INTERNET SECURITY -- Protecting Bank and Facebook Accounts.

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13 Sep 12

Introduction

The following are two selected articles on this serious topic. (1) Concerns Credit Card Accounts and (2) Concerns Facebook Accounts.

Please Google search for more, until you have updated your knowledge on this serious threat. Please don't exclude yourself from Facebook -- we need to socialize there, and to be able to do so in fullest confidence that we are secure. Let us unite against the criminal enemies. 

In the future, more information will be disseminated on this crucial matter.  Keep an eye on this blog. This is just to place some immediate information into your hands and to help get you started on your self-education process.

Please also see the article in this blog, entitled:  "COMPUTER SECURITY!!!   Lock Down Your Facebook Profile"

 1.  WHAT TO DO ABOUT PROTECTING CREDIT CARD ACCOUNTS

PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS JUST A SYNOPSIS -- PLEASE READ THE MAIN ARTICLE FOR MORE INFO

Ref: According to "DailyFinance.com" Article, 4/2/112: "Afraid Your Credit Card Data Was Hacked? Here's What to Do Now

1. INTRODUCTION TO THE ARTICLE

It ain't pretty and it never is. No one likes to hear that their bank, credit card issuer, transaction processor, or any of the merchants they've used who issue plastic have been hit with a security breach.

2. BEFORE YOU ARE HACKED

2.1. Consumers who access their accounts online should be checking the transaction history of their bank-issued credit cards daily, says Julie McNelley, retail banking research director for Aite Group.

2.2. That way, you can catch any unauthorized transactions on the credit card quickly and give the bank a heads-up. (Banks will investigate and reimburse customers for unauthorized transactions on their credit card accounts.)

2.3. "Consumers should be checking their accounts all the time, anyway, even when there isn't a security breach" in the news, she says.

2.4. And for plastic-using consumers who don't haven't set up online access to their card accounts, McNelley highly recommends they consider signing up -- pronto.

3. AFTER YOU HAVE BEEN HACKED

3.1. Once the dreaded letter arrives that your credit card account may have been compromised, be prepared: In some states, your bank will block the account and reissue a new credit card and number.

3.2. Consumers who have automatic payments set up using the affected credit card will need to get busy notifying merchants and service providers of the new account number.

3.3. Read more on main article ................

4. PREVENTIVE STEPS : CREDIT OR DEBIT?

When given a choice between paying with a credit card or debit card at an unattended point-of-service machine such as a gas pump or video rental kiosk box, always go for the credit card.

5. MORE REFERENCES

PLEASE DO GOOGLE SEARCHES ON ALL YOUR CONCERNS, such as this one: "How to prevent hacking of your bank account information."

2.  WHAT TO DO IF YOUR FACEBOOK ACCOUNT IS HACKED

PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS JUST AN EXCERPT -- PLEASE READ THE MAIN ARTICLE FOR MORE INFO

Ref:  According to "eHOW tech" Article, date unknown, entitled: "How Hackers Can Steal Your Personal Information From Facebook"

1. INTRODUCTION TO THE ARTICLE

Facebook can seem like a secure platform to share information with only your friends and those you trust. But it is an excellent platform for hackers to obtain personal information. Hackers can use this info to falsely access your account, spread malware and spyware to others in your social network, as well as more sophisticated phishing and identity theft scams.

2. PHISHING SCAMS

Once login information is obtained, hackers can log in and use the chat or messaging functionality within the stolen profile to try and obtain personal information about those people's friends. A common scenario is posing to be in an emergency overseas and in need of some quick cash.

Read more ...

3. CHAT SCAMS

Facebook contains fields to display address, phone number, date of birth and other personal details about your life. It is not wise to voluntarily put this type of information into your profile, even if security measures limit this info to your friends only.

Read more ...

4. PERSONAL INFO

It is often difficult to spot if your account has been compromised until it is too late. If you notice activity on your account that you have not posted or sent to others, immediately change your password and report the problem to Facebook. Always be vigilant of links posted by others, and know that Facebook will never prompt you for your user information or password during a session. If possibly, keep more intimate information like telephone number, full address and exact date of birth off of your profile.

Read more ...

5. SOLUTIONS

It is often difficult to spot if your account has been compromised until it is too late. If you notice activity on your account that you have not posted or sent to others, immediately change your password and report the problem to Facebook. Always be vigilant of links posted by others, and know that Facebook will never prompt you for your user information or password during a session. If possibly, keep more intimate information like telephone number, full address and exact date of birth off of your profile.

Read more ...

6. RELATED SEARCHES -- the article goes on to link you to other articles, including:

How to block or report a person on Facebook

How to prevent your Webcam from being hacked

NOTE: Please also do a Google search on "How to prevent hacking of your Facebook account."