“This book will open your eyes, scare you smart, and make you think twice. Identity theft can happen to you and this book is a must read. Jim Stickley tells you why and how you need to protect yourself.”
Matt Lauer, Anchor, TODAY Show
"Nowadays, identity theft is an all-too-common occurrence that puts more than just your finances in jeopardy. Fortunately, Jim Stickley's easy-to-understand advice can teach you how to spot and stay ahead of security threats. In short, this book is a must read."
Wes Millar, Senior Vice President of CUNA Strategic Services
"In an age when identity theft will affect everyone sooner or later, this book is simply a must-read. Jim Stickley teaches you to spot the danger signs and offers smart solutions for everything from banking security and online shopping scams to medical identity theft. Whether it's you, your parents', or your kids' identities, everyone has something to protect. This book tells you what you need to know."
Jim Bell, Executive Producer, TODAY Show
"Jim Stickley shares his amazing experiences as a professional hacker in the most entertaining manner. He’s a great storyteller and captures your attention with his experiences, which will make you want to upscale your efforts protect your firm’s data and your own ID. Jim’s stories are fascinating. Most of us can’t imagine how simple it is for him to succeed as a conman in situations we think are safe. The trade secrets of hackers he shares with us are mind boggling! You won’t let your guard down after learning what Jim has actually done to get companies and individuals' private information. He’s the updated version of 'To Catch a Thief'[el]but he’s a good guy!"
Nancy E. Sheppard, President & CEO of Western Independent Bankers (A Trade Association of 350 Banks)
"If you’re not worried about identity theft, you should be[el]and Stickley tells you exactly why. His engaging writing style, coupled with real-life stories about identity theft and concrete actions to help you prevent identity theft are exactly what’s needed to make people take notice of this growing crime. I’ll recommend this book again and again!"
Jerri L. Ledford, About.com Guide to Identity Theft
Everything you must know to protect yourself and your business from identity thieves!
• The truth about real-world identity theft attacks
• The truth about how easy it is for thieves to make off with your identity
• The truth about stopping identity thieves in their tracks
Jim Stickley has stolen credit cards, hacked Social Security numbers, robbed banks, and created fake ATMs. He has broken into armed government facilities and has stolen from teenagers. He is an identity thief, but he is no criminal. Fortunately for all victims involved, Jim was hired to perform these attacks by corporations testing their security, news agencies investigating security concerns, and other media outlets interested in knowing just how easy it is to commit identity theft. His job is to find security flaws before the real criminals find them. This book has been designed to give you the insight that most people only experience after becoming victims of identity theft. Each Truth walks you through a different type of attack, explaining the complete process in a very simple and straight-forward way. Like a magician actually revealing what happens behind the curtain, Jim takes you through the attacks to reveal how people at home, work, and on the road become victims. Prepare yourself. What you read here might be disturbing, but you will never be truly safe from identity thieves until you learn to think like one.
Price: $14.81
User Reviews about The Truth About Identity Theft
The Truth About Identity Theft
By Jim Stickley © 2009
Publisher: Pearson Education, Inc. ISBN: 10:0-7897-3793-0
A Book Review by Frank Dobrowolski
For the Hobbyists Unlimited Computer Club, August 2010
This book scared the bejeebies out of me. It explains dozens of ways that one's identity can be stolen and used to steal money from one's account.. Fortunately, the book also discusses ways to protect against having an identity stolen and ways to keep track of one's finances to stop or at least limit theft. Further if one's identity is stolen the book presents the steps to take to limit the damage and to regain one's identity.
The book is an easy read. Each chapter is devoted to a particular subject. There are 46 chapters, each short - only three pages. The thoroughness of the book can be gleaned by noting some of the chapter titles and content:
Phishing via snail mail
o Phishing is the use of electronic communication to obtain confidential information such as passwords.
Your used computer is worth its weight in gold
o Y our personal data can be obtained from stolen laptops or discarded hard drives, even if "protected" with encrypted passwords and reformatting of the hard drive.
What do you means there's a warrant for my arrest?
o Criminals can use stolen identity information when arrested and sentenced.
Medical identity theft
o Stolen identity can be used to obtain medical services which then become part of one's medical history
o This is especially noteworthy since Federal Law is driving the system to a central data bank for medical info.
ATM scams
o Obtaining your personal info when you use an ATM machine and then withdrawing money from your account
o Bank of America here in Ridgewood, NJ, recently had an ATM attacked and accounts endangered.
Fake e-card greetings
o An e-mail induces one to open a file to observe a greeting. A thief spoofs the legitimate web site and presents a valid e-greeting - but also loads malware that can obtain personal information.
[Identity theft] started with a phone call
o Thieves pose as legitimate companies claiming there is a problem with one's account; using stolen legitimate info [ e.g. known Social Security number] to induce getting more personal info.
Crack proofing your passwords
o Most passwords can be cracked by rogue programs that test many passwords until the correct one is found; some programs are available free on the Internet
o Use strong passwords - random letters using upper and lower case, numbers and symbols, long password or multiple "words".
