Earlier this week, I wrote a brief account of my experience with identity theft and gave several tips to prevent yourself from becoming a victim. As promised, I’m back to provide more tips to help you protect yourself from identity theft on the internet.

I’ve already explained the importance of keeping physical documents behind lock and key in a secured cabinet. I’ve covered the importance if not giving out or writing down your passwords, ever. These are the most important steps you can take to protect yourself from identity theft, in general; however, they’re really only the tip of the iceberg.

Also important is choosing strong passwords. A strong password will contain a random mix of uppercase letters, lowercase letters and numbers, as well as punctuation marks when allowed and will be, at the very least, eight characters long. A longer password is better, in cases where it is allowed.

To be truly secure online, just as in the physical world, you must be willing to forgo some convenience. Security questions are a great idea, in theory, as they allow a method of verifying who you are in order to allow you to reset your password should you every forget it. The problem is that they are often answered by easily researched information, which anyone who knows you probably already knows and anyone who doesn’t can find out with minimal effort. Even if the password reset option relies on email to complete the task, try to bear in mind that your email password can likely be reset with the use of security questions, as well.

Don’t worry, there’s a simple solution. Pick someone you know and answer those security questions as though you were that person; never tell anyone who you picked and try not to pick someone obvious such as a family member, best friend or current or former lover. This way, no matter how well someone knows you, they won’t be able to have your passwords reset to gain access to your online accounts.

So far, everything I’ve covered has been about keeping your data locked up and secured. There’s much more to it than this, which I would love to cover right now. Alas, I hear about it in meetings if I make these articles too long. I’ll fill you in on the rest of the details shortly; in the meantime, start putting what you’ve learned so far to good use!

I am a two-time identity theft victim. My ex fiancé was, I guess you could say, co-victim the second time around.

Why, then, should you listen to what I have to say about preventing it? It’s happened to me, twice, right? Right.

It’s happened to me, twice. I’ve recovered from it. Both times.

I, personally, tracked down the scumbag the second time; I traced their steps, I learned more about them than they knew about me. Then I turned that information over to the police.

How did I do this? Simple. I used the same techniques they used. That, right there, is what qualifies me to tell you how to protect yourself.

Before I take you online, let me cover the basics on how to avoid identity theft in the physical world, where I was first victimized.

The single, most important thing you can do to prevent identity theft is to keep your social security card (or equivalent, for non-US readers) and any credit cards you don’t use regularly locked in a safe location. Preferably, this would be a safe deposit box which requires photo ID and a key to access. Failing this, a fireproof safe bolted securely to a concrete floor will do just fine. If you lose a key, be sure to change it.

Shred any credit offers that you don’t intend to accept, as well as any piece of mail or other documents containing any personally identifiable information, unless you intend to keep it and file it in a locked cabinet (secured similarly to the safe mentioned above). Once shredded, divide each item into four piles. You’ll want to have four boxes, labeled 1, 8, 15 and 22, for this purpose. Place one pile in each box and empty each box on the day of the month for which it is numbered. This prevents all but the most dedicated identity thieves from reassembling and using your discarded documents. Yes, credit card companies will accept and process applications that have been shredded, reassembled, filled out, photocopied, wadded up and shipped to them in a jar of kool-aid. It’s a bit extreme, yes; just don’t ask me how I know this. You should follow this procedure, really, for any document you discard that contains anything more than your first name. You might not think there’s anything useful on that overdue notice from the library, but trust me, there is.

Again, if it has your personal information on it, secure it. Locked drawer in a cabinet that can’t simply be slid onto a dolly and wheeled away. Never carry anything on you that you don’t intend to use; my first incident was the result of armed robbery and the sale of my identification, including my social security card, which I had on me because I had just started a new job and my employer required a copy.

These are basic guidelines for protecting your identity in the real world. Beyond that, use common sense and don’t go around giving out your personal information to everyone you meet, even if you think they need it. You’ll eventually end up giving it to someone who does need it to steal your identity!

Protecting yourself from online identity theft, however, is a bit more complicated than protecting yourself in the real world. The most important step you can follow is very simple: NEVER TELL ANYONE YOUR PASSWORD, TO ANYTHING, EVER; NEVER WRITE YOUR PASSWORDS DOWN AND NEVER USE THE SAME PASSWORD FOR MORE THAN ONE ACCOUNT.

Nobody but you ever has a legitimate need to know your passwords. Ever. Period. I don’t care who they say they are, if they’re asking for your password, they’re lying. Service providers can access your account without a password, it’s their system and they have that access. I’ll repeat this one more time because it is the most important step you can take to protect yourself online: NEVER TELL ANYONE YOUR PASSWORD, TO ANYTHING, EVER; NEVER WRITE YOUR PASSWORDS DOWN AND NEVER USE THE SAME PASSWORD FOR MORE THAN ONE ACCOUNT.

There’s a ton more information that I’d love to dole out right now, but Sharon insists that I keep my articles short and sweet (shorter than this, even), so I’ve written more here.

Do you love movies but hate spending tons of money to go to the theater? Do you think rentals are too expensive? Would you like to see more movies despite this?

Online video rental services, like NetFlix, allow you to make unlimited selections from vast libraries of movies for a low monthly fee!

