play safe

have you ever encountered a situation where you received a text or sms telling that you've won yourself a lucky draw from whatever company and asking you to call them back and redeem your prize, some even went too much telling you that you won thousand bucks $$ and need your bank account number. i often wonder from where did they get my handphone number and my personal details? from my bank? or where? until recently when i read the personal money magazine, bought to answer my questions of tax back in april (tapi baru habis baca in june), i realized how small things can lead to another.

remember sometimes when we buy things, the salesgirl sometimes asks us to leave some details so next time they can inform us if there's any sale going on, or some coupons for lucky draws and such.. well we don't need to fill up each and every column there actually. just write whatever we think necessary only. (i used to fill up everything, habis tu buat apa dia buat form kalau tak isi...)

another new thing i found out from the article was on standard practices by banks to protect their customers' personal info. besides having cctv cameras, customer service officers are not allowed to bring in their stuffs, including handbags, handphones, hands whatever. at their workstations, there're not usb ports, no e-mail and of course as we all know all phone calls are recorded to assist investigation if ever any accusation happens.

here are some other tips i read from the magazine on how to protect our personal information online and offline: 

online

~ install a proper anti-virus and anti-spyware programs to keep malicious virus at bay

~ be very very careful when signing up for membership on sites, even if they offer a very attractive goodies

~ use unique passwords; the idea of using your birth date or i/c number is no longer relevant. use alphanumerics characters. sample: i was born in may84 iwbm84 

~ use password protected wi-fi networks; this is interesting to know. using unprotected network to perform your financial transaction risks your password being detected or traced by third party.

~ secure your online transactions; make sure the website starts with https (s means secure) and a padlock symbol appears at the bottom right of your browser window

offline

~ clear your mailbox at home; that the easiest way for anyone to gather information about you

~ get rid of your receipts; do not leave your receipts at petrol station, atm machines or bank counters. whatever receipt in wallets should also be kept to minimum

~ don't give your handphone number easily; give e-mail address instead