Skimming - What Does It Mean?

from Investopedia. com









What Does Skimming Mean?

An electronic method of capturing a victim's personal information used by identity thieves. The skimmer is a small device that scans a credit card and stores the information contained in the magnetic strip. Skimming can take place during a legitimate transaction at a business.


Investopedia explains Skimming

Skimming can occur easily in a restaurant because your card is taken away when the bill is being settled. If your server is a skimming identity thief, he or she will, before giving the card back to you, scan the credit card with a hand-held electronic device, which takes only seconds. The electronically captured information is then used to by the thief or sold to other criminals.

10 Ways to Spot a Charity Scam

from Criminal Justice USA May 18, 2011

Donating to a charity is one of the most generous gifts a person can give, but it’s important to make sure that your good intentions are not wasted on one of the many charity scams circulating the country. Here are 10 ways to spot a charity scam:

1. Refuses to Provide Important Documentation: If a charity refuses to provide tangible documentation of its identity, mission, costs and how the donation will be used, you’re most likely dealing with a charity scam. All charities should have a name, contact person, phone number and address in which they can be reached.

2. Doesn’t Provide Proof of Tax-Deductible Contribution: Charities that cannot provide the paperwork needed to claim a contribution is tax deductible, may reveal themselves as a charity scam. In order to claim a tax deduction for your monetary donation, you need to have written confirmation from the charity that includes: the charity’s name, date of contribution and donation amount. Just like you need a receipt to return an item, you need these documents to get a tax deduction...read more story at Criminal Justice USA

Fines needed to help stem growing data breaches, Privacy Commissioner says

Trends suggest it's time for Parliament to pass legislation that would impose fines on companies when poor privacy and security measures lead to significant data breaches.

STRATFORD, Ontario, May 4, 2011 /Canada NewsWire/ - An alarming trend of ever-bigger data breaches is prompting Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart to call for substantial fines against major corporations that fail to adequately protect Canadians' personal information from preventable breaches.

"I am deeply troubled by the large number of major breaches we are seeing, including serious incidents in recent weeks that have affected hundreds of thousands of Canadians," says Commissioner Stoddart.

During a speech today at the Canada 3.0 forum in Stratford, Ontario, the Commissioner stated: "Too many companies are collecting more personal information than they are able to effectively protect…. It seems to me that it's time to begin imposing fines - significant, attention-getting fines - on companies when poor privacy and security practices lead to breaches.''

Before the federal election campaign, the Canadian Parliament was considering legislation to create a requirement for private-sector organizations to report significant data breaches to the Privacy Commissioner and affected individuals.

Commissioner Stoddart said the new session of Parliament creates the opportunity to strengthen the legislation to give the Privacy Commissioner the power to impose substantial fines in appropriate cases.

"I have come to the conclusion that the only way to get some corporations to pay adequate attention to their privacy obligations is by introducing the potential for large fines that would serve as an incentive for compliance," she said, noting that her counterparts in a number of other countries, including the United Kingdom, France and Spain, have already moved to impose hefty fines following breaches.

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada is mandated by Parliament to act as an ombudsman and guardian of privacy in Canada.

Be CyberSmart! Don't Get Caught

A CyberSmart Event in Guelph, Ontario on

THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2011

at the Old Quebec Street Mall
~ 10 am - 2 pm ~

Learn to : PROTECT YOU and YOUR FAMILY FROM COMPUTER
& IDENTITY THEFT

Bring : DOCUMENTS FOR SHREDDING

WIN A SHREDDER!!!

Brought to you by The Cybersmart Coalition - St. James CHS Students, Concerned Older Adults, Trellis and Guelph Police Service

CIRA releases report on the future of the Internet in Canada

OTTAWA, May 4, 2011 /Canada NewsWire/ - Today the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) released a report on the findings from its national consultation on how the Internet is run.

The Canadian Internet Forum (CIF) was a national consultation hosted by CIRA, along with its partners, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the Media Awareness Network (MNet). It consisted of face-to-face consultations that took place across Canada along with input received from an online discussion forum, and culminated at a national event held in Ottawa and webcast across the country in February 2011.

The consultations were broadly themed under two topics: the digital economy and digital literacy, and Canadians identified numerous issues that are important to them. These issues included online safety and security, the development of a 'Canadian vision' for the Internet and the cost and speed of broadband.

The report will be presented to the United Nations coordinated Internet Governance Forum ( www.intgovforum.org), a venue for nations to discuss the future of the Internet.

The report is available here.

About CIRA

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is the organization that manages Canada's .CA domain name registry, develops and implements policies that support Canada's Internet community and represents the .CA registry internationally.