ID Theft: Protecting Against Wireless Hackers
By: There seems to be a new wave of "hacker attacks"--aimed at your cell phones and BlackBerrys. But is there any way to protect yourself? On today’s "Street Signs", Erin Brunet got some tips from Ed English, with the internet security firm Trend Micro and Anne Wallace from The Identity Theft Assistance Center.
Ed English explained that hackers who break into computers are now targeting cell phones and mobile devices - anywhere that's storing personal information.
The criminals will often physically steal the devices and get the information that way or they will chat with an unsuspecting victim on-line and trick them into giving up info.
Anne Wallace from the Identity Theft Assistance Center added, "The threat is serious and consumers should be concerned. It’s hard to know how many cases there are but the center has helped 11,000 people."
How can you protect yourself? Keep your devices patched (a patch is a small piece of software designed to update or fix problems with a computer program). And be a little bit more suspicious in whom you trust.
Research inMotion , Palm AT&T, Verizon and Sprint Nextel are some top makers of wireless devices.
