Tickets stolen after social media photos with barcodes posted

Posted on by

Concert tickets showing barcode on Internet A headline from ABC News in Houston, TX this morning caught my attention: “Thieves stealing barcodes from pictures of event tickets posted on social media.”

This can include using sites such as Facebook or Twitter to share images of paid events that others might want to enjoy–think football, baseball, basketball games, hockey matches, concerts, and more.

“…barcodes can be copied from pictures of real tickets and printed on homemade tickets. That would let someone else into the event while the real ticket holder gets shut out… Scam artists can make fakes and sell them to unsuspecting concert goers.” (source)

How come it’s so easy for the scammers?

Many barcodes have their actual number printed next to the barcode, which means anyone with a barcode maker could type in that number and add your barcode to their homemade counterfeit or home-printed ticket.

Picture of concert tickets online

So how can I prevent someone from stealing my ticket online?

Don’t post pictures that display the barcode. Cover it up if you must publish it, or wait until the event has ended. Also, in the case of showing anything valuable, make sure your social media privacy settings are set as visible to Friends only, rather than Public.

What else can we learn here?

Be careful about buying any event tickets from third parties. That doesn’t mean none can be trusted, but it should make us more cautious about trusting the seller, even if the seller didn’t realize they may have been given counterfeit tickets.

Fire hazards: Generic laptop power cords

Posted on by
Dangerous laptop charger

Photo credit: Sarah / IWKYS

Recently I heard from a friend whose laptop power cord got so hot that it melted a hole in her carpet. Turns out it was a generic branded adapter, not specific to the laptop manufacturer. While some of these off-brand adapters and power cords may be safe and of sound quality, it’s unfortunate that others are dangerous safety hazards, making it a gamble to purchase one. You’ll notice in the photo that there is no brand name on the label, but that the model suspiciously contains the characters “HP” without claiming to be made by HP, a well-known computer manufacturer.

I decided to look up one of these generic “notebook adapters” on the Amazon Marketplace, and here are a few quotes from the reviews of just this single item:

  • “The power adapter gets so hot that it actually burnt the skin of my two year old son.”
  • “…it decided to make my living room stink of melting plastic… it overheated and died.”
  • “I received the first charger and it did not work. So I decided to return it and buy another one because it was cheap. The unit arrived promptly but it makes a terrible noise when you plug it in which apparently means it is failing…”
  • “…it burnt up in two weeks, the adapter bubbled on the outside…”
  • “…one day it just starting crackling…”

We all want to save money on expensive items like electronics, especially when an item with the official company logo is way over-priced. However, for the safety of yourself and those around you, not to mention the health of your laptop’s battery, look for an officially branded power cord that matches your computer. You may still find a deal through an online retailer, marketplace, or auction site, but as always, beware of any offer that seems too good to be true. Just because some universal products like this one pose a threat to your safety does not mean all of them do–but it’s not always obvious which ones can be trusted, especially when purchasing online, where you can’t easily inspect before ordering.

I believe the computer manufacturers and retailers might be able to cut down on this danger by offering more affordable accessories, but I haven’t seen that happen yet.

There’s some truth to the old saying, “You get what you pay for,” and in this case it’s not worth saving a few dollars when a faulty, over-heating laptop cord could start a fire in your home or office.

If you do purchase from a third-party seller online:

  • Look for a trusted brand name
  • Find out if a particular seller has a positive history
  • Check for a return-policy before ordering
  • Though they’re not always 100% accurate, read product reviews carefully
  • Contact the seller if questions remain
  • After item arrives, inspect it closely

.

How to Opt-Out of Online Behavioral Advertising

Posted on by

What is OBA?  Just in case you haven’t noticed, the internet has ads. And in recent years those ad companies have advanced the techniques they use to target specific ads to what you’re interested in from the websites you visit. For example, if you watch a video on ‘auto repair’ via YouTube and then switch to Amazon.com, the site may show you ads for books about auto repair. Online Behavioral Advertising (OBA) is the official term for this, but you may have also heard it referred to as interest-based advertising, contextual advertising or ad targeting. Apple calls them iAds within their network, but its all the same idea. To find out more visit the National Advertising Initiative (NAI) at networkadvertising.org. Even if you can’t stop ads completely, it’s important to remember that you have the right to say NO and Opt-Out of these targeted ads.

