Do you trust your broker?

[The_Bludger]

Most of you do no doubt? But what would happen if a thief broke into his\her office and stole the main computer with all your records. Or perhaps breaking into their network online. Personal details like drivers license, property titles, bank details, File Tax number, loans, etc, etc are at their peril. I'd assume one would then become a high risk of identity fraud?

How serious do you think this is and how does one protect him\herself from these sorts of criminal activities?

 

[marg4000]

The same scenario would apply to accountants, solicitors, banks etc.

Most successful identity fraud is subtle, i.e., the first you know of it is when you are defrauded, usually by credit card.

I would think that in the case of professional burglary the clients would be notified immediately so steps could be taken to protect themselves.

And why would they bother? Those Nigerian scams seem to be remarkably successful despite all the publicity.
Marg

 

[Bradsdad]

The same scenario would apply to accountants, solicitors, banks etc.
Most successful identity fraud is subtle, i.e., the first you know of it is when you are defrauded, usually by credit card.

I would think that in the case of professional burglary the clients would be notified immediately so steps could be taken to protect themselves.

And why would they bother? Those Nigerian scams seem to be remarkably successful despite all the publicity.
Marg

That's a very big ETC. Doctors, Dentists, Vets, childcare centres, Centrelink, Vic Roads (or the equivelant), any tradie with an account somewhere, phone companies, estate agents. The list goes on.
Then look at most employers who would hold ID for their employees.

 

[Peter_Tersteeg]

It's a very valid concern. As a broker I hold an obscene amount of financial and personal data on clients for up to 30 years. I take the protection of that data very, very seriously.

To physically gain access to my office you'd need to defeat 3 different locks and two alarm systems.

Electronically would mean overcoming firewalls at the gateway & the individual machine level, then there's the encryption of the data itself. Virus, trojan & malware protection is monitored and kept well up to date.

There's not much data on my phone, but even that is encrypted.

The filing cabinet has some personal data, but most documentation is scanned and stored electronically.

Unfortunately most brokers don't have an IT background as I do and are possibly more vulnerable.

The security in most bank branches is quite good, but you'll find that many mobile bankers work from home, have paper files and a basic lock on the front door. I've worked with a few who key the data into a computer which they hardly understand and is not properly maintained.

 

[Dragon]

Data security is very important.

Anyone who stole my laptop could only use it as a paperweight thanks to the security attached to it.

Files are generally held at branch, so cocerns over mobile bankers may be partly valid, but if identity theft was the goal, I would suggest there are easier ways to obtain the data required than breaking in and stealing it where it would be reported.

 

[Peter_Tersteeg]

Files are generally held at branch, so cocerns over mobile bankers may be partly valid, but if identity theft was the goal, I would suggest there are easier ways to obtain the data required than breaking in and stealing it where it would be reported.

I definitely wasn't speaking of the Dragon in my previous comments, but I've known a few guys from a competitor who were appalling in their security procedures.

Probably the easiest way to get access to peoples personal financial data is just to go through their rubbish and recycle bins. Lot's of people throw out their bank statements. You'd be surprised how much you can learn from even a month's statements.

 

[Kristine..]

I know it's not really relevant, but I had a customer who told me that a previous settlement of theirs was delayed because their Bank Manager had suffered some kind of nervous breakdown / hissy fit and had taken all his files home and burnt them!

This meant that no-one had any idea of who the customers were, their loans, settlements, anything.

I guess that's one way of protecting customer identity!

Cheers
Kristine

 

[Bradsdad]

I know it's not really relevant, but I had a customer who told me that a previous settlement of theirs was delayed because their Bank Manager had suffered some kind of nervous breakdown / hissy fit and had taken all his files home and burnt them!

This meant that no-one had any idea of who the customers were, their loans, settlements, anything.

I guess that's one way of protecting customer identity!

Cheers
Kristine

best I not let my wife read this as it might give her ideas

 

[Dragon]

Wow, what an excellent idea ( joking ).

It is probably one of the better excuses for a delayed settlement that I have heard.

 

[WinstonWolfe]

I think people would be stunned at the low level of security used by GPs, dentists, physios. Nothing encrypted. Staff take backup copies of data home on a usb stick.

Some of the biggest mouths I've come across have been hospital nurses, and they have open access to people's medical records. Might not be such an issue in metro hospitals, but it can and is in regional towns.

 

[josko]

Yes, speaking of a USB stick.

My friend is studying Psychology and is working with a Psychologist that works with children.

She had a call from her PT Employer asking her to check her driveway and the work carpark because her Employer had lost her USB stick and it had every single bit of information about most of her clients on it.

What is safer......a laptop and a USB stick or some locked filing cabinets in a secure office?

Regards Jo

 

[twobobsworth]

Why do a break & enter to get this information for indentity fraud? It's all available at that little box at the end of your driveway.