How to Dispute Your Credit Report Online

Webnotes taken by: Theresa Payton, Fortalice, LLC. Content taken from actual consumer question submitted to America Now, for which Theresa serves as a cyber expert. http://www.americanownews.com/story/16190165/theresa-payton 

Question:  If I want to dispute a couple of things on my credit report, how can I do it online?

Answer:

Many people do not realize that you have rights that allow you to dispute credit report errors.  You can do some of the legwork online but you may also need to make a few phone calls and / or even send a letter for more complex issues.

Everyone's credit report contains critical information about where you live now, where you used to live, and tells people if you pay your bills on time.  It may even include an arrest record.  If you have previously filed for bankruptcy, that will definitely follow you on your credit report.

The important fact to note is that the credit report must be 100% accurate.  You are protected under the Federal act called the "Fair Credit Reporting Act" or FCRA.

Step 1:

Order a free report.  Go to www.annualcreditreport.com

Step 2:

Look for and correct errors online.

The FCRA states that both the credit card company and the credit report agency must fix any inaccurate or incomplete information in your report. 

Online:

You can change address information and some minor inconsistencies.  If you are trying to remove a late payment history or dispute a bankruptcy or other financial judgments, this will require an extra step offline.  Each credit reporting company has it's own form and it's own process so you will need to dispute an item on every site.  

You will need to go separately to each site to file a dispute:

TransUnion  or go directly to: http://www.transunion.com/personal-credit/credit-disputes/credit-disputes.page

Equifax  or go directly to:  https://www.ai.equifax.com/CreditInvestigation/ 

Experian or go directly to: http://www.experian.com/disputes/main.html

Offline:

You will need to detail in a written letter, the information you think is inaccurate. Include copies of any document that supports the change you are requesting.  Make sure you keep a copy of all correspondence both online and offline for your records.

A great resource for understanding your rights to an accurate credit report and how to fix your credit is at the Federal Trade Commission's site.  Go to "Building a Better Credit Report" at ftc.gov/credit.


If you still have issues, you can go to the Federal Trade Commission and seek their assistance.  Go to www.ftc.gov or you can call them toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP .

They even provide a video, "How to File a Complaint' at www.ftc.gov/video .

Q&A: Password Pointers!

Question: I have a password for work access, another one to log into my bank account, then a different password for email, and the list goes on and on.  When I create a "strong" password, I can never remember it. Do you have some tips?

Answer:  Yes!  A great way to create a strong password that you can remember is to use a phrase that represents how you feel when you log onto that website.  Translate the first letter of each word into a letter or number. Have fun with it!

Example: email keeps me in touch with loved ones

Ekmitw<31s        Note:  <3 is a heart

Question: What if I just can't keep all these passwords straight?  Is it okay to write them down, or store them on my computer or phone, or to use a password vault service?

Answer:  This is a personal preference. Here is some feedback on some of the most common options:

Writing them down:  If you need to write them down, don't completely spell out what every password matches back to for your accounts. Also, don't store your password book near the computer. Lock it in a safe when you are not using it. 

Electronic file:  Do not put them in an electronic file that you store on your computer or on your phone.  Even if you "hide" the file by calling it something else,  that is a lot like locking the door and leaving the key under the mat, you might be okay or someone might find it.  

Password vaults:  For some individuals,  you may decide you would like to use a password vault. We have tested several but some of the best ones were really meant for techies and are not easy to use. However, a few options are on the market that might work for you. As with every service, ask the provider questions:  how do you protect me?  If there is a breach, how soon will you notify me and what method (a letter, phone, email or all of the above)?  If you go out of business, where does that leave me?

There are many packages to choose from and you should read the features and reviews before picking one that is right for you.  To get you started, some options that you might want to explore are:

Norton identity safe (free), last pass (free for basic version),  dashlane (free), Trend Micro DirectPass, RoboForm, and MyLOK .

Be wary of this recent scam!!

BADABING! Bad-a app!

Webnotes by: Theresa Payton, Fortalice, LLC. Content also covered on WBTV's "Protecting Your Cyberturf" segment featuring Kristen Miranda and Theresa Payton.
 