Why would I WANT to Opt-Out?  In a word … Privacy. The only advantage in using OBA is “More relevant advertising creates a benefit for both consumers and companies, because consumers find more of what interests them and companies spend less on ineffective advertising.” – NAI. The logic is that if you are going to see ads anyway, why not cater them to your interests? While it’s a valid point, not everything I do online relates to my retail buying interests. Just because I researched Grandma’s pain medicine online, should I be targeted for prescription drugs? It’s just not comforting to know your being tracked, especially if it’s not relavant. Even if it is relevant, it may not always be appropriate. Target used OBA techniques to find out a teen girl was pregnant before her family did. While it’s not necessarily unsafe if you prefer OBA, it’s certainly safer to Opt-Out.

While most ad tracking companies do not use personally identifiable information (PII), it’s certainly possible for them to use your name or email, specifically if you already have an account with the company and you have agreed to terms and conditions that they reserve the right to change. For instance, Facebook says this under Privacy Settings > Ads, Apps, and Websites > Ads > Edit Settings: “Facebook does not give third party applications or ad networks the right to use your name or picture in ads. If we allow this in the future, the setting you choose will determine how your information is used.”

Other benefits of Opting-Out include performance issues. The NAI identifies 95 ad tracking companies and Google identifies 232 ad tracking companies that obtain activity information from cookies within your browser. This could mean a slower browser experience, and if you are using a mobile web browser, it may mean unwanted data usage as well as more battery consumption, even if this is minimal.

How to Opt-Out  If it were just search engines like Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo that tracked you, it would be easy, especially since they each offer a simple Opt-Out. But there are a lot of companies that you have probably never heard of that harvest this same information and then provide it to companies you have heard of, like Facebook and Hulu. So, if you really want to get serious about blocking all OBA, the NAI offers a Consumer Opt-Out tool that will block dozens of popular ad networks with a single click. Each company listed has more information available and lists a link to Opt-Out individually.

Apple tracks your preferences a few different ways within their proprietary services on their mobile devices. To Opt-Out of Apple’s iAd network, visit https://oo.apple.com with mobile Safari on your iPhone or iPad and switch it to “Off”. While you’re at it, visit Settings > General > About > Advertising > Limit Ad Tracking and switch it to “On”. To disable location based ads, go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services > System Services > Location-Based iAds and switch it to “Off”.

Lastly, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with cookies in each browser you use and learn how to manage them. Cookies are the main method OBA is obtained by these ad networks. While completely disabling the use of third party cookies within your browser can prevent OBA, many things you frequently do online will not work without cookies, so you will have to make exceptions for the sites you trust and use often. Also, keep in mind that if you clear your browser’s cookie information, your preferences will be lost. If you are a Chrome user, Google offers a plugin called Keep My Opt-Outs which will take care of your cookies and keep you Opted-Out.

 

How to delete your Facebook search history

Posted on by

Searches on Facebook recorded

Facebook is tracking your searches and displaying the history in your Activity Log. While this may be a beneficial feature, instead of asking users if they would like to opt-in, Facebook made their usual decision to roll this out on all users, failing to adequately notify everyone about the change. At this point Facebook claims the search history is only visible to an individual, but when Facebook has potential revenue to gain from sharing this kind of data with marketers, we shouldn’t hold high expectations for Facebook to uphold the privacy of its users, especially considering their past. In recent years the company has been known to abuse the trust of its users by signing them up for new features that an individual neither fully understands nor plans on using, sometimes out of valid concerns for privacy and safety. While it is true that Facebook is provided as a free service that no one has to use, there is a fair expectation from users that when they sign up for a service at a certain point in time, the users do not anticipate the future changes that in hindsight may have prevented them from committing.

How do I turn off the search history in Facebook? At this point it doesn’t look like there is a way to disable the tracking of search history within Facebook, but you can at least clear out the terms. In their help center, Facebook explains how to remove your search history:

  1. Open your activity log and select Search from the dropdown menu at the top of the page
  2. Click remove icon next to the search entry
  3. Click Remove…
    .
    Or, click the Clear Searches button at the top of your activity log to clear all of your searches at once.

