How to Lock Down Your Verizon Wireless Account

Identity Theft is big business for the unforsaken. The Equifax hack is a jinx that will never be forgiven, or soon forgotten, for most Americans. Our Social Security numbers have become our public identifiers for accessing private information and our mobile phone numbers, and SMS text messages, have become our rooted record of no return as the bad actors try to become us by stealing, tainting, or compromising, our sacred identifier streams.

We can try our best to harden what belongs to us — or at least make it more difficult for those who actively choose to harm us to create lasting damage. Unfortunately, 15 minutes of lost control of your phone number can be enough to steal many other founts of treasure that should belong only to you. Control the phone number; manipulate the person; win the assets.

In a recent Reddit thread, I shared some of the following information in this article. As I republish, and rethink, my original warnings here with you today, I want to make sure you are aware of the dangers around you beyond someone just stealing your mobile phone number. You don’t have to be famous, or have a lot of money, to be an identity theft target. Some people get a thrill just knowing they’re ruining your day.

Continue reading → How to Lock Down Your Verizon Wireless Account

Mugshots at the Doctor’s Office and Other Biometric Poisonings

The NSA scandal has me thinking a lot about how other PRISM identifying marks of us — on the biometric side — are, in fact, also poisoning our privacy.  Here’s a comment I made in a recent article thread concerning the loss of our biologic privacy:

Yes, we’re all stuck! The fact that they now want our weight is a new metric. Our height rarely changes, so once they have that number they have us in adulthood — but weight can fluctuate like crazy for some people — so having our weight “re-evaluated” and remarked down with every medical visit is an important identification portrait for them. All of our doctors now scan our insurance card and also take a photo of us — to prevent medical fraud — uhm…. riiiiight… so our MDs now have our mug shots, height, weight… quite a lovely new arm of the NSA, eh? Some doctors even want palm scans!

Continue reading → Mugshots at the Doctor’s Office and Other Biometric Poisonings

HIDE: The NSA are Mentioning Us!

Yesterday, flush in the wilds of our article on the NSA, I received this odd email alert on my App.net @boles account that stopped me for a moment.  The NSA were replying to us concerning the article we published:

Continue reading → HIDE: The NSA are Mentioning Us!

Do You Fear the National Security Agency Surveilling You?

I am befuddled by all the faux outrage in the online media bout the National Security Agency spying on us via our internet behavior and telephone calls.  Should we really be surprised by any of this?  After all, this sort of panopticonic staring by self-anointed government elites is nothing new.

Let’s take a quick Boles Blogs trip back through time to examine our intrepid reporting on this matter of the NSA spying on us.  We begin on June 30, 2006 — You are an Electronic Jigsaw Puzzle:

It’s horrifyingly fascinating how this government effort to connect all our dots appears to be orchestrated in pieces using separate private companies to deter detection of a non-severed surreptitious intent — banks for banking records; conservative ownership of personal web portals for access to MySpace data; internet providers who reply upon government regulation to stay in business are required to help monitor and analyze internet traffic patterns and process email keyword triggers — leads the cogent among us to question who we really are and if we actually own a right to any sort of privacy whatsoever.

Continue reading → Do You Fear the National Security Agency Surveilling You?

The NSA and You: Guilty, but Uncharged

The NSA are at it again.  They’re watching your email and finding you guilty of impure and dangerous thoughts.

Continue reading → The NSA and You: Guilty, but Uncharged

Pinwale Pricks Privacy

The NSA is watching you and reading your email even though they aren’t supposed to be doing so without a direct court order. Code-named “Pinwale” — the NSA has been using that database to listen in on your inner email thoughts and wonderings.

Continue reading → Pinwale Pricks Privacy

Will Obama Watch the NSA?

SuperGenius author Nat Hentoff asks in The Village Voice if Obama is prepared to deal with the National Security Agency’s surveillance of us all — or if he will merely go along with the rules established by the Bush Administration.

Continue reading → Will Obama Watch the NSA?