Spring Break
Protecting yourself against identity theft
Identity theft, social networks, scams were focus of lecture
Matt Hopf / News Editor
Issue date: 2/26/09 Section: News
Gary Bakker mentioned that he once introduced Stephen R. Covey, author of the multi-million-selling book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," at a conference.
He said Covey's book was one of two books that have changed his personal habits.
Bakker, president of risk and compliance solutions at Metavante Technologies, Inc., told the standing-room-only audience Tuesday night in the Lumpkin Hall Auditorium that "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss was the other book.
Bakker spoke to students about protecting their personal information during his presentation "Fraud Schemes: How banks protect you. How you should protect yourself."
Playing off Covey's book title, Bakker presented his "The 7 Habits of Highly Secure People" on protecting people from identity theft as part of the lecture.
Protecting a personal computer should be taken seriously, including the installation of anti-virus software and adware or malware protection software.
Bakker said both strong passwords and security questions are necessary.
He said he has more than 90 passwords for different accounts.
One of the best habits should be controlling personal information, especially on social Web sites.
"You are putting some stupid stuff on your Facebook account," Bakker said. "They use this stuff for identity theft."
He said if anyone receives an e-mail from a bank asking for credit card or account numbers, that person should look up the bank number in the phone book or use the number on the back of their credit card.
Many scammers will provide a local telephone number in phishing e-mails or letters to make