A few observations regarding the Activity Log, when it comes to individual privacy concerns:

  • When I browse to my Activity Log to see what Facebook is keeping track of, how come the default filter is only set to “Posts and Apps,” effectively hiding all of the additional activity from the casual browser who doesn’t bother to click the drop down in the top right section of the page?
  • While Facebook has a “Clear Searches” button that deletes all past searches, they do not provide the same button for other categories in the Activity Log. This could include “Posts with Location” that display my geographical location on a map. How come Facebook doesn’t provide an easy way to remove this content?
  • If I need to remove posts and other content that is Public-facing (as opposed to being visible to friends only), why isn’t there a filter to see content that is visible to the entire web? At this point the way to remove this content is to scroll through the entire activity log, looking for the globe icon showing up next to all Public content.
  • What else does Facebook know about me, if this is only a list of what they want to tell me they know about me?
  • How come I can’t disable future tracking of activity within Facebook?

.

When You Die, You Still Live Online

Posted on by

What will happen to all your personal emails after you’re gone? What about your Facebook page and your documents and photos stored in the cloud? Traditional wills include the future of your physical assets and bank funds, but one thing that may get overlooked are the many online and digital accounts you may have. Wouldn’t you like all your online accounts to be closed, terminated, or financially distributed to the right person and in the right way when you are no longer around?

Preparing your Digital Accounts. Although you can make legal documents online (LegalZoom, RocketLawyer, Global-Wills), speaking with an attorney may be the most comfortable way to start. If you have a good relationship with a lawyer or have known people who have used them for this very thing, having a real person around can be very helpful to answer some of your questions. One important thing to know is that if you do not have a will or your will does not name an Executor, then the probate court involved in settling your estate will name one. That might get messy since basically, state law will make the determinations. But if you have a Last Will and Testament in place, the appointed Executor can manage all your accounts will the proper legal means. They can handle all final affairs related to your estate (no matter how small). But it may be wise to add a special paragraph to your will for this “Digital Executor.” For instance:

“My Executor may manage, distribute, or terminate my digital assets. My digital assets shall mean electronic assets that are stored on my computers, any electronic devices, or on any online accounts, including, but not limited to, social networking sites, online backup services, servers, email accounts, photo and document sharing sites, financial and business accounts, domain names, virtual property, websites, and blogs. An instructional document with associated websites, usernames, passwords and related information, shall be found in my Letter of Instructions.”

Including something like this will directly put the person (or persons) who you trust in charge of these accounts. It will also bring those accounts to their attention and avoid them being forgotten into the digital abyss. For more information on protecting this, see IWKYS post: A growing crisis: Loved ones dying without sharing passwords.

Closing Accounts for the Deceased. Hopefully your loved ones were able to designate an Executor with access to their Important Papers or access to their passwords. If not, one good resource for finding information about closing online accounts is Deceased Account. It’s a free resource provided by LifeEnsured for families to help manage the on-line accounts of deceased relatives. It provides links, information, and various state laws on what is known about closing these accounts. While it may not be convenient to accomplish this shortly after the loved one has passed, it’s understandable and appropriate in regard to security measures. Some services like Gmail and Twitter have information readily available which generally includes:

  1. A death certificate copy. (Keep in mind that some services are time sensitive.)
  2. A driver’s license or some form of official identification.
  3. Information regarding your relationship with the deceased and your purpose.

These requirements are also similar for closing bank accounts (along with the Important Papers of the deceased and/or a safety deposit box key), but speaking directly with the bank should be able to answer most questions. Other services mentioned on Deceased Account may not be so clear. For instance, Facebook encourages you to memorialize the deceased instead of closing the account. This may or may not be appropriate. Closing Facebook accounts can be a challenge anyway since they only offer deletion by request.

While this post is certainly not an exhaustive resource for outlining the benefits of having all your Important Papers in order (Last Will and Testament, Advance Directives, Power or Attorney, DNR, etc.), it may help encourage you to organize your accounts and alleviate some of the hassle in closing them when we pass on.

Should I buy from that Website?

Posted on by

Have you ever been searching for something ridiculously specific? Something you can’t find in stores and shockingly, Amazon also doesn’t have what you are looking for? You have searched high and low for that odd little item online that you just gotta have, only to find some little website you have never heard of is the only place in the world that seems to sell it. Is it still safe to make a purchase? Even if you have never heard of the business, there are a lot of things you can do to ensure your online purchase safety and reduce vulnerability.

