Information Security Tips from Westfield Insurance

Scam preys on sympathy for deployed soldiers

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has received reports of multiple email hoaxes claiming to be from a soldier deployed to Iraq. The individual claims to be in possession of millions of dollars and requests assistance in moving the funds. In one of the more common variations, the funds allegedly came from a soldier who was an orphan and recently died while on a mission in Iraq. The sender of the email claims to want assistance with donating the funds to an American orphanage.

If you receive this email, it is a hoax. DO NOT RESPOND. Delete the message – without opening it if possible. This scam is designed to convince you to reveal your own personal banking information.

Be very cautious when responding to any requests delivered through unsolicited email. Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as officials asking for donations or requesting the movement of funds to a charity or other program. There is no legitimate reason why a donor (or anyone else) would be unable to wire funds anywhere they wanted by themselves.

If you want to donate to a charity, ensure that the contributions are received and that they will be used for the intended purposes. Go directly to recognized organizations. Do not rely on others to make the donation on your behalf.

If you have received this or any similar hoax message, you can file a complaint at www.ic3.gov.

Private information on cell phones

The average cell phone has a life expectancy of 18 months. What happens to all your personal information when you upgrade your phone? In too many cases, that personal information gets passed along to the next user.

Personal information can include:

stored phone numbers and addresses	usually not much of a worry
records of calls made or received	not a problem unless you've been talking to someone that you wouldn't want your spouse or employer to know about
pictures	again, may not be a problem depending on what kind of pictures you took
copies of text messages sent and received	often a serious privacy issue
the speed-dial setting for your voicemail with both the access number and password	potentially very serious

This is not an all-inclusive list. Modern phones also include calendars, memo pads, to do lists and other applications, all of which you might have used and which might have personal or business information that should be kept private.

Most phones include a delete function but independent reviews of those delete functions show them to be mostly pretty poor. Good hackers can undelete the information on most common cell phones with only a little specialized equipment and knowledge. To protect your privacy:

• Treat a phone's text message service with the same caution that you use for unsecured email. Be especially professional in your use of text messaging.
• Make sure that your old information is really gone before giving the phone to a friend, family member, charity or try to sell it online. (If all else fails, a 2½ lb sledge hammer does a very reliable job of making the data unreadable – but it won't be worth much when you're done.)

For additional information and a real-life scenario, read this recent story from CNN.com.

Storm Warnings

US-CERT is warning of an increase in phishing and other fraud sites related to the hurricane season. They have already received reports of malicious activity associated with Tropical Storm Ernesto including 17 ernesto-related domain names registered by one person.

These emails and websites claim to be from legitimate charitable organizations and ask for donations to "aid the victims". Some of the sites merely steal the donations. Others use your personal information to either max out your credit card, empty your bank account or set up fraudulent accounts using your stolen identity.

As you may remember from last year, there were an unprecedented number of frauds set up within hours of Hurricane Katrina's strike. Two of the most egregious turned out to be fronts for a white-supremacist group. Many of the scammers looked at the standard storm-naming conventions and started registering fraudulent "charity" sites a year ago – long before the current storm season even started.

• Treat all requests for donation with caution. Never follow the "convenient" link in an unsolicited email. If you want to go to the website, retype the URL into your browser's address line by hand.
• Take the time to research the charity before making your donation. Make sure you know who's really getting your money.
• Report fraudulent or suspicious "charities" to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.