Join the discussion on the following article:
BNSF employees, retirees victim of PayPal identity theft scam
It is not necessarily an inside job. Most likely, the list of employees is stored on a computer, which is connected to the Internet, via a connection which lacks a firewall and other security measures. Hackers, the bad variety, can go in and look around, make copies, and cover their tracks without being seen, from a remote location. Hackers, the good variety, are able to set up security which prevents this sort of thing from happening.
As for the PayPal, that one is easy to solve. Open a PayPal account. Assign a credit card to it. Then inform your credit card company you have a PayPal account which will seldom be used and you will call the credit card company BEFORE you intend to make a purchase with PayPal. That way, nobody else can open another PayPal account in your name because you already did. And your credit card is still secured because the credit card company will deny the transaction unless you call to confirm it in advance. Of course this doesn’t stop your PayPal account or your credit card account from getting hacked. But then, you wouldn’t give that information to your employer in the first place. And one more thing, use passwords that are complete meaningless nonsense.
Sorry to hear about such a scam but may be it a sign of harder financial time to be in the comming year or so. hope they find the person or group involved…
Did the seniority lists from back 20-30 years ago have employee Social Security numbers on it (them)? I know that some railroads did publish this info way “Back when”.
Persons who think their data has been hacked need to contact the three credit bureaus, Equifax, Transunion and Experian and freeze their credit report and file a notice of fraudulent use of their data. That way, hopefully, Paypal, Pay Me Later, credit card issuers and others will check your credit before opening any account in your name and deny access to their system while also notifying you that the credit request has been denied.
Whenever I have to fill out any paperwork (such as a doctors office) and they ask for a S.S. number I leave it blank. It says right on my card that it is NOT to be used for identification. I have never been refused service or had a problem. Don’t give it out unless absolutely necessary.
I’ve had a few friends that have had trouble with PayPal. It’sjust a third party operation and another account to keep tract of. Count me out of it.
Check your Medicare card. Does your subscriber number have your Social Security number embedded in it? If so, your medical providers know your Social Security number.
… use passwords that are complete meaningless nonsense. Everyone, please take this advice and use [JEFFERY GUSE] as your password.
And this is just one of the many reasons I refuse to use PayPal, a company which also has some truly lousy book-keeping practices (usually outsourced to India, like so much else IS-tech-oriented). And I never let my SSN out into the Web, either.