First, you build a list of the movies you want to see and NetFlix will mail them to you. When you’re done with one movie, you send it back, postage prepaid, and they send you the next.

Best of all, you can get started tonight, with a free 30 day trial!

Many paints on the market right now contain no VOCs, which is a good thing, since they’re harmful to the environment, as well as your health. Of all of these, only Freshaire Choice is colored with VOC-free tints. Using any other VOC-free paint means either having white walls or no longer having a VOC-free paint by the time you get it home!

VOCs, or Volatile Organic Compounds, can cause eye, nose and throat irritation, headaches, loss of coordination, as well as organ and nerve damage. These are not things you want in your home! Fortunately, Freshaire Choice Paint is available at your local Home Depot, which means no going out of your way to buy it.

Get started repainting today with 3 free samples of the 65 premium colors! For more information, click any of the links on this page or watch this informative video!

Gel Pro Mats are soft gel-filled stain-resistant mats that make standing on your hard kitchen floor more comfortable and ease back pain. They come in a variety of designer colors, textures, and sizes to match your kitchen’s interior design. Bonus, the easy to clean, slip-resistant mats contain a bacteria eliminating additive that also kills mold and mildew. They have been featured on HGTV’s show “I Want That!” and are available by calling 1-866-GEL-MATS or visiting www.gelpro.com.

Dieter’s may find this self designed plate amusing, motivating, or just plain rude. The customized plate found at DigitalDietIncentives.com urges you to eat less by donning a motto of you own or one of the ready-to-order sayings such as “No Seconds Fat!” or “Nothing tastes as good as thin feels” or the motto that titles this post. You can even add a picture of your head on a model’s body for extra weight loss encouragement. The plates are fully customizable and do not have to be diet related. The cost of a customized plate starts at $12 and goes up from there. If you are looking for a matching set, you may also purchase blank plates for non-dieting members of the family. An added benefit that actually controls portions to lose weight is the small size at just 7 1/2 inches compared to the typical 10 or 11 inch plates most people use.

Would you use this plate? What is the most off the wall trick that you have used to get in shape?

Frank Lloyd Wright’s drawings for Samara: Realization of a Usonian Dream will be presented at The Westcott House located in Springfield, Ohio until April 20th. The collection is a unique exhibition featuring the work from Wright, America’s most celebrated architect. The exhibition comes from The John E. Christian Family Memorial Trust.

Here is some history on Samara House:

• The original owners were John and Kay Christian whoe decided to build near the campus of Purdue University in 1950.
• The project took six years
• The exhibition features a collection of furnishings, textiles and other items Wright designed specifically for Samara, one of the late Usonian style homes he designed.

Planned lectures at the exhibit:

• Frank Lloyd Wright and the Art of Building will be given by Richard Cleary, Ph.D. on Thursday, March 13, at 7 p.m. Cleary will discuss Wright’s vision of organic architecture and his innovative approaches to structural systems and construction techniques.
• On Thursday, April 10, at 7 p.m. Margo Stipe, Curator and Registrar of Collections, at The Frank Lloyd Wright Archives, Taliesin West, will discuss Wright’s revolutionary reworking of architectural space, how he dissolved interior walls and opened interior spaces allowing communion with the natural world he believed was a great spirit.

The Westcott House is located at 1340 East High Street in Springfield, Ohio. Admission fee is $5; free for members of The Westcott House Foundation. For more information call 937-327-9291 or visit www.westcotthouse.org. 

(Article from www.Ohio.com, the Akron Beacon Journal’s online website)

If you are into this kinda stuff.

Zillow has an interactive Home Value Report Map that, I have to admit, surprised me quite a bit… but in a good way. You may be shocked to find out where the values have gone up and where they have drastically gone down in the United States. Check the mad map out here.

A couple of things to do there:

 

See how home values have changed across the U.S.

Click on cities to compare neighborhood home values.

Download detailed city reports for more information, including single family vs. condo comparisons, and a ranking of neighborhoods within an area that are most popular on Zillow.

So do we.

Benjamin Moore carries a line of Pottery Barn paint colors for the home that coordinate with PB’s textiles and accessories. You can receive a complimentary color deck at any Pottery Barn store or you can request one to be shipped to you for just $2 by calling 1-800-922-5507 or by going to potterybarn.com and typing the word “colors” in the search box.

Staging friendly colors we love:
   Cedar Key
   Brookside Moss
   Oak Ridge
   Suntan Yellow

The reason this house was so in demand is because it was thoroughly staged before the MLS pictures were posted. This Baltimore, Maryland home was staged by Paula Henry of Simply Put Interiors. Paula was hired by Realtor Joe Vickers of Century 21 The Real Estate Centre. Joe pays for the professional staging service at his own expense. He knows that staging works. In this case the homeowners were being located and needed to sell fast. The sellers had a good idea of what staging is from shows like Sell this House and Designed to Sell from HGTV. The house sold so quickly because the sellers were aggressive in following the stager’s suggestions to repaint and rearrange along with other tasks. They realized that it was no longer their home, but now it is a product on the market that had to show at its best. 

For more on this Henry and Vicker’s successful staging and sale, read the full story from Trans World News.