HTTPS and Certificates. Before you ever log in or enter any personal information or credit card numbers, be sure to check the website’s security certificate. If they use a familiar service like Paypal or Google Checkout, you may be redirected to a secure web page but this practice still holds true on companies you have heard of. Look for “https://..” in the URL. That “s” stands for secure and you can find out more about it. Depending on what browser you have, somewhere near the URL bar, there should be a color coded area or an icon that looks like a padlock. Click that to view and confirm you are on a secure and encrypted web page. Here you will be able to see who owns the certificate, who the certificate was issued by, when the certificate expires, and a summary of other good information. Is the owner of the certificate the company you expect it to be? Look at the dates the certificate is valid. Has their certificate expired? Here is an example from Amazon.

Learn about the company’s business. Find out where the business is physically located and look them up on a map or street view level to make sure they are where they say they are located. Is there a building where it is supposed to be with the correct name of the business on it? Call their telephone number and speak with an actual person about their business and the item you want to buy before purchasing. Check out the reputation of the business through online reviews and even look them up on the BBB if applicable.

Use a prepaid card or gift certificate. That generic and re-gifted item bought at the last minute from your awkward uncle last Christmas has some benefits in this situation. There is no personal information attached to it and it has a charge limit that is not tied to your bank or credit card. Also, they can be bought with cash and a lot of them are even re-loadable. If things were to ever go sour, you’re high and dry.

Are cell phones and radio waves killing you slowly?

Posted on by

We’ve all heard that cell phones are someday going to give us all cancer right? Well, it’s mostly just a silly neurotic saying, but the truth is we just don’t really accurately know what kind of effects Radio Frequency (RF) emissions have on us here in 2012.  Did you know that before any wireless phone model can be sold to the public, it must be tested by the manufacturer and certified by the FCC to ensure the RF levels do not exceed a Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) of 1.6 watts per kilogram, averaged over one gram of body tissue? What’s most surprising is that this FCC standard is based on research done in 1996! And a lot has changed since then. Not only is there a vast majority of more people with cell phones now, but there’s also more connected devices, more powerful devices, and many more localized cell phone towers. That’s a lot more radio waves out there.

But there’s hope that more current standards might be on the way. In a recent (and very interesting) Congressional Request, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) notes that the FCC’s RF exposure limit for phones should now be reassessed. What the GAO recommends is:

“FCC should formally reassess and, if appropriate, change its current RF energy exposure limit and mobile phone testing requirements related to likely usage configurations, particularly when phones are held against the body. FCC noted that a draft document currently under consideration by FCC has the potential to address GAO’s recommendations.”

It’s no secret that RF emissions can certainly cause biological damage to your body via thermal heat effects in high levels. This radiation is exactly the way a microwave works. Part of the FCC’s RF cell phone testing procedures actually includes using dummies to simulate human body tissue. And if you think 1.6W/kg is too high of a limit, be relieved that outside of the USA, standards are 2.0W/kg. This request doesn’t indicate when any results or changes will be made from the potential findings. It is currently “In Process.”- GAO-12-771. This post is not intended to alert you of any real danger. In fact, there is much evidence against this. This is just about being aware. However, there are still some steps you can take to ensure your safety.

  1. Find out more about RF emissions information from your cell phone manufacturer. This should be hidden away somewhere on their website, in the back of your cell phone manual, or even tucked away in your phone settings. For example, if you have an iPhone, visit RF Exposure, or look under Settings > General > About > Legal > RF Exposure, on your phone. If you still have trouble finding information about your particular phone, Wikipedia may be able to help.
  2. Find out more about RF emissions information from your wireless cell phone provider. For example, if you are a Verizon customer, visit Radio Frequency Emissions. Also, it may be helpful to find out what frequency you are using if you are a traveler. Different providers use different frequencies around the world. Again, Wikipedia may be able to help.
  3. Reduce your RF exposure. Basically talk less, use the speakerphone, or any type of hands-free device that will move your phone physically away from your body. These might be safe practices anyway.