We all knew it was just a matter of time.  An app to surf all the posts on Facebook and highlight inappropriate photos.  Well, there is an app for that and the bad news is, there will probably be copycats coming soon.  The good news is, it actually doesn’t work all that well yet.  

There are over 2.5 billion photos uploaded to Facebook each month.  So many photos, so little time.  So if you want to see your friends scantily clad, then for only $1.99, Badabing! promises that it will search your Facebook friends’ photos and send you the sexy snaphots that it finds.  Some can get it to work and when they do, the results are shocking.  Many have expressed that the app does not work and they want their money back.  But there’s a bigger issue at work here and cyber expert, Theresa Payton, explains.

RECENT STUDY:
A study was just released by the Internet Watch Foundation and what did it find?

1.  Large number of provocative photos posted by underage social network users
2.  Even worse, these photos are frequently taken off of social networks and posted on adult websites
--they sampled 12,224 images tracked by the United Kingdom-based foundation and 88% of the inappropriate photos were actually reposted on porn websites.
3.  Concern:  this is just another app to encourage kids to post and surf the net for racy photos.  Worse, it provides easier aggregation and surfing of racy photos for predators and perverts.

WORD OF THE WEEK:  FUSKER
Fusker is an app or site that will quickly look for images and pull them together in one easy view.  These are often used against free hosted photo galleries like photobucket or instagram.  This can be a helpful tool but can also be used to search for racy photos that people thought they posted in a private, secure way.

WEB RESOURCES:
For more information on the Internet Watch Foundation study and resources:  www.saferinternet.org.uk

There is a “share with care” video that may help you have a conversation with your child.  The video is at:  http://www.onguardonline.gov/media/video-0004-share-care

An online safety game called “stop that post” can also be a fun way to talk about this tough topic with your kids:  http://www.nsteens.org/Games/StopThatPostAgain

Really? Hack into email and it's okay?

Webnotes by: Theresa Payton, Fortalice, LLC. Content also featured on WBTV's "Protecting Your Cyberturf" segment featuring Kristen Miranda and Theresa Payton.

Judge rules it’s okay to hack and read email.  No, really!

Remember during the last election cycle how a young man hacked into Governor Sarah Palin’s account and posted her emails?  U.S. District Judge Thomas Phillips convicted him of a misdemeanor charge in accessing Sarah Palin’s e-mail.  We have told you before that our laws have not kept up with the digital age .  Well, in a stunning new court decision, the exact opposite happened, leaving security and privacy experts concerned that this sets a bad example for other would be email hackers.  

This is unbelievable.  We all have some semblance of expecting our personal email correspondence stored by email providers like Google and Yahoo is safe from unauthorized access.  Sure, we know hackers might get in but in our minds, that’s breaking the law and if they were found they would be punished.  But oops...you might want to rethink that.  The South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled that such data in not protected by the Stored Communications Act (SCA).  Cyber expert, Theresa Payton, is concerned by this and believes it sets a bad example and precedent for other would be email snoops.

To the layman, snooping into someone’s emails, is considered wrong.  To us, this appears to be black and white but it clearly is not. Until we get laws that have caught up with the digital age, we will continue to have court case decisions that will be hard to predict or explain.

THIS CASE:

Husband, Lee Jennings, was confronted by his wife about an affair.  Once he admitted to the affair, she worked with another person to guess his password for his email account and read his email messages.  Many of his messages were printed and turned over to her divorce attorney in building a case against him.  Lee sued his wife and ultimately lost in the SC Supreme Court.

WHY THIS IS HARD FOR THE COURTS:

1.  LAWS ARE OLD:  Many of the laws on the books are old.  Some have been “retro fitted” to add digital

2.  LACK OF PRECEDENCE:  Courts go by laws and also follow case precedents.  In this case the court reviewed the SCA law and said it did not fit this particular case.

3.  LACK OF PREDICTABILITY:   Many expected the husband to win this case but the SC Supreme Court Justices ruled that since his emails were not created for the purpose of backing up his data, the emails are not covered by the SCA

4.  WHAT IS THE SCA?   Stored Communications Act.  This covers the protection of electronic storage.  However, the SC Supreme Court does not see your email inbox or folders as “storage” even though the SCA says “any temporary, intermediate storage of a wire or electronic communication incidental to the electronic transmission thereof” .