Stopping thieves in their tracks
o Filing fraud reports with the Police and the three Credit Reporting Agencies
o Set up Fraud Alerts with the three agencies
o Freeze credit info from the 3 agencies - including prohibiting issuance of new credit cards
Getting our life back in order
o Many actions recommended
o Takes time to undo identity theft.
So, the bad news is there are many ways that thieves can act to steal one's identity and finances. However, the good news is that we can protect ourselves and, if a victim of an identity theft there are procedures to rectify the situation. This book presents the range of information that allows the reader to prepare for and prevent or minimize identity theft.
To be forewarned is to be forearmed.
-- Identity Theft - Bad News, Good News
OK, so you may not have a thief to catch, but do you want to "get into the mind of identity thieves" and find out just how they can empty your wallet without ever laying their hands on it?
This is a GREAT book writen in non-geek language and it's as entertainig as it is informative. I read it the same day I pulled it out of Amazon's shipping box: peeked inside and simply couldn't put it down. Grab a pen and paper when you read, you may want to jot down a few tips that will save you a fortune later. Being robbed is not a "luxury of the wealthy"; if you have a name and a Social Security number, you have something to lose. You may not be able to completely eliminate the possibility of identity theft, but Jim Stickley's book shows how to cut the odds of it down. An absolute must-read if you have a teenager in your household; teach them the simple ways to protect their good name and credit report before someone ruins it for them. -- To catch a thief you gotta think like a thief...
But what I really wanted was more in depth info on how to clear up an ID theft event (since a friend of mine was just one such victim). Many of the books have parroted the same info that is already readily available on the Internet for free - contact the credit agencies, contact the police, contact the FBI (which is now handled by the FTC).
As my friend has been busy getting in touch with credit agencies and government agencies one thing that has emerged is the sheer lack of helpfulness that a few of these groups seem to give to you. The thief lived outside our state, so the police department in that state would not help us file a police report since we did not live in their state. And our own local police will not file a police report since the perpetrator does not live in our state!! Yet, repeatedly, Government and other helpful websites tell you to file a police report... see the problem. They also tell you to notify the FTC, who took over the job of dealing with ID theft from the FBI. But we were told the FTC does not do anything about ID theft, they take your information about the theft but only for documentation purposes, they are not a law enforcement agency and do not track down and prosecute bad guys!
What we did learn was that if the bad guy used the US Mail, by getting your mail forwarded to them, then you can notify the USPS. This might be one of the most valuable insights: if you start to realize that you do not seem to be getting very much mail all of the sudden, please immediately check with your letter carrier to see if you have had a forwarding request placed on your mail. And definitely DO contact the credit agencies, that is very important to help try to prevent charges for things you did not buy. -- Facinating insight into the criminal mind
When this book showed up (review copy) I initially thought what a piece of garbage. Like a previous commenter said, the book has a lackluster cover and its small and skinny. BUT, I flipped through and noticed that it contained lots of little "truths" 3-4 pages in length that quickly covered specific topics related to identity theft and protecting yourself online. So I decided to give it a shot.
The book is broken into 9 parts:
Part 1: The Truth About Phishing and Vishing
Part 2: The Truth About Trash
Part 3: The Truth About No-Tech Identity Theft
Part 4: The Truth About Just How Low Identity Thieves Will Go
Part 5: The Truth About Identity Theft in Plain Sight
Part 6: The Truth About Online Cons
Part 7: The Truth About Security at Work
Part 8: The Truth About Identity Theft from Real Victims
Part 9: The Truth About Putting a Stop to Identity Theft
Again, each part consists of several 3-4 page vignettes on topics related to the section and each vignette, while short, yields some actionable information on the topic. I didnt have any specific favorites, they were all good. Just about all of them were real world examples that they author conducted during security assessments or real life examples from people that had contacted the author or stories he had heard. Its sometimes much easier to emphasize with Susan who was a victim of identify theft and the troubles she was having trying to set things right. Of real value was the part on Putting a Stop to Identity Theft which tells you how to get rid of the pre-certified credit card offers, checking your credit reports, actions to take if you are a victim of identity theft and some of the pitfalls that can come up during the process.
So why 4 stars? Well mostly because I review technical security books it wouldn't be fair to give a book that doesn't yield "new" (but still useful) information 5 stars when other more technical books are graded much harsher. So that being said, if I had approached it being a less technical reviewer I would have easily given it 5 stars. If you want to get a book for mom and dad to protect to help them protect themselves from themselves and the rest of the bad guys out there this is the book for them. Unfortunately I finished it too close to Xmas to give copies as gifts. -- Digestible Truths to Protect Yourself from Identity Theft
Mr. Stickley presents the typically dull topic of identity-theft in a way that will have you laughing out loud and wondering, "Now why didn't I think of that?!" With the wisdom of Confucius and a wit similar to Dave Barry's, Jim's book will be enjoyed by all.
If you own a computer, you MUST read this book;
If you surf the Internet, you MUST read this book;
If you use a credit card, you MUST read this book;
If you use ATMs, you MUST read this book;
If you've ever thrown junkmail in the trash, you MUST read this book!
Just read this book! -- Why didn't I think of that?
