If you read this blog regularly, you know that I get a kick out of news stories involving receipts, especially if receipts are somehow involved in fighting crime. I came across a story a few days ago online where a woman was arrested because a receipt proved her guilt in a credit card scam.

Basically, a woman tried to use a credit card to buy $630 worth of gift cards. First of all, who buys $630 worth of gift cards at one time? But what was more surprising is that she had replaced the magnetic strip on the back of the card with one from another card. So when the limited information printed on the receipt about the credit card didn’t match up with the card, the cashier got suspicious.

The Federal Trade Commission only allows retailers to print the type of credit card and no more than 5 digits of your credit card number. It basically impossible for anyone to track that number back to any individual person. But it is enough to get you in trouble if you are using a Discover card with a magnetic strip from Visa.

Never forget: receipts run the world.

Shoeboxed has always been dedicated to helping you stay safe online by helping you get organized and limiting the amount of information you have to share with stores. There are lots of other things that you can do to protect yourself, so we sought out the experts to lay it on ya. Julian from ID Theft Protect shared some thoughts with us.

Written by: Julian Evans, Identity Theft Expert and CEO from ID Theft Protect

1. Why use shoeboxed.com?

Shoeboxed.com is a safe and secure way to track what you buy and when. Never print out a receipt nor provide your personal email address to online shopping sites ever again! Shoeboxed.com will help to simplify your life and give you more control over your personal online shopping data which we all at ID Theft Protect believe is an important step in giving the control back to the individual: you!

2. Web filters and safe browsing

Web filtering software allows you and your family the opportunity to control content, blacklist or white list websites and set up passwords. Other powerful options included with some software include, popup and personal information blocking and chat room monitoring.

Safe browsing software allows you to control access to all but selected websites. If you want to control which websites your children see, then this is the solution for you. Other types of safe browsing tools include browser plug-ins which helps you avoid web pages with unwanted content and hidden threats, by rating each page and pages listed in Google, MSN and Yahoo for example.

3. Spam filter

Spam Filter software is an essential tool in today’s world as more and more of us are being spammed. This type of software can be purchased with an Internet Security Suite or as a standalone. Spam filters reduce not eliminate those annoying spam emails and place them into a quarantined folder before they reach your inbox. ID Theft Protect suggests you also consider using an Email Signature Generator which is a service that creates an image file that can be read by humans but not spammers’ robots.

4. Anti-virus

Anti-virus software is an essential tool in protecting your computer. Nearly everyone understands the need for anti-virus, but very few people understand what it does. Anti-virus software detects, repairs, cleans and removes malicious software from your computer. There are currently two types of anti-virus software: one which is signature based (relies on regular updates) and the other is heuristic - which learns and adapts from user and application behaviour (i.e. monitors what you do and when and which applications are running and when)

5. Password Managers

Never have the same password for more than one computer program. Use a password manager software program. You can find information on password managers at ID Theft Protect. You are safe and secure to store your bank chip and pin, national insurance number (NINO), social security number (SSN), banking/checking account details and more in these programs.

6. Prepaid Credit cards and web cards

The prepaid credit card allows you to top your card up with money which you can use at retailers and online shopping websites. The main security advantages of these cards are you do not expose your bank and credit card accounts and you can also control the amount you wish to top up. Another card offered by some banks include what is called a ‘web card’ - it’s not plastic (it’s a virtual online payment card) and best of all your card details are never exposed online. ID Theft Protect suggests individuals should use a “pre-paid” or “web” credit card when shopping on the internet.

7. Firewall

A firewall acts as a barrier between your computer and the internet. The barrier will open and close dependent on the rules set by the firewall. Most firewall programs use default settings as standard, and this will be sufficient to protect your computer from attack. For those of you wishing to have more control, most Firewall software allows you access to advanced settings. TIP: ID Theft Protect suggests you do not use the default Windows Firewall as it only filters incoming traffic. Outgoing traffic should also be filtered as your computer may already be compromised.

8. Anti-Malware

Malware (malicious software) is software that compromises computers to steal personal information or damage your computer system. Anti-Malware software will protect your computer from Adware, Bots, Root kits, Pharming and Spyware. Anti-Malware software should be used in addition to your anti-virus and firewall software.

9. Use Encryption Software

Instead of using your C and/or D drive to store your computer data, you should always use a software encryption program. This software program creates a secure drive in which to work from as well as protect your data from malicious programs, and best of all most work, look and feel the same as Windows XP. TIP: Store your outlook.pst and password manager file on the secure drive for added security!

10. Wi-Fi and Hotspot security

Make sure your home or office Wi-Fi network is secure using WPA encryption instead of the default WEP security setting. Refer to the user manual, or why not visit ID Theft Protect to learn more about the WPA setting. For those of you who use Wi-Fi hotspots in cafes, hotels and airports for example, ID Theft Protect suggests you use Hotspot security software.

TIP: Keep your Microsoft Windows and Office updated with the latest security updates. Remember to keep your security software (anti-Malware, anti-virus, anti-spam, anti-spyware and firewall) updated as well. Finally do not forget to visit ID Theft Protect for all the latest on identity fraud and data privacy.

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ID Theft Protect is a leading resource for individuals and small enterprises who want to protect themselves against Identity Theft, Identity Fraud and Data Privacy. The website is designed to identify how at threat individuals are personally, and provide information and solutions to both current and future threats to their privacy. The site is interactive allowing individuals to build their own personal profile, and take the steps necessary to protect themselves.

Check out their quiz here.

There has been a decent amount of chatter recently about the security of financial applications on the Internet. Lots of people are scared to tell a company that they don’t know what all their financial information is. We totally get that. I’m not comfortable with it either.

