the first place. Believe it or not, it's built into Windows (all versions).
To learn more, I have created a web page that explains these four steps in more detail, and why they are needed. I also include my own specific recommendations as to what software to use for each step, that is, what software I personally use. Like in the "real world", protecting one's identity online isn't rocket science... but it does require some work... some preventative action to be taken.
http://www.topsoftwareinfo.com/invisiblepc
Thomas Straub
http://www.topsoftwareinfo.com
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