50 Ways to Protect Your Identity in a Digital Age: New Financial Threats You Need to Know and How to Avoid Them, CourseSmart eTextbook, 2nd Edition

Identity theft is more dangerous than ever! The bad guys are smarter, more sophisticated, more organized -- and as we live more of our lives online, we expose far more personal information to them. Now, identity theft expert Steve Weisman reveals today's worst new threats, and presents today's most practical preventive techniques. Weisman shows how social media, mobile devices, and the "cloud" have created massive new risks, and how groups ranging from local hackers to foreign organized crime syndicates are exploiting them. He offers indispensable new guidance for avoiding risks, minimizing risks that can't be completely avoided, and reducing damage after an attack. This is the first book to offer complete, up-to-the-minute coverage of identity theft associated with:

• Facebook and other social media
• iPads and other tablets
• iPhones, Android phones, and other smartphones
• iPods and other media players
• Cloud-based applications
• New online banking and personal finance sites

Weisman shows how to avoid new forms of identity theft targeting medical records, the elderly, and military service members. He objectively reviews new products that claim to help consumers avoid identity theft. He even previews tomorrow's threats, such as radio-enabled (RFID) credit cards. This book isn't just an indispensable wake-up call: it's a comprehensive source of realistic solutions.

Introduction     1
Chapter 1: Identity Theft     3
Chapter 2: Making Yourself Less Vulnerable to Identity Theft     25
Chapter 3: Danger on the Computer and What to Do If You Are the Victim of Identity Theft     43
Chapter 4: Your Social Security Number--An Identity Thief’s Lucky Number     63
Chapter 5: Criminal Identity Theft, Taxes--And More Arresting Problems     81
Chapter 6: Technology, Business, and Government Fight Identity Theft     105
Chapter 7: Financial Privacy Please: The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act     119
Chapter 8: Credit Reports     127
Chapter 9: Congress Deals with Credit Reports and Identity Theft: The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act     151
Chapter 10: Protecting Your Privacy--A Key to Preventing Identity Theft     161
Chapter 11: ID Theft—Security Software     169
Chapter 12: The Dangers of Data Breaches     171
Chapter 13: Identity Theft Insurance--Worth the Price?     181
Chapter 14: Identity Theft after Death     185
Chapter 15: Identity Theft and the Elderly     189
Chapter 16: Identity Theft from Children     195
Chapter 17: Identity Theft Risks of Smartphones and Other Mobile Devices     201
Chapter 18: Identity Theft Threats with Credit Cards and Debit Cards     211
Chapter 19: Medical Identity Theft     219
Chapter 20: Identity Theft and Social Media     225
Chapter 21: Form Letters     235
Chapter 22: Steve’s Rules     273
Index     281