Tricked by a fake mind reader with an Internet research team

Posted on by

Computer analysts mining personal information on the InternetHere’s a short video that demonstrates how easy it is to find information about a person online. In this setup, random people were invited to see a mind reader, while being told it was for an upcoming TV program. What the people didn’t realize was that while their mind was supposedly being read, a team of cyber analysts were hidden behind a curtain, researching anything they could find out about their subject.

.

Watch out for hidden cameras that record porn

Posted on by

The details buried in a news article caught my eye the other day. I think there’s a lack of general public awareness when it comes to some of the technology that’s available today. That wouldn’t be such a big deal if it weren’t for the danger in which these technologies can put us. People exploit people; it’s human nature. Not to say everyone participates, or that any individual does this to the full extent–but as a general rule, people abuse technologies for personal gain, which eventually involves harming or abusing the rights of a fellow human. Sadly, there are only newer ways invented to do it. Read the following account to become a little more familiar with one small area that is by no means new, but still one that we may see repeated in the near future.

The Times of India reported that a computer shop called “Computer Solutions” was raided after authorities were tipped off that porn was being supplied to students. That’s extremely sad to read about, and I don’t mean to overshadow that headline, but notice where the porn came from:

“Police said the owner of the shop, Samjith Raj, even taught his customers how to record porn clips using mobile phones and hidden cameras. Hundreds of mobile clips, suspected to be of local people, were found in the five hard discs and several memory cards seized from the shop… most of the visuals found on memory cards were shot while women were bathing or changing dress.” (Read full article)

Did you catch that? Hidden cameras? Hundreds of clips of unsuspecting local women undressing? That should disgust us, especially knowing that both a seller and a buyer had to be involved in the computer store transaction, repeatedly. This required the exploitation of fellow humans—mothers, daughters, neighbors. Thankfully someone did stand up and alert authorities. The incident occurred in Thiruvananthapuram (in English, Trivandrum), a large city in Kerala, India, but the main reason I wanted to point out this incident is to suggest that it could have taken place anywhere. It’s not just that the technology exists out in the world somewhere, but that hidden cameras are so easy for those interested to find online, purchase, and set up.

Hidden spy camerasSo what does a hidden spy camera look like? How can we spot one? Here are a few different devices that would be a little more difficult to spot. Keep in mind that these examples–a clock, AC adapter, power outlet, tissue box with WiFi, neck tie, iPhone/iPod speaker dock, glasses, iPod shuffle–are available on the market today. Click the image for a closer look. Plenty of other items currently exist, still others can easily be custom-made, and more will be available as technological capabilities increase.

Should this scare us? Yes, somewhat. Healthy fear is not a bad thing. Should we become paranoid and never go out in public? Of course not. Just keep in mind that people are out there–not just students in a computer shop in India–capable and willing to exploit others for a short-lived pleasure that will only hurt them in the end.

Find hidden cameras with this toolIs there anything we can do to find a hidden camera? There are tools being developed to spot them, and you can find a few available for sale on Amazon, but their usefulness may vary. If I suspected a hidden camera in a location, I’d spend a few minutes examining the area. If I did have one of these handy hidden camera detectors, I’d give it a shot, but would not rely 100% on it.

.

.

Why do Nigerian scammers make such obvious mistakes?

Posted on by

Example of an email scam originating in NigeriaA Microsoft researcher has a theory on why Nigerian scammers make what may seem like obvious mistakes, such as telling you they’re from Nigeria.

From The Economist:

“In faulty English, the e-mail describes vast riches in search of an owner. Your new pen pal just needs your bank account to park the money—and will pay richly for the favor. In fact, the fraudsters will empty your account, or sucker you into paying fees for cash that never materializes.

Though Nigeria is well known as the source of such tricks (called 419 scams after the relevant paragraph in that country’s criminal code), many crooks make puzzlingly little attempt to hide their origins. In a new paper*, Cormac Herley of Microsoft Research has used maths to show why: blatancy is a means of weeding out all but the most credulous respondents.

He argues that scammers are rational actors. A big cost for them is the time they spend coaxing fully into their net those who show initial interest. So they need to select the most promising targets, rather than timewasters or the wary. ‘By sending an e-mail that repels all but the most gullible, the scammer gets the most promising marks [victims] to self-select,’ he says…” [Continue reading]

*Cormac Herley: “Why do Nigerian Scammers Say They are from Nigeria?” (PDF)

.