How Will You Prove You Are Who You Say You Are?
Here’s a little something I’d like you to think about. Are you really who you say you are? And, how do I know that I can trust you? Identity Theft is one of the most debilitating crimes a person can suffer for it strips away the very core of your own belief system and that of society’s belief in you as a ‘real’ person. Many don’t recover from the impact for years and yet we are very slack when it comes to protecting our identities and some businesses are doing very little to help us.
McDonalds in Perth have allowed their customers to be scammed of millions of dollars as a result of an organised theft using replacement scanners for EFTPOS cards in their stores. The dodgy devices were replaced and people who used the cards at various McDonalds stores in Perth discovered later that those devices enabled thieves to gain access to card details and pin numbers – to date an estimated $4 million dollars in thefts has occured according to the WA Police.
But the challenge gets deeper because now those details may have enabled criminals to build up the ‘100 Points’ target of identity that Banks and other businesses use to open accounts. And let me ask you this – when was the last time you asked your local Video Store to clean out its old records of ‘you’? Are you aware of what their data security measures are like? Do you shred those unasked for spam letters from credit card suppliers that have a good chunk of your personal information pre-printed or do you simply throw them out?
We need to be far more vigilant with the variety of personal information, how we use our credit cards and Direct Debit cards and we cannot rely on organisations where we shop, to have all their security bases covered. Sure the McDonalds case seems pretty lax, but at the end of the day, criminals will always look to discover weaknesses in how companies collect, use and store our personal information. Your identity is at stake – prove to me you are who you say you are
It is a tad unfortunate that in the past couple of weeks I’ve had to experience the way in which one of the players in the car insurance industry treats its customers. I haven’t lost a single demerit point since well into last century and consider myself a pretty safe driver. So a couple of…
Read More >Marcus Barber has teamed up with Marketing expert Tod O’Reilly to write ‘Recession Proof Marketing – how to survive and thrive in a recession’. The book is due for completion by the end of March, 2009 and pre orders are now being taken for advance copies Tod was the account manager for both the David…
Read More >At the Long Now group run by Stewart Brand, they have regular guest speakers on a whole range of topics. Recently they had Russian Dmitry Orlov who discussed what happened in Russia during the economic crisis in the early 1990’s and what people around the world might need to do to prepare for the current…
Read More >This is Part one with Part two (looking at who will probably better off at this time next year) to come shortly. If you are in a position to sharpen your thinking, catch a breath or use some time to improve your understanding of the ways in which we create our societies, then I have…
Read More >What’s emerging for 2009? What might shape the near term future, what can we do about it and what are some of the indicators suggesting change or otherwise? Strategic Futurist Marcus Barber joined Raphael Epstein and co-host Denise Scott, as part of the panel to answer the questions on the 774 ABC’s conversation hour today……
Read More >Yes you read right – thinking ahead I’m anticipating an amazing 2008. Happy new year to all for when it happens (depending on the calendar you subscribe to) and I look forward to some fun, challenges, stresses and enjoyment for the year ahead. Marcus Barber 🙂 PS – Hope 2007 was a good one
Read More >The Advanced one day Strategic Planning Workshop in Sydney on the 11th of December at Rydges World Square is now fully booked For inquiries about the next series of dates for the 2009 series, keep an eye out on The Australian Strategic Planning Institute website at www.taspi.com.au or contact us via email here
Read More >Every now and again what sounds like a really good idea turns out to be less beneficial than what was hoped for. There’s lots of talk right now about technology solutions and ways in which societies can change the way they use water – there’s conferences and ‘talkfests’ a plenty featuring many of the industry…
Read More >The second annual fund raiser was held in late October and attended by almost 300 people. Marcus Barber offers a brief update: The Blackwood 8 commitee put together a great fund raiser on behalf of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in Melbourne. With a delightful crowd warm up by Greg Champion of the ‘Coodabeen…
Read More >The slides used as part of Marcus Barber’s key note address to the Regional Produce Summit are now available via the link below Held at the Wangaratta Gateway Motel (and the first conference event staged in its very impressively redsigned function room) the conference brought together a range of speakers to discuss culinary tourism,…
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