The Justices ruled that since the correspondence in the plaintiff’s emails were not created for the purpose of backing up the data, the information does not warrant protection from intrusion under the Act.

5.  COMMENTS FROM THE SC SUPREME COURT:  Chief Justice Jean Toal noted that an item can only be considered protected by the SCA if it was both “unopened and kept as backup protection”. She also wrote, “Because the emails were already opened by Jennings when they were retrieved and printed out by Broome, they reached their final destination and fell outside the definition of electronic storage under the statute.”

WORD OF THE WEEK:  FINFISHER

FINFISHER is a malware that targest Android phones through the Android operating system.  They infect your phone through infected links.  Once your phone is infected, Finfiser steals your address book of all your contacts and your phone number.  Contact your phone vendor if you think you have been infected.

WEB RESOURCES:

Court decision:

http://www.sccourts.org/opinions/HTMLFiles/SC/27177.pdf 

Background on the SCA:

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2510 

Peak delivery season means peak spam scams!

Webnotes by: Theresa Payton, Fortalice LLC. Content also featured on WBTV's "Protecting Your Cyberturf" segment featuring Theresa Payton and Kristen Miranda.

Those cybercriminals are at it again.  We’re entering one of the busiest times of year for sending and receiving packages.  We’ve told you before that criminals go where the action is and we’re on your side watching for their next move.  And, looks like they have already started starting first with DHL delivery messages.   

We’re all multi tasking these days and we’re busy.  We’re juggling work, after work activities, sending and shipping packages for work and for our personal lives.  Cybercriminals are counting on that in their latest spam scam.  Cyber expert, Theresa Payton, talks about this latest spam scam and what types of headaches it’s already creating for those that accidentally clicked on the link.

HOW IT WORKS:

1.  The emails appear to be from DHL Express

Subject lines vary but one picked up by Sophos Labs was "Processing complete successfully"

2.  PDF.ZIP file:  in an effort to “help” you, they send you the shipping information in the PDF.ZIP file.

3.  Multi taskers beware!  If you opened the file, a malware installs itself and infects your computer

Keep in mind that DHL is not the only shipping service that cybercriminals use in their spam scams.  They also target the USPS, UPS, FedEx.  No shipping service is immune!

TIP:

Never click on links or attachments in shipping notices, even if you did ship a package.  Go directly to the web site or call if you want to check on the status.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU THINK YOU WERE THE VICTIM OF A SPAM SCAM:

1.  For Microsoft windows users, go to this website to run their free malware removal tools:

http://www.microsoft.com/security/pc-security/malware-removal.aspx 

2.  For Apple users, you can go to www.Apple.com to seek support or you can access a free tool at http://www.sophos.com/en-us/products/free-tools/sophos-antivirus-for-mac-home-edition.aspx 

3.  Watch your computer for warning signs - if your computer displays any of these AFTER you run the tools, seek professional technical assistance:

• hard drive sounds like it is being accessed but you are not performing an activity
• several sudden freezes or screen lock ups for no reason
• you suddenly start spamming your friends with strange emails
• computer is slow and sluggish

WORD OF THE WEEK:

HONEYNET.ORG  this is a non profit organization that tracks attackers and the attack points around the globe.  They show a real time  map of attacks at http://www.honeynet.org/node/960 .  A group of volunteers helps Honeynet.org track and investigate the latest attacks.   The teams then develop open source security tools to help fight cybercrime!

