Hi Everybody,

Welcome to the Preventing Identity Theft workshop. My name is Dave Steer – I’m responsible for making sure that eBay and PayPal Community members know how to protect themselves in the eBay Marketplace and online.

During today’s workshop, we will be covering:
-Identity Theft: What is it and how to prevent it.
-Phishing/Spoof: How to protect yourself from fraudulent emails
-General Online Protection Tips: Passwords, spyware, virus protection and more.

Joining me today is Laura Mather from eBay’s Trust & Safety group. Laura is responsible for fraud prevention and account protection. Please feel free to direct any of your questions to either Laura or me (or both of us).

For the next hour, we’ll be taking questions about Identity Theft. Before we get to the questions, I’d like to provide an overview of Identity Theft and how to protect yourself, as well as information about the rise of Phishing (also known as ‘Spoof’) emails and Web sites.

I also want to point your attention to the new Identity Protection Resource Area that PayPal just created. These resources provide useful tips and advice about how to help you protect your identity. You can access it here: Link

OK, let’s get started with the overview.

Dave
Link

Q: How big a problem is Identity Theft?
Identity Theft is one of America’s fastest growing crimes. It can happen anywhere – at the mall, through your mail, and online.

Two separate surveys conducted over the past two years have confirmed that in recent years, almost 10 million adult Americans (4.6 percent of adult Americans) discover that they are the victim of ID theft each year. Both surveys showed that within the last 5 years, approximately 27.8 million people (12.7 percent of adult Americans) discovered that they were victims of ID theft.

The most serious form of ID theft, in terms of its impact on both the victim and business, is where someone’s personal information is misused to open new accounts (e.g., credit card accounts, bank accounts,) take out new loans, or engage in other types of fraud, such as the thief using someone else’s name and identifying information when charged with a crime, when renting an apartment, or when filing tax returns. Approximately 1/3 of all ID theft is of this type. The other 2/3 consists of the unauthorized use of someone else’s existing accounts/information – most commonly their credit card accounts, but also bank accounts, email accounts, telephone and wireless accounts, brokerage accounts, and others.

Q: What is spoofing? What is Phishing?
Spoof and phishing (pronounced "fishing") are the terms coined to describe emails made to look like they've come from legitimate companies but that actually come from identity thieves. These emails warn you of account problems or other urgent issues to trick you into clicking through to a scam website. The scam website asks you to enter your user name and password or other account information. Once you do this, you've given your information to someone who might use it to do you harm.

Q: Is there anything I can do to protect myself from identity theft?
The first step in fighting identity theft is to understand what it is. Based on our, here are 5 actions that can arm you with a lot of protection.
1. Protect your information offline as well as online.
To protect yourself effectively, you should consider shredding your old mail, locking your mailbox and emptying your wallet of anything you don't absolutely have to carry.

2. Don't respond to emails asking for your account information.
PayPal and eBay will never ask you to enter your financial information in an email or send such information in an email. You should only share information about your account once you have logged in to Link directly from your browser.

3. Use safer types of payment when paying online.
Most people have become smarter about sharing their Social Security number but think nothing of handing a piece of paper with their bank's name, their account number, their address, and their signature to a stranger — everything written on a check.

Credit cards offer a little more protection. Credit card companies have invested heavily in software that spots fraudulent transactions as they happen.

Online payment systems, such as PayPal, offer a safe, secure way to make a transaction. With PayPal, you can pay without the merchant ever seeing your credit card number, bank account and other financial information. This significantly limits the information that you share in a financial transaction.

4. Protect your computer.
The key to securing your computer is to use protective software and keep it up to date. Make sure that you install all security patches available from the manufacturer of your operating system. Run antivirus software to check incoming emails and update the virus definitions frequently. Set up a firewall to prevent intruders from getting into your network or computer.

5. Use a strong password
You should choose strong passwords to protect accounts. Don't use your personal information as a password. Mix upper and lowercase letters. Keep your passwords for each account unique.

6. Pay attention.

The longer a breach goes undiscovered, the more costly it becomes. It pays to pay attention. Check your PayPal account and credit card balances often. Review your credit reports for unusual activity at least once a year.

Q: What are PayPal and eBay doing to help protect my account and identity?

eBay and PayPal are aggressively working to help protect you online. When you pay with PayPal, your financial information (bank account, credit card, etc.) is kept private from the seller. Buyers also get 100% protection against unauthorized use of their account.

We’ve also been hard at work developing new technology to help fight spoof. The eBay Toolbar with Account Guard indicates when you are on a legitimate eBay or PayPal web site…and warns you when you are on a potentially fraudulent site. The Safety Bar protects you from fraudulent emails in your Outlook or Outlook Express inbox. Both tools are free to download.

Also, the new eBay ‘My Messages’ is a great way to verify whether eBay has sent you an email if that email is about your account or requests personal information.

Education is also vital component of helping you stay safe. PayPal launched an Identity Theft Protection Resource Area earlier this week, and the eBay/PP Security Centers are both great resources for you to stay up to date on the latest protections.

Finally, we rely on our Community of users to help each other stay safe. By posting on the Trust & Safety board and reporting spoof sites to us through either the eBay Toolbar or spoof@paypal.com/spoof@ebay.com, Community members are doing a great job at protecting each other.

Hello! Thank you for this workshop. It's my second and so far I am finding it very helpful. My question today is, how safe is it to leave a large balance in your paypal account? Thanks, Victorian Teapot

Hello! Thank you for this workshop. It's my second and so far I am finding it very helpful. My question today is, how safe is it to leave a large balance in your paypal account? Thanks, Victorian Teapot