Become a Privacy Grinch with New Search Eraser

This Xmas act like the Grinch and start eliminating
your personal search history you've been unwittingly
providing for years to the major search engines such
as Google, Yahoo, MSN, & AOL.

Ask.com, one of the search engine providers, now
provides a new feature called "AskEraser" for
consumers to enjoy an added measure of personal
privacy.










According to the AskEraser web page, a consumer
can now delete from the Ask.com servers:

"..all references containing any single element of
search activity data; query (what you searched for,
clicked on, etc.), IP address (where you searched
from), and user/sessions IDs (who you are in relation
to previous searches)."

Why is this necessary and what does it have to do
with identity theft?

In August of this year, you may recall American Online
(AOL) mistakenly released the detailed personal search
histories to the internet of over 500,000 of their
members.

Using this widely available information, the New York
Times demonstrated how easily that data could be abused
by a criminal as their article entitled "A Face Is Exposed
for AOL Searcher No. 4417749" revealed the actual
identity of a 62 year old widow living in Lilburn, GA.

To further increase the potential threat, the latest indications
from the F.T.C. are the proposed merger between Google and
Doubleclick appears likely to be approved which would pave
the way for the marrying of massive offline - but personally
identifiable catalog purchase transactions to online
search histories.

(refer to past privacy concerns of the similar Abacus Direct
and Doubleclick merger of 2001)

So, our tip for today is to act like the Grinch starting this
Christmas and lower your potential for identity theft.

Begin using tools, like AskEraser, to mask or eliminate your
electronic trail of personal information over the internet.

It's a free option for you to adopt in your personal arsenal.

Special holiday note, give the gift which brings rewards all
through the year - tell a friend or family member about this
important new development to protecting personal information
safety.

Remember, it's safe, fast, & anonymous.

Identity Theft Couple Caught

In what has been called the Bonnie & Clyde of identity theft, a Philadelphia area couple faces charges of committing an estimated $100,000 in fraud to fund their rich life style.



According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the couple stands
accused of identity theft, forgery, unlawful use of a computer
among many other offenses.

"Their fraud scheme, estimated at $US100,000 this year alone, paid for jaunts to Paris, London and Hawaii and other luxury perks, including Kirsch's stop at a salon for $US2200 worth of hair extensions, police said."

Police uncovered evidence of their illegal trade
during a search of the couples $3,000 per month
luxury apartment:

"...four computers, two printers, a scanner
and an industrial machine that makes ID cards.
Police also found $US17,500 in cash, dozens of
credit cards and fake drivers' licences, and keys
to unlock many of the apartments and mail
boxes in their upmarket apartment building."

Evidently this Bonnie & Clyde couple really did
plan to ply their illegal practices in the area of
identity theft as the apartment search revealed:

"...turned up a book titled, The Art of Cheating:
A Nasty Little Book for Tricky Little Schemers
and Their Hapless Victims, as well as a newspaper
article on How to Spot Fake IDs."

So, our tip for today is especially for multi-unit
apartment residents.

To prevent from becoming an easy mark for the
next enterprising identity theft Bonnie & Clyde
team, have your mail delivered to a USPS box.

To further thwart identity thieves from intercepting
your bank and credit card statements, have
those stopped altogether from delivery by enrolling in
secure online only access available from your lender.

Remember, identity thieves now represent all facets
of the population and only have one common trait:
to steal your identity and ruin your credit to
fund their greedy lifestyle.

Use these tips to stop them from making you their next
victim and make sure to warn your friends & family members.