But I still track my online and offline spending at Shoeboxed, and it’s because I don’t have to tell anyone my personal financial data, AND I can still get all of it organized. How?

The Federal Trade Commission requires that businesses cannot print or electronically send receipts with more than the last 5 digits of a credit card number or any information regarding the expiration date. Limiting this information makes the receipt untraceable back to the credit card number and associated sensitive data. Credit card numbers and expiration dates are common targets for identity thieves and scammers, so it makes sense for businesses to exclude that information on their receipts to protect their customers.

This is important to remember when signing up for and using Shoeboxed. Many people are worried about storing financial information like credit card and bank account numbers online, but with Shoeboxed, the receipts you organize have none of that information. Nothing that you upload or send to your account would be personally identifiable, and this makes your data much more secure.

This makes Shoeboxed unique from most every other financial application on the Internet. You can get control of your finances and organize receipts with just as much ease on Shoeboxed as any other site, but with Shoeboxed, we never ask for all that sensitive data.

Lord Jeffery once said, “A good name, like good will, is got by many actions and lost by one.” Today, this statement rings true to web users everywhere, as “phishers” impersonate a vast number of reputable businesses, including PayPal, eBay, Inc., Bank of America Corporation, and Citibank. According to Phishtank.com, an organization committed to eliminating phishers, around 77,709 phishes were sent out in April 2007. With one click of a button, an unsuspecting user can give away their precious information to criminals! It is important to try to protect yourself from getting hooked by their extremely enticing and advanced baiting techniques.

Phishing is the illicit act of luring internet users to give up their valuable personal and account information. The first phishers started out stealing AOL users’ passwords in the 1990s by sending out instant messages to unsuspecting victims. When they got passwords, the phishers gained access to all their victims’ account information. Phishers now use a variety of techniques, including fraudulent emails, pop-ups, links, websites, and phone calls.

The damage caused by phishers ranges from cluttered email inboxes to financial failure. Estimates suggest that between May 2004 and May 2005 computer users lost approximately $929 million USD. For businesses the picture is even worse, as US businesses lose $2 billion USD a year because their clients fall prey to phishers.

To combat phishers, companies are coming up with creative solutions. Some companies use user specific details when corresponding with clients. For example, the Bank of America Corporation sends the client’s image on any emails or messages. The goal of such incentives is to help users differentiate between legitimate correspondences and false ones. With the launch of Firefox 2.0, an open-source browser, Firefox included Google, Inc.’s anti-phish software. This software alerts users when they are on a phisher’s site (see photo). As the presence of phishers climbs, more and more companies are having to take action against them.

As for now, here are some tips you may find useful to fight phishermen:

• Do not click on the links of any unexpected e-mails alerting you that you need to confirm your billing information.
• Look for multiple misspellings.
• Look for the “lock” icon, which indicates a secure site, on the browser’s status bar.
• If you’re unsure about something, contact the company in question.

If you do smell something phishy, you can visit antiphishing.org or phishtank.com to report it.

Identity theft has become one of the most common crimes in the United States. It’s estimated that in the last five years, more than twenty-seven million people have had their identity stolen. As you probably know, identity theft most commonly occurs when your social security number, credit card, or bank account number get in the wrong hands. But even though most people understand that identity theft is a very real problem, perpetrators continue to use more sophisticated tactics to get a hold of your important information.

Five easy ways to prevent identity theft and keep your information personal:

Keep your wallet in a safe place, even when you are around friends and coworkers. According to a recent study, 26% of identity theft victims knew the thief.

Tear up your bank and credit card statements. It takes little time, no money, and can save you a lot of hassle.

Don’t take it if you don’t need it. There is no reason to have five credit cards in your wallet if you don’t need them all. You are more likely to lose one, and you’ll never know if one is missing.

Don’t write you social security number down. Just don’t do it unless you absolutely have to. You can write the last four digits on checks and transactions—but there is no need to write the entire number.

If you bank or shop online, be extra careful. The latest internet scam known as “phishing” is when scammers send emails imitating a legitimate Web site and ask for personal information and then use this information to commit identity fraud. Sometimes you can tell which spam is or isn’t dangerous. But it is becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate between what is real and what is fake. If you are worried about online identity theft, you need shoeboxed.com. It will automatically protect you from these harmful messages, helping you keep your information private and secure.

The media doesn’t always focus on the important things. As much as I enjoy reading a detailed description of Paris Hilton’s ritzy jail cell, I think we can all agree that these stories don’t have much bearing on our everyday lives.

But every once and a while, when the moon and stars align, the press decides to focus on an issue that has real significance. Recently, the media has looked to expose the many different faces of identity theft, writing stories that educate and inform readers about this growing problem.

Last week, the San Francisco Chronicle reported another instance of stolen identity - but one with an unusually personal twist. According to the article, Karen Lodrick realized that she was standing behind the woman who stole her identity when she noticed the nice suede jacket. Lodrick had only ever seen the coat once before - in a surveillance video of the thief from six months earlier. A forty-five minute chase followed in which Lodrick and police chased the woman to a parking lot where she finally collapsed from exhaustion. In the end, it turned out that the identity thief was a postal worker with a master key who had accessed Karen Lodrick’s mailbox.

This story does a particularly good job of identifying the emotions that can come with having your identity stolen - and in the case of Karen, how these feelings ultimately erupted in a chase scene straight out of Hollywood. But the article failed to recommend any realistic protective measures that would help people avoid becoming victims in the future. I’d like to think that I shouldn’t have to chase my identity down the street.

And this is why I’m so excited for Shoeboxed to launch. It will finally allow individuals to sign up for a service that automatically protects them from the dangers of online identity fraud.

Identity theft is a real problem, and we have a real solution.