Be Your Own Private Eye

You might have heard about phishing, identity theft, and scams. You could have been a victim of them even. But do you know that you might just be one of those people who are promoting these online crimes without your knowledge? This is a sad fact. But it is really happening.

And unscrupulous individuals do it with botnets. Botnets are programs that penetrate your computer with one purpose alone - and that is to steal yours and somebody else’s personal information to support their illicit acts. If your computer is infected with a botnet, then you technically become a supporter of the very wide network of criminal activities. Another way that you are making things easier for online criminals is the possibility that spam and phishing mails could have originated from your own PC.

Botnets, being intelligent programs, have the ability to sign-in to your email account using your own username and password that were conveniently stored in your computer.

Then it proceeds to send out hundreds, usually thousands, of emails to all the people appearing in your address book. It could even have its own database of email addresses to send the spam mail to. And all of these can happen without your knowledge.

Botnets are malware. They are considered as programs that virtually have no beneficial use whatsoever for innocent individuals. And as such, they need to be immediately removed from your computer. For as long as they reside in your computer’s memory, they would keep on sending out phishing emails to unsuspecting people. And your contribution in the criminal act can get immense.

You need to remove botnets to save your own personal information from being stolen, to say the least. The removal of botnets can be done through the use of strong anti-virus software that is equipped with botnet detection. Botnets are very destructive. And as such, an added layer of protection has to be placed in all computers that have access to the Internet.

Right now, there are a lot of security-based programs that are created to fight off botnets. Symantec Corporation, the maker of Norton AntiVirus, leads them all. With their software, Symantec currently offers real-time botnet detection and removal to all consumers out there.

You don’t want to be implicated, or worse, be an accessory to online crime. It is your responsibility as a regular computer and Internet user to make sure that your hardware and software are malware, spyware, and botnet free. Stop the propagation of spam mails. Make sure that these mails don’t start from you.

Do you want to become a private eye? Do you want to detect online scams with full accuracy after investigating on them? If so, you need to develop some traits and learn the practices that would make you a real detective. Being a regular Internet user, it is important that you know an online scam when you see one.

Here are effective private eye tips for wannabes:

1. Develop some good judgment.
Is the online project too good to be true? If it is an online store, is the website offering goods too cheap a price? If it is a work-from-home type of a deal, is the salary too big for you to really get paid? There are things that sound ridiculous enough to trigger your doubts. Anything that sounds too good to be true is most probably is. 

2. Educate yourself.
You can only know the difference between an online scam from the a real paying program by knowing the ins and outs of the particular program you are investigating. If it is a type of a get-rich-fast scam, you should be well aware of the workings of the people behind them. There are legitimate business opportunities over the Internet too. Understand how they work. Then compare it with the scam that you are investigating.

3. Be a reasonable skeptic.
It doesn’t hurt to be a skeptic every now and then. In fact, you might just save a lot of people with your skepticism. If you feel that something isn’t right about an online program, trust your instincts. Work on your doubts and discover whether you are right or wrong. The online world is a big research area which can help clarify your doubts. 

4. Be inquisitive.
Ask questions. Send emails to the program’s administrators. Query about the debatable points about the program. Don’t stop until you are satisfied. Ask about other people’s experience with the program as well. You are going to have much of a head start if you have lots of facts to deal with.

5. Dig deeper into the program’s inner circles.
Learn who manages the program. Know where they are located. Are they really who they said they are? Are they characters verifiable? Do they have good reputations? Scammers usually pop in and out of circulation to victimize again. If the online program is not transparent, then it might just be another scam.

These are the five effective tips on how to be a good online scam investigator. With enough practice, you will eventually get better being a private eye!

Identity theft refers to crimes perpetuated by stealing an individual’s personal data. It is fast becoming the worst kind of commercial crime in history. According to the study conducted by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, fraud brought by identity theft costs US organizations to lose approximately $600B or six percent of annual revenues.

The study furthermore revealed that fraud schemes are able to operate for about one and a half years prior to detection.

With the numbers only continuing to worsen and concerned authorities and industries only starting to formulate and implement tighter security measures, it is up to consumers themselves to proactively take the necessary steps for added protection.

Firstly, they must be aware of the various ways identity thieves are able to access their personal data. The Identity Theft Resource Center, as well as other sources, has highlighted the following situations for providing openings to identity thieves: dumpster diving; theft of wallets, mail, and other objects or documents containing vital information; information gleaned from public conversations; deceptive conversations over the phone or email; illegal purchase of information; and lastly, use of malware and hardware with similar functions.

