Preventing Identity Theft with Adam Levin

At some point in our life we will encounter a cyber intrusion, either through somewhere we have done business or because we are targeted as an individual. It is important to know how to prevent identity theft as well as how to respond if you've already been compromised.

Today's guest is Adam Levin. As a graduate of Stanford University and the University of Michigan School of Law, Adam Levin is a nationally recognized expert on cybersecurity, privacy, identity theft, fraud, and personal finance. He is an author and the former director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs. Levin is the chairman and founder of Cyber Scout and co-founded Credit.com. He has been featured in the New York TImes, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and The Chicago Tribune. In addition to that, he has appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS Evening News, CNBC, MSN, and many others.

Show Notes:

• [1:14] - Adam shares his background and education in law and politics.
• [2:29] - In 2003, Adam created an Identity Theft company that later became a global business called Cyber Scout.
• [4:49] - Adam believes that security breaches are a certainty of life these days.
• [6:35] - While hacking has been around for a long time, Adam shares how he got into the business of identity theft protection.
• [8:36] - Over time, insurance companies have come to be support in identity theft.
• [10:01] - Chris shares a scenario of a friend that had their identity stolen.
• [12:23] - Many victims feel like they were in the wrong when in reality they may not have done anything wrong at all.
• [13:56] - In recent years, the IRS has been a lot more proactive.
• [16:02] - What is Adam's definition of identity theft?
• [19:01] - Adam explains why you should be vetting your vendor as well.
• [21:13] - There are four kinds of threat actors - state sponsored, for-profit, cause-related, and "because I can."
• [23:29] - Social engineering is the most successful method of identity theft.
• [25:42] - Adam wrote the book Swiped and explains that there needs to be a new framework around mitigating the threat of identity theft.
• [26:32] - How do we minimize your risk of exposure? This is very difficult.
• [27:46] - Two factor authorization is extremely helpful in protection.
• [28:41] - Always verify that the person you're speaking to is who you think they are.
• [30:12] - How can you monitor everything on your accounts and reports?
• [31:37] - One of the ways credit card numbers are sold on the dark web is by zip code which causes many banks to miss fraudulent use.
• [32:51] - The third "M" is to manage the damage. What can you do after an incident?
• [34:05] - Identity theft protection programs are relatively inexpensive.
• [37:01] - You can set the threshold for when you are notified. But you should choose to be notified of any purchase, even the really small ones.
• [38:50] - How do banks know when there's a fraudulent charge?
• [40:38] - There are features where you can lock the use of your card before having to change account numbers.
• [42:33] - The best protector of your portfolios, including your identity, is you the consumer.
• [44:37] - Adam describes his new podcast called What the Hack.
• [50:23] - Remember that many people are not who they claim to be.

Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review.

Links and Resources:

• Podcast Web Page
• Facebook Page
• whatismyipaddress.com
• Easy Prey on Instagram
• Easy Prey on Twitter
• Easy Prey on LinkedIn
• Easy Prey on YouTube
• Easy Prey on Pinterest
• Adam Levin Web Page
• What the Hack Podcast with Adam Levin
• Adam Levin on Twitter
• Cyber Scout Web Page
• Cyber Scout on Twitter