In a Take Charge consumer‑protection segment, host Jamie interviews identity‑theft specialist Robert Siciliano (McAfee consultant) about the heightened risk of identity theft during the holiday season. Siciliano highlights surprising venues where personal data can be compromised—pharmacies, doctors’ offices, and mortgage brokers—because they retain sensitive information such as Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and credit‑card details. He explains the danger of e‑cards, which appear as holiday greetings but contain malicious links that can install viruses or harvest personal data. To mitigate these threats, he advises using comprehensive security software (antivirus, anti‑spyware, anti‑phishing), enrolling in identity‑theft protection services, regularly checking and freezing credit reports, and being vigilant about what information is shared. The segment concludes with a call to visit Fox News’s Take Charge page for more consumer‑protection resources.
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Jamie. It is the holidays. It's the prime season for you to have your identity stolen. We're going to tell you about some unlikely places you may never have thought of where your personal information could be available right now for the taking. That's up next in our Take Charge segment. Keep an eye on your wallet, especially this season. Millions of people will get their identity stolen, and it can happen in places they places that you might never expect. In today's Take Charge Consumer Protection segment, see if you are at risk. We're joined by Robert Siciliano, a McAfee consultant, identity theft expert. We don't want this to happen, so we're so glad you're here. There are some amazing places you can have your identity stolen that we wouldn't think of. Tell us a few.
Well, you wouldn't think that, uh, your identity would be stolen at your pharmacist or the doctor's office or even your mortgage broker. But the fact is, all these places where we go that service our needs are places that also have our personal identifying information on file.
What is that information? What should we be cautious about giving out?
Well, keep in mind that your Social Security number really is the key to the kingdom. And any entity that has that on file, or in a database for that matter, makes it vulnerable. And so anytime you give out that information, even credit card information, it puts your identity at risk.
Okay, then add your birth date and your address and everything and it could be a recipe for disaster. We hear those stories where doctors' offices sometimes don't shred documents and that information can get out. You also warn about e-cards. What are those?
So e-cards are when you receive a card in the mail, a card via email. Looks like a holiday card from, say, Hallmark or somebody else. And either your friends or your family or someone that loves you sent it to you. And what you have to do is then click the link, you open it up, you might have to download a player, And once you do that, it could very well infect your machine. So now you get a virus. And beyond that, they might ask you to click on certain links to enter personal identifying information, and ultimately that can compromise your identity.
Just amazing, 'cause you'd think about maybe when you give your credit card in a store, someone might write the number down that's standing next to you. You really wouldn't think about the pharmacy or the doctor's office. So we appreciate the information, Robert. What steps should we take right now to protect our identity, especially this time of year?
So first and foremost, I definitely recommend investing in antivirus. Antivirus protects your PC. Antivirus, anti-spyware, anti-phishing to make sure that your PC is secure because, you know, Cyber Monday, we did a tremendous amount of shopping online and throughout the holiday season is the same thing. And also consider identity theft protection and something called a credit freeze. A credit freeze locks down your identity so no one can open up new accounts under your name.
So check your credit report, and when you get it and you're satisfied with it, freeze it so that no one else can apply for credit with your information. That's a great tip. Thank you so much, Robert. Great to have you here. We hope nobody has to deal with this this holiday season. Thanks.
Agreed.
If you want to get more Take Charge Consumer Protection information, go to foxnews.com, click on the America's News Headquarters page— that's the one for our show— and look for the link. You'll see them. Click on there and you'll see a lot of the segments we've done. We want you to be able to take charge. Oh, such great advice, Jamie.
