What Are Some of Spam’s Consequences? Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia advises, “Spam’s direct effects include the consumption of computer and network resources, and the cost in human time and attention of dismissing unwanted messages. In addition, spam has costs stemming from the kinds of spam messages sent, from the ways spammers send them, and from the arms race between spammers and those who try to stop or control spam. In addition, there are the opportunity cost of those who forgo the use of spam-afflicted systems. There are the direct costs, as well as the indirect costs borne by the victims – both those related to the spamming itself, and to other crimes that usually accompany it, such as financial theft, identity theft, data and intellectual property theft, virus and other malware infection, child pornography, fraud, and deceptive marketing.” Also they say, “The secondary consequence of spamming is that search engine indexes are inundated with useless pages, increasing the cost of each processed query.”

According to a new study released by the Federal Trade Commission, spammers continue to harvest email addresses from public areas of the Internet, but Internet Service Providers’ anti-spam technologies can block the vast majority of spam sent to these email addresses. The FTC staff report also found that consumers who must post their e-mail addresses on the Internet can prevent them from being harvested by using a technique known as “masking.”

Why Lose Sleep Over Spammers? According to onguardonline.gov/botnet “Spammers can install hidden software on your computer in several ways. First, they scan the Internet to find computers that are unprotected, and then install software through those “open doors.” Spammers may send you an email with attachments, links or images which, if you click on or open them, install hidden software. Sometimes just visiting a website or downloading files may cause a “drive-by download,” which installs malicious software that could turn your computer into a “bot.” The consequences can be more than just annoying: your Internet Service Provider (ISP) may shut down your account.”

Additionally they say “Computers that are taken over this way often become part of a robot network, known as a “botnet” for short. A botnet, also known as a “zombie army,” usually is made up of tens or hundreds of thousands of home computers sending emails by the millions. Computer security experts estimate that most spam is sent by home computers that are controlled remotely, and that millions of these home computers are part of botnets.”

Fighting Back Con artists are clever and cunning, constantly hatching new variations on age-old scams. Still, skeptical consumers can spot questionable or unsavory promotions in email offers. Should you receive an email that you think may be fraudulent, forward it to the FTC at spam@uce.gov, hit delete, and smile. You’ll be doing your part to help put a scam artist out of work.

Take action immediately If your computer is infected,if your computer has been hacked or infected by a virus – disconnect from the Internet right away. Then scan your entire computer with fully updated anti-virus and anti-spyware software. Report unauthorized accesses to your ISP and to the FBI at www.ic3.gov. If you suspect that any of your passwords have been compromised, call that company immediately to change your password.

If you’re reading this article you’ve probably heard the term phishing and you may be wondering exactly what that is. That’s exactly what this article is going to explain. I’m going to tell you what phishing is, what to look out for, and why it’s important to be on the lookout for it and make sure it doesn’t happen to you.

I’m going to give you an example of what phishing is by creating a scenario that people run into everyday. You’re at home, you turn on the computer and decided to check some e-mails. You’re going through your messages one by one and you come across a message from your bank that says “there has been fraudulent activity with your account. Please login to update your account information.” You click on a link in the e-mail to go to your bank’s website, you fill out all the required information name, address, phone number, bank account number, Social Security number, password etc. then you hit submit and think to yourself I wonder what kind of fraudulent activity they were talking about I hope it’s all taken care of now.

If the above scenario happened to you your problems would not be taken care of in fact they would just be starting because the above scenario is an example of one type of phishing scam. The official looking e-mail that you received is from a con artist and the link that you clicked in the e-mail took you to a cloned page of your bank’s website. The website may look just like your bank’s website but was put there by a con artist to capture all of that sensitive personal information that you just entered.

With all of that information, your bank account number, passwords, Social Security number etc. this criminal can do all sorts of things that will make your life miserable. They can drain your bank account, they can take out loans or open lines of credit in your name and run up huge bills that will never be paid. If they get information like a Social Security number or driver’s license number a criminal can assume your identity, go on a crime spree, and any paper trail created in the commission of these crimes will lead to you because they are doing everything in your name.

To prevent this type of thing from ever happening to you, the first big clue you should pick up on is a bank or any other organization asking you to click a link in an e-mail that takes you to a page to update personal information. If a bank or other organization needs you to update information they would have you go to their website by typing the URL directly into your Internet browser bar and then logging onto their site with your username and password. They would never have you click a link that takes you to a page that asks you to fill out this type of sensitive information.

This type of phishing scam is all too common and happens to unsuspecting people every day. These criminals will either use your information as described above or they may even sell it to other criminals to use for any number of various crimes. Phishing is just one way that these crooks can gather your information and steal your identity. Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America and the best way to fight this crime is to prevent it from ever happening to you in the first place. Learning to spot a phishing scam will help but it’s a good idea to learn more ways to prevent identity theft from happening to you.