RESOURCES:

To see a picture of global attacks tracked by Honeynet.org go to:  http://www.honeynet.org/node/960

WHAT TO DO IF YOU THINK YOU WERE THE VICTIM OF A SPAM SCAM:

1.  For Microsoft windows users, go to this website to run their free malware removal tools:

http://www.microsoft.com/security/pc-security/malware-removal.aspx 

2.  For Apple users, you can go to www.Apple.com to seek support or you can access a free tool at http://www.sophos.com/en-us/products/free-tools/sophos-antivirus-for-mac-home-edition.aspx 

3.  Some other free malware removal tools include:

Symantec/Norton:  http://www.symantec.com/security_response/malware.jsp 

McAfee:  http://www.mcafee.com/us/downloads/free-tools/how-to-use-stinger.aspx 

What to do before bullying begins

Webnotes by: Theresa Payton, Fortalice, LLC. Content also featured on WBTV's "Protecting Your Cyberturf" segment featuring Kristen Miranda and Theresa Payton.

Parents want to know what they can do before bullying begins.

The studies are all over the place but they have 1 thing in common - chances are your kid will be bullied in some way in the digital world. It could be an inappropriate photo, a mean text, or a secret exposed that embarasses them.  Research suggests that as many as ⅓ of all kids will experience cyberbullying and between as many as 20% of students could be a cyberbully.  Many experts have talked about how to stop bullying but you have told us you want to do more.  

 Amanda Todd, a Canadian teen, recently posted a youtube video talking about the pain she had been put through by her digital tormentors and then took her own life.  Our hearts go out to her parents and loved ones as they deal with this horrific loss.  It has left many of you asking as a parent what can you do if your son or daughter becomes a victim of digital bullying.  Cyber expert, Theresa Payton, has some tips for parents that could block the bullying or help head off a situation before it gets out of control.

7 TIPS FOR PARENTS:

1.  Safe Zone:  Before your child has a digital social life, establish a safe zone.  Kids tell surveys they don’t immediately report issues online because they don’t want to be digitally grounded.  Promise them you will not ground them if they come to you immediately with an issue even if they caused it.  

2.  Warning Signs:  Obsessive checking of emails, texts, social media accounts.  Or the opposite, completely withdrawn.  Moody.  Spells of sleeping or being hyper.

3.  Monitoring:  Always have a trust but verify rule in place.  Tell your child you will be actively checking their accounts and follow through.  Don’t snoop because you will create mistrust and you need a healthy and open line of communication.

4.  Legal action:  Blackmail, stalking, threatening online does have some legal protections.  File a police report and then contact a lawyer.  

5.  Online action:  Often a bully will go away if you ignore them.  This is the best first step.  But if the harassment becomes relentless, involves physical harm, or mental duress, you have courses of action you can take with online companies.  Go to customer support and seek help.

6.  Get help:  Seek counseling.  Your child is not alone.  Often, they feel as if their life is over and by seeking out counseling they can work through the shame, self blame and embarrassment

7.  Get educated together:  Before their digital social life takes off, spend time together playing internet safety games.  It’s a great way to have fun together while reinforcing important lessons.  If you have a teen, NSTeens.org is a great place to watch videos and play games that talk about cyberbullying.  Another great resource is OnGuardOnline.gov.

WORD OF THE WEEK:

SURFACE.  This is the new Microsoft tablet that wants to take on the iPad and other tablets in the market.  Coming soon to a store near you.  It has a 10.6-inch screen and a pop-out kickstand.  Pricing starts at just under $500.  

Resources:

For step by step instructions on how to report bullying on Facebook:

http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/reportfbabuse/individual.html 

How to stop bullying via the smart phone or cellphone:

Call your cell phone provider and have them walk you through options to monitor or block posts.  You can also request a free cell phone number change.

Contact Customer Support at Social Media networks:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/help/?page=223210624415505 

Twitter:  https://support.twitter.com/articles/15794-safety-abusive-users 

Pinterest:  https://support.pinterest.com/home 

Instagram:  http://help.instagram.com/customer/portal/articles/615900-tips-for-parents 

Google products such as YouTube, Google+ all have standard features while on the product:

• If you see abusive or inappropriate content, click the down-arrow to the right of the post or content and select report abuse. 
• To report a person specifically, there is also an option to “Report this Profile” .  Look on the left side of the person’s profile. 

For YouTube videos, there is extra help at:

http://support.google.com/youtube/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=126266 

Play internet safety games together as a family that cover cyberbullying:

www.NSTeens.org   

www.OnGuardOnline.gov