[Carol Lin, Cnn Anchor:] In the cyber age, a click of a computer mouse can provide anyone with your address, Social Security number, credit card number, information a thief can use to cash checks or even charge purchases. But did you know just a bumper sticker on your car or even how you stand in line at the post office can make you an easy target? The federal government is holding meetings to craft legislation to help consumers. But Kevin McKeown, author of "Your Secrets are My Business," says consumers have to do more to protect themselves. Good morning, Kevin.
[Kevin Mckeown, Author, "your Secrets Are My Business":] Good morning, Carol.
[Lin:] Very interesting topic here and a big problem for many people. A quick definition of what an identity thief is.
[Mckeown:] An identity thief is any person that takes any small bit of information, your personal information, and misuses it either against you or to their gain.
[Lin:] And for many people, it's a surprisingly how quick and easy it is for them to do just that. You have some tips. We put up four them, and let's quickly go through some of them. For example, you say watch out for verbal crowbars. What does that mean?
[Mckeown:] Verbal crowbars are the little techniques that thieves will use. They'll bump into you, ask you for directions. A few simple sentences then turn into a question; a question of, oh, well, do you live far from here? or, are you going on vacation for a long time? That will provide the thief with information they need to either abuse your credit report and get credit cards under your name, or to violate your privacy and your personal information in numerous ways.
[Lin:] Well, you also say conduct a vehicle privacy check.
[Mckeown:] We're all guilty of this. The next time you park your car, just walk around it. See what is visible through the windows. Can I see a magazine that has a mailing label that will show me where you live?
[Lin:] But you also say a bumper sticker with, say, my kid's school name on it. My kid is an honor student at, you know, John Marshall Middle School can give away some...
[Mckeown:] It's not a Carol, it's not a good idea to advertise where you're going, where you can be tracked, where people can monitor your movement. They'll know that you might be going to parents night, you might be driving your kids to that school, how long it takes to get there. It gives them an opportunity to rip you off.
[Lin:] Yes, and you even said that one Taco Bell actually went into the parking lot and took license numbers for marketing information. People can get that off of your license plate?
[Mckeown:] Yes. Well, that's my biggest beef, is with license plates. We all need to become more license-plate conscious. Taco Bell thought it was pretty clever marketing-wise to make note of everyone's license plate number who came into their restaurants. And they turned those license plate numbers into a very focused and very detailed marketing list. So they knew what time you were going into Taco Bell and what you were ordering, and then they would focus their marketing efforts.
[Lin:] That's interesting. And you also warn people not to park in long-term parking lots because sometimes thieves go and get your license plate and get your address and know that you're out of town. Another quick point: You say don't stop your mail. I thought that was a good way to keep people from knowing that you were out of town?
[Mckeown:] It used to be. We recommend that people have neighbors, friends go by and pick up their mail because the clever thieves now in this cat-and-mouse game that we play, they now know if the mailman doesn't deliver your mail that your mail is stopped, and for probably a very good reason, and that is that you're out of town for a week or two and they'll just help themselves to whatever they want.
[Lin:] So the fewer people who know you're out of town the better. And earlier in the lead I mentioned how you stand in line at the Post Office. You also mention in your book that people flip out their check books, getting ready to write their checks for some stamps and people can see the address. So that's something to be aware of as well, right?
[Mckeown:] Exactly. We need to be more aware of the information we give out to everyone around us, and we need to be aware at home, at work, everywhere we go, because the information thieves don't need much to find out more about you and I that we probably remember over a period of time.
[Lin:] Remarkable. Thank you very much, Kevin McKeown. Great tips in your book.
[Mckeown:] Thank you, Carol.
[Lin:] And the last tip we made notice of here was be trash- conscious. Don't throw out, you know, credit card slips. Tear them up. And even don't even bother with a shredding machine because it attracts attention to your trash. They know that you've got something to hide.
[Leon Harris, Cnn Anchor:] That's amazing.
[Lin:] Yes, things like this I didn't think about.
[Harris:] It's amazing what these guys will think of, boy.