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Banking or credit union checks/drafts should not display your SSN even if the financial institution has continued to use your SSN as the account number. Protect your phone and fax. Ask your telephone carrier if it is possible to password-protect your billing and records information. This security measure is routinely used by many telephone and Internet service providers, but many consumers don't know about it. Even if a pretexting scheme is attempted, a unique password could best safeguard your information. Safeguard cellphones and handhelds that permit text messages. Unlike e-mail, which may be retained for a relatively short period of time by an Internet service provider before being discarded, text messages tend to be retained for long periods of time — years, in fact. To protect the privacy of your communications, use discretion when sending information via text messaging. Know the ins and outs of cellphone records. Be aware that cellphone records could be pretexted in a way similar to landline telephone records. You may be able to preserve their integrity by adding a password to your account and ensuring your number is unlisted. You will have to ask your carrier not to share your number. And if you receive marketing calls on any handheld device, carefully consider what information you provide marketers. Control access to your technology. It is vital that you password-protect every gadget and gizmo you use. Information security experts say your privacy can be compromised unless you use all three of the following technologies and keep them updated: 1) firewall protection; 2) anti-virus protection software; and, last but not least, 3) anti-spyware software. During the HP affair, spyware was downloaded to a reporter's computer via an e-mail. Fortunately, the reporter was suspicious of the e-mail and did not forward it. The spyware would have reported to the invader information about parties with whom the reporter was communicating and, possibly, the content of those communications. Spyware can be downloaded through many vehicles, including viruses, so it is very important to use all three security mechanisms listed above and not to download attachments or free software from vendors without considering the possibility that spyware will be downloaded to your computer. Laptop security is an important issue. In addition to password and software security, encryption should be considered and used for sensitive personal or business information. Also be highly attentive to the physical security of your laptop. Appropriate security software should be installed if you are using wireless networks. Where possible, use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to communicate when away from the office. Protect your physical security — you and your office space. The physical space in which reporters worked may also have been surveilled in the recent HP undercover investigations. Use of cleaning crews and other service providers were used to look through the papers (and trash) of reporters at their offices and, potentially, at their homes. Securing your work materials and being aware of those around you is important for your privacy, the privacy of your communications and for personal safety. Be aware of whether you are being photographed — whether by cellphones or through other technology. Report suspicious activity.  Additional Tips These general tips concerning privacy protection are from Nuala O'Connor Kelly, senior general counsel at General Electric: Guard your Social Security Number as if it were gold. Don't say yes to every random request for personal data. Bed Bath & Beyond DOES NOT need your telephone number before you can buy sheets there. Teach your children. Just as we teach our children to look both ways before we cross the street, we need to teach them the rules of engagement for privacy. They should not assume everyone is entitled to know their name, their parents' names and other personal information. This instruction will serves them well in person as well as online. Clean out your wallet. NOW. Get rid of every credit card or document you haven't used in the last three months. The same should go for your computers at home and at work. Sign up for every list that will get you OFF a list. Make sure you're on the Federal Trade Commission's "no-call list," which will safeguard you to some degree from solicitors. Make sure you're on no-prescreen lists from credit reporting agencies (check your credit card statement for more details). Consider signing up for credit monitoring services. Or at least check your credit report annually; doing so is free. Don't give your computer or ATM passwords to anyone, and DON'T use the same password for everything. When choosing passwords, try to be creative. Use non-English words or non-words because password crackers can easily crack most words now. Engage in business only with reputable companies. Be aware of a company's privacy policies. Consider storing only minimal data with a company for future transactions because it's usually the stored data that is hacked, not the information tethered to one-time sending of a credit card. Read the little boxes at the bottom of the screen when you check out of an online shopping site. Many Web vendors automatically store your data — and sign you up for every e-mail list in sight. Buy a shredder. Whatever information you haven't shredded must be physically secured in a locked closet or drawer. And make sure you label records so that you don't mistakenly toss them into a trash bin where they could easily be taken by someone. 
About Scott CohnOne of the founders of CNBC, Scott Cohn was named Senior Correspondent in 2004. He has covered stories ranging from the 1998 merger of Daimler Benz and Chrysler to the 1993 Midwest floods and the 1994 Los Angeles earthquake, and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York. He also appears on NBC Nightly News, MSNBC, and on NBC affiliates nationwide. Most recently, Cohn has led CNBC's coverage of corporate corruption. As CNBC's lead reporter on the Enron scandal, he was first to report the indictment of former Chairman Kenneth Lay in 2004. He exposed the connections between Enron and Wall Street, and provided extensive coverage of the criminal trial of Enron's auditor, Arthur Andersen. In 2003, Cohn broke the story of widespread fraud in the nation's $7 trillion mutual fund industry. His coverage of that scandal was nominated for the prestigious Gerald Loeb Award from UCLA's Anderson School of Management. Cohn is a three-time winner of the Medill/Strong National Financial Writers and Editors competition, a two-time CableACE nominee, and he has won two Citations of Merit from the New York chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Cohn was part of CNBC's original team of New York-based correspondents at the network's launch in 1989. The following year, he returned to his hometown to open CNBC's Chicago bureau, and was stationed there for nine years. He returned to CNBC's Global Headquarters in 1999. Before joining CNBC, Cohn was an anchor and reporter for ABC affiliate WZZM in Grand Rapids, Mich. He has also worked as an anchor and reporter for NBC affiliate WEAU in Eau Claire, Wis., and as a reporter and program host for Wisconsin Public Radio. He holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin. Bio courtesy of UCLA's Anderson School of Management |
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Julie Kay is an award-winning South Florida journalist who covers the southeast United States for the National Law Journal. She previously worked for the Daily Business Review for seven years, where she authored a weekly column entitled “Justice Watch.” Kay is also the Florida consultant for C-SPAN and freelances for People Magazine and Closer Magazine.
Holly Fisher is a freelance writer and editor in the Charleston, S.C., area. She most recently was the research editor for SC Biz News LLC, publisher of the Charleston Regional Business Journal, Columbia Regional Business Report, GSA Business, SCBIZ magazine and other business news publications. She also served as special projects editor and electronic media editor for the company. Fisher is a former regional director and board member for SPJ and a former board member of the SDX Foundation. Fisher also has served as an adjunct professor at the College of Charleston. Previously, she worked in the newspaper business in Indiana, Texas and South Carolina. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Ohio University and a master’s of mass communication from the University of South Carolina. She lives in Mount Pleasant, S.C., with her husband, Clint; daughter, Katherine; and two Labrador retrievers.