identity theft recovery for technically challenged
February 23, 2023 8:44 PM Subscribe
I've been listening to my partner's tales of a close friends of theirs who seems to be undergoing various aspects of identity theft. What can I recommend to help?
My partner is relaying stories of one of her besties various mishaps, which seem to now include social security fraud, bank check fraud, identify theft and so on and so forth.
Seemingly they are using the Geek Squad to get a handle on their electronics. I think that's a losing proposition. For my money, they need a lesson in using 2FA, password managers, resetting all passwords with all sources of income especially SSI and their bank and so on and so forth.
They are not local so my dropping by and helping is out of the question.
I don't see that Geek Squad is going to do anything useful really. A person like this was perfectly literate in 1970....not so much with today's electronically mitigated financial interfaces.
Practically speaking they need to sit down with a technically literate person and just get things properly secured. How could that happen?
I recently migrated my password manager from the LastPass fiasco to another manager, and that was not trivial to do. I wonder how the 'typical' human is handling what must seem like a digital security labyrinth. They live in the Bay Area so there's endless technical resources nearby if they only knew how to access them.
I am not going down this rabbit hole to help out but would recommend anything that seems relevant to pass on to this person in the hopes they might get this situation under control.
My partner is relaying stories of one of her besties various mishaps, which seem to now include social security fraud, bank check fraud, identify theft and so on and so forth.
Seemingly they are using the Geek Squad to get a handle on their electronics. I think that's a losing proposition. For my money, they need a lesson in using 2FA, password managers, resetting all passwords with all sources of income especially SSI and their bank and so on and so forth.
They are not local so my dropping by and helping is out of the question.
I don't see that Geek Squad is going to do anything useful really. A person like this was perfectly literate in 1970....not so much with today's electronically mitigated financial interfaces.
Practically speaking they need to sit down with a technically literate person and just get things properly secured. How could that happen?
I recently migrated my password manager from the LastPass fiasco to another manager, and that was not trivial to do. I wonder how the 'typical' human is handling what must seem like a digital security labyrinth. They live in the Bay Area so there's endless technical resources nearby if they only knew how to access them.
I am not going down this rabbit hole to help out but would recommend anything that seems relevant to pass on to this person in the hopes they might get this situation under control.
They should go to their local public library! Many libraries have drop in hours where librarians or volunteers will help folks with various kinds of technical issues. The kind of person who works or volunteers at tech help drop in hours are also generally hooked into the local tech community and could recommend a person or independent shop to help with more complex problems.
posted by rockindata at 3:39 AM on February 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by rockindata at 3:39 AM on February 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
seconding public library! Some even offer classes in this exact thing, and will definitely have the ability to find local resources to help if more is needed.
posted by griffey at 5:20 AM on February 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by griffey at 5:20 AM on February 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: For my money, they need a lesson in using 2FA, password managers, resetting all passwords with all sources of income especially SSI and their bank and so on and so forth.
Sure, but it's not your money and you're not available to help with this (unless you'd like to hop on a screenshare zoom and step them through this. A lot of this stuff can be done remotely now). I help people who are digitally challenged deal with online security things and not all of them are good candidates for password managers and 2FA depending on their circumstances. Often they lack confidence in whatever they're using and they need someone they can check in with or who is available over time. If your friend has money the Geek Squad, while imperfect, might be okay for this (I have done contract work for a similar company). I also teach this stuff at a local public library.
There's a website put out by Consumer Reports that can help step people through some of the things they need to do and give them options and resources and links to websites. It's called Security Planner and they might want to try it out. Also if they're in the Bay Area there might even be a MeFite you could arrange to have a consult via MeFi Jobs.
posted by jessamyn at 8:55 AM on February 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Sure, but it's not your money and you're not available to help with this (unless you'd like to hop on a screenshare zoom and step them through this. A lot of this stuff can be done remotely now). I help people who are digitally challenged deal with online security things and not all of them are good candidates for password managers and 2FA depending on their circumstances. Often they lack confidence in whatever they're using and they need someone they can check in with or who is available over time. If your friend has money the Geek Squad, while imperfect, might be okay for this (I have done contract work for a similar company). I also teach this stuff at a local public library.
There's a website put out by Consumer Reports that can help step people through some of the things they need to do and give them options and resources and links to websites. It's called Security Planner and they might want to try it out. Also if they're in the Bay Area there might even be a MeFite you could arrange to have a consult via MeFi Jobs.
posted by jessamyn at 8:55 AM on February 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Many Senior Centers, usually affiliated with Area Agencies on Aging, have tech support. Nthing libraries.
People want an in-depth understanding of security, which is unlikely to be achieved. People benefit from using the right tools/ software, and following a clear process faithfully. It's also a good idea to make a list of passwords, PINs, etc., and store in the computer with a name like 3rd Q Proposals - Rev1 and print a copy and put it in a safe place, like a dictionary.
That's not the name of my PW file and not where I store mine. It's in the fridge.
Also, Back Up Your Data Today. We all know we should, and then we don't.
posted by theora55 at 9:19 AM on February 24, 2023
People want an in-depth understanding of security, which is unlikely to be achieved. People benefit from using the right tools/ software, and following a clear process faithfully. It's also a good idea to make a list of passwords, PINs, etc., and store in the computer with a name like 3rd Q Proposals - Rev1 and print a copy and put it in a safe place, like a dictionary.
That's not the name of my PW file and not where I store mine. It's in the fridge.
Also, Back Up Your Data Today. We all know we should, and then we don't.
posted by theora55 at 9:19 AM on February 24, 2023
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otherwise, this guide covers a lot of the basics, but can be a little advanced at times https://ssd.eff.org/ i think there may be a more accessible guide out there that is more targeted at recovering from identity theft!
posted by icosahedron at 9:29 PM on February 23, 2023