“The Red Flags Rule”, a law the FTC will begin to enforce on August 1, 2009, requires certain businesses and organizations — including many doctors’ offices, hospitals, and other health care providers — to develop a written program to spot the warning signs — or “red flags” — of identity theft” as stated by the FTC.

Basically when a person seeks health care services using someone else’s name and insurance info, is what is called identity theft.

“Every health care organization and practice must review its billing and payment procedures to determine if it’s covered by the Red Flags Rule. Whether the law applies to you isn’t based on your status as a health care provider, but rather on whether your activities fall within the law’s definition of two key terms: “creditor” and “covered account.”

Health care providers may be subject to the Rule if they are “creditors.” Although you may not think of your practice as a “creditor” in the traditional sense of a bank or mortgage company, the law defines “creditor” to include any entity that regularly defers payments for goods or services or arranges for the extension of credit. For example, you are a creditor if you regularly bill patients after the completion of services, including for the remainder of medical fees not reimbursed by insurance. Similarly, health care providers who regularly allow patients to set up payment plans after services have been rendered are creditors under the Rule. Health care providers are also considered creditors if they help patients get credit from other sources — for example, if they distribute and process applications for credit accounts tailored to the health care industry.

On the other hand, health care providers who require payment before or at the time of service are not creditors under the Red Flags Rule. In addition, if you accept only direct payment from Medicaid or similar programs where the patient has no responsibility for the fees, you are not a creditor. Simply accepting credit cards as a form of payment at the time of service does not make you a creditor under the Rule.

The second key term — “covered account” — is defined as a consumer account that allows multiple payments or transactions or any other account with a reasonably foreseeable risk of identity theft. The accounts you open and maintain for your patients are generally “covered accounts” under the law. If your organization or practice is a “creditor” with “covered accounts,” you must develop a written Identity Theft Prevention Program to identify and address the red flags that could indicate identity theft in those accounts.” as stated by the FTC.

What to look for:

“Suspicious documents. Has a new patient given you identification documents that look altered or forged? Is the photograph or physical description on the ID inconsistent with what the patient looks like? Did the patient give you other documentation inconsistent with what he or she has told you — for example, an inconsistent date of birth or a chronic medical condition not mentioned elsewhere? Under the Red Flags Rule, you may need to ask for additional information from that patient. Suspicious personally identifying information. If a patient gives you information that doesn’t match what you’ve learned from other sources, it may be a red flag of identity theft. For example, if the patient gives you a home address, birth date, or Social Security number that doesn’t match information on file or from the insurer, fraud could be afoot. Suspicious activities. Is mail returned repeatedly as undeliverable, even though the patient still shows up for appointments? Does a patient complain about receiving a bill for a service that he or she didn’t get? Is there an inconsistency between a physical examination or medical history reported by the patient and the treatment records? These questionable activities may be red flags of identity theft. Notices from victims of identity theft, law enforcement authorities, insurers, or others suggesting possible identity theft. Have you received word about identity theft from another source? Cooperation is key. Heed warnings from others that identity theft may be ongoing.” as stated by the FTC.

Something that your practice manager should keep in mind.

For more information refer to the FTC website under the topic of Red Flag Rules.(ftc.gov/redflagsrule)

It’s important to realize the benefits of having your reports regularly as it helps you fight identity theft. This way you can know on time if someone else is using your credit card and solve before it gets out of hand. Online credit report sources are both fast and effective as long as you use the right source and you can have your free report in the shortest time possible for viewing or printing.

Hector Milla Editor of the “Best Credit Reporting Services” website — http://www.CreditReportsAndScores.biz — pointed out;

“… Credit reporting agencies usually send free reports to all consumers annually. This is one way you can get a free report. If you cannot wait for a whole year, you can make your own arrangements to have it at least after a few months. The best way to do this is to get an online site that offers free services and sign up with them …”

Websites have different services, but you can always find the one that will provide just the services you need. It also has to be legitimate so check out before signing to any of the free sites. There are good sites where you ask for help on how to identify the right one.

“… Another way to get free reporting is to sign up with a credit monitoring company online. This is because most of them offer free credit reports for using their system. This way, you can have regular updates about what your report says about your financial capabilities. You can also know whether you can be given loan or not. You should be in a position to know what services you can benefit from according to the credit report standing at all times. Credit monitoring systems have an added advantage since you can be informed immediately if there are suspicions about wrongful use of your credit card …” H.Milla added.

Since you can get free reports, there is nothing to prevent you from regularly checking them to correct mistakes. You can have reports from all the agencies and compare if they say the same thing about you.

Further information about how to get a detailed credit report including scores and as often as you want by visiting; http://www.BestCreditReportServices.com

So to answer the question do you really need identity protection in 2010? If you value your identity and your credit report. The answer is most definitely yes. Children and seniors are at the highest risk for identity theft out of all the demographics. With all the different plans available. It’s important to choose one that’s right for you and your family. The one shoe fits all plans of several years ago are considerably less effective today than they have been in the past. Credit identity theft has actually dropped almost 40% in the recent years, while non-credit related theft has increased almost 20%.

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