Knowing when you’re most vulnerable is the best way to determine the appropriate solution. To eradicate problems with dumpster diving, for instance, make it a habit to shred all important documents into pieces.

If you find anything suspicious, the first thing you can do is obtain the latest copy of your credit statement from your bank. If possible, obtain a copy of your credit report as well. These documents will let you know if your account has been used without your knowledge and approval.

Determine the source of these activities. A phone call would do, but a personal visit would be better. What was purchased? How much was spent? Where did the unknown transaction take place? Try ascertaining as well how it is the unidentified user was able to access your accounts. Learn from your mistakes.

If you have confirmed for yourself that you have become a victim of identity theft, it is time to report directly to the authorities. Prepare all possible evidence of your innocence and ready them for submission.

If you’re lucky, your bank would be ready to reimburse you for your losses with just a few preliminary questions. If not, prepare to have their representatives subject you to an identity theft investigation – similar to what you may have been previously attempted to do for yourself.

Private investigators aren’t rewarded with the highest pays in the industry. In general, private investigation agencies may be able to charge forty up to one hundred dollars per hour. Annual pay could be anywhere between $25,000 and $75,000 depending on the number of clients and level of expertise they have.

If money is your primary motivation for becoming a good private investigator, you might have made the wrong choice for a job. But if you have other reasons for becoming a private investigator and consequently other motivations for wanting to improve, here’s what you need to do. (more…)

Are you looking to setup a business? Do you possess some private eye skills? Do you know that you can use your private investigation skills to be successful as an entrepreneur? Such is the case with Carolyn Celaya and Jenny McLeroy, the thriving owners of The Daily Brew coffee shop.

You can be as successful as these two businesswomen, who had made it big in the coffee brewing business. Jenny McLeroy is a 44-year-old lawyer with a psychology degree who hailed from Morgan County. Carolyn Celaya, on the other hand, is a journalist from California. She is also a licensed private investigator.

Coffee has always been the passion of these two women. And both having private eye and inquisitive skills, they have effectively utilized those to be successful in their new field. Carolyn uses her keen senses, particularly her sense of smell, to determine which roaster and beans are best to make coffee with. She frequented trade shows and coffee conferences just to find the best coffee supplier around.

With her sleuthing prowess, she was able to uncover the bean of the finest quality, of course. And they begin to order them straight from its producer in Seattle. She specifically requests that the beans be roasted and shipped the very next day. As a result, people simply love their coffee.

Aspiring businessmen with private eye skills can do so much with their abilities to make their business flourish. And if you already own a business, you might want to learn some private investigator skills to help you out in making it bigger. 

Here are the business benefits of learning how to be a private detective:

1. You won’t be victimized by scams.
With private investigation skills you will be able to detect a scam the moment you see it. Unscrupulous individuals and programs would never get the most of you.

2. You will be able to hire the best people with valid qualifications.
Do you know that a lot of people lie in their resumes? With the right skills, you will be able to do some background check on potential employees prior to actually hiring them.

3. You’ll be able to make the right decisions based on social, economical, and market conditions.
Businessmen are always faced with tough decisions. But with private eye skills, you will be able to easily assess the possible outcomes of each of your options - thereby choosing the right alternative all the time.

Experts estimate that 150 million consumers in the United States choose not to bank online due to fears over identity theft. TriCipher Consumer Online Banking Study believes, however, that the banking industry can increase their profitability by as much as $8.3B per year by proactively improving security standards.

The survey also revealed that offering free identity protection software would make 31 million consumers feel safe enough to bank online and for another thirty-nine million existing online banking customers to even increase their activities.

Extra Vigilance Only
The study further detailed the willingness of majority of consumers to take extra steps in protecting their identities but their reluctance as well to pay extra for added online security. The study showed how most of the respondents felt that such security services should be offered to them for free.

Improvements for Online Protection
Last August 14, 2007, Intersections Inc., together with Sana Security, introduced Safe Connect. The online security program is the first of its kind, combining behavior-based anti-malware with credit bureau file monitoring.

By monitoring a person’s credit report, Identity Guard is able to alert the user in case of any suspicious activity, giving the individual enough time to respond accordingly and prevent identity thieves from gaining from stolen data and consequently damaging his credit score. Email notices are sent to alert users of any dubious activities.

Identity Guard also makes signature and virus scanning updates unnecessary as it can detect malicious software bots and other attacks upon entering a person’s computer system.

Intersections’ partner, Sana Security, has been awarded as Editor’s Choice by Service Provider Weekly because of its overall effectiveness and pricing. It has been particularly commended for its proactive solution in detecting and defeating malware threats before it can cause any irreparable damage.

In terms of response from the banking industry itself, Wells Fargo is one of the banking companies that had stood out with their commitment to providing secure and reliable service for their customers.

The San Francisco-based banking company combines both the market’s best online security solutions with in-house expertise to reduce risk of identity theft for their customers. In offering a Fraud Information Center, it is the company’s goal to make online banking experience as simple, convenient, and safe as possible for their loyal patrons.

Wells Fargo was very much vocal in their willingness to “take responsibility of online customer protection rather than placing the burden on their consumers”. Lastly, they believe that comprehensive risk management, education, and technology are the key factors of fighting fraud.

Even if you have great powers of deduction and have an uncanny way to track down people and gather information, you still cannot become a private eye.  Surveillance and solving crimes are not just about being up to the task – you’ll need the proper training in order to become a professional.  If you prefer to do it at your own time, there are private eye training schools that offer e-courses that can help you reach your dream. 

Global School of Investigation
This site is maintained by the Global School of Investigation, a training school for private investigators.  It offers an online course for people aspiring to become P.I.s.  The training courses may be taken two ways – you can take the e-course and participate in the lessons through the site or you can have the printed materials shipped to you for study. 

The correspondence courses offered by Global have helped thousands achieve their dreams to become part of law enforcement and private surveillance practices since 1973.  Since this is an e-course, you can take the lessons any time, allowing you to control the pace of your learning as you see fit.  For fast learners, the course may even be completed in less than 30 days.

Private Investigator and Detective Training School
The Private Investigation Basic Training e-course offered by this school will teach you the basic knowledge and skills necessary for successful private investigating.  You will learn early on what laws, regulations and rules cover your practice and what type of licenses you will need for your profession.  The e-course will cover topics such as the types of work and services private eyes offer, case file preparation, civil and criminal investigation, case management, conducting searches and private eye ethics, among others.

Detective Training Institute
The DTI is a state-approved school for private eyes offering quality e-course trainings.  This school has trained law enforcement officers making the transition to private investigation, private individuals and even a work-at-home mom, who promptly started her own agency in Colorado. 

DTI is a recognized school in the field and many of its graduates have moved on to begin private investigation careers of their own or joined prestigious private investigation agencies.  Training is top notch and once you’ve completed your course, the school will even check up on you to see how you are doing with your new career as a private eye.  If you want to check how well the e-course training from this school will fit your needs, you can also e-mail some of their graduates to inquire.

What used to be the kind of greeting you receive that brings a smile to your face is now an online threat.  E-mail greeting cards are now being used to obtain information from unsuspecting victims and even spread malicious software. 

How it works
If you’re being targeted, you will receive an e-mail that is supposed to be sent by an old friend, acquaintance or family member.  It will usually contain a link to a site where your greeting card is supposed to be.  To view it, you will have to click on that link, which will take you to a malicious site.  Here, you will be exposed to more scams that will either try to obtain personal information from you or expose you to viruses and malware.

Detecting an e-mail greeting card scam
There are dozens of sites offering free e-mail greeting card services and many of them are not known companies such as Hallmark or Blue Mountain.  But that doesn’t mean that the electronic greeting card alert on your e-mail is not legit.  However, you should still be careful.

The best thing to do about an e-mail notifying you about an e-greeting card is to ignore it.  There is no need to send a reply to this message.  Send it to the trash bin and delete it. 

Protecting yourself
There are many ways scam artists and hackers can get your e-mail address – mailing lists, web pages, paper forms, profile lists, chat rooms and even white and yellow pages.  Since there is no such thing as a perfect online protection from e-mail greeting cards, it’s best to stay vigilant and make it harder for spammers, scam artists and hackers to find you.

Be careful about posting your e-mail address online.  If you have to use an online form, make sure the company is reliable and has a consumer security system in place.  Check that company’s privacy policy as well. 

Don’t spread the bad news.  If you find a website that encourages you to send a greeting card to your friends by providing their e-mail addresses, don’t do it.  The same goes for sites that contain quizzes and trivias.

Use anti-spyware and anti-virus software on your computer and update them on a regular basis.  Install a firewall to protect you online.  Be wary of e-mail messages (including greeting cards) and sites that ask for personal information.  And lastly, ask your friends to keep your e-mail address private and promise them that you will do the same.

E-mail greeting card scams are just one of the newest threats against surfers but you can minimize the threat by performing a few simple and common sense tips to protect yourself and your friends.

Hiring a private eye is easy nowadays. But despite that fact, doing so still doesn’t come cheap. The rate of a private eye varies. And it has a lot to do with the profile of the person to be investigated and the person who requested the investigation.

Such is the case of Britney Spears. With all her popularity and celebrity status, you would never think that there is still a need for anybody to hire a private eye to watch over her affairs. But her parents thought otherwise. Britney’s parents, Lynne and Jamie, had recently joined forces to hire the best detective in town to keep an eye on their daughter.

Lynne and Jamie had been long divorced, but their concern for their daughter’s safety had reunited them. Their decision to get a private eye to watch over Britney was triggered by their own daughter’s accusations of her mother sleeping with her ex-husband, Kevin Federline. The accusation squashed Lynne so hard she decided to hire somebody to keep an eye on her daughter, if only to understand why she thinks the way she thinks and does the things she does.

Aside from Britney, a lot of famous celebrities actually hire the services of a private eye for several purposes. Expect big stars to retain at least one detective aside from their usual trail of bodyguards.

Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, and Pat Buchanan are some examples. The three of them have one person in common - and that’s the famous private eye, Bo Dietl. Bo Dietl is an ex-New York police cop and a detective. Now, he is providing his services to the stars.

Celebrities hire private detectives primarily to track their stalkers. Almost all big personalities have obsessed fans in one way or another. And ignoring stalkers is not a good idea at all.

But this is not the only job private eyes can do for celebrities. Stars may also want to know who’s behind the negative publicity about them currently circulating. It may also happen that celebrities need private eyes in the same way normal people would - such as checking on their husbands activities or finding out if there’s anybody embezzling their money.

Going back to Britney, there isn’t any doubt that she does need guidance in life. And whether she likes it or not, her parents are going to find ways to ensure her safety, no matter how she would like to live independently from them. Even if it means their way of watching over Britney is carried out with a private detective.

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A simple experiment conducted by researchers from Sophos using Facebook indicate that out of the 200 friend requests sent by a fake member, over 70% provided personal information such as birthdate and personal e-mail addresses.  About 87% also offered information about where they went to school and where they worked.  With this kind of willingness to divulge personal data in many social networking websites, it’s no wonder phishing scams continue to thrive.

Does Facebook lead to phishing?
Facebook is currently one of the biggest social networking sites on the internet.  It is also the site considered as a gold mine by many scam artists.

The object of social networking sites like Facebook is to connect people and give them the tool to share information with other members.  Unfortunately, this very capability makes many Facebook and social networking site members vulnerable to a phishing or malware attack.

When privacy settings are not enough
Although Facebook offers different privacy settings on its site, they do not completely protect the users.  Nick Sullivan, Symantec’s security researcher, calls this sense of privacy an ‘illusion’.

Facebook members often provide certain personal information such as e-mail and physical addresses, birthdates, work information, even phone numbers.  To a clever scam artist, all these data may be collected freely and used to build a profile about the member. 

As soon as that happens, it should only be a matter of time before the phishing attack is unleashed.  Without knowing it, Facebook members become victims of a phishing attack by simply performing what most social networking site members will label as ‘normal’ processes.

It’s not the first time that Facebook encountered a problem with their privacy vulnerabilities. 

Although it wasn’t a security breach, it still showed the platform’s weak points.  This, in spite of the fact that Facebook uses a mark-up language of its own.  However, Facebook is not taking the threats lightly.  It is currently working to ensure that it implements tougher and safer online security for its members.

Protecting your Facebook account
There are always risks when you join social networking sites such as Facebook.  The important thing to do is to be careful about your personal data.  This extends to your e-mail addresses, physical addresses, birthdate, phone numbers and the like.  Even pictures posted online can reveal more things about you without your knowing it. 

Use discretion when you receive friend requests.  You can still expand your own network but avoid giving out any personal information.  Facebook may be exposed to phishing scams but then again, which social networking site isn’t?  With a little common sense you can prevent these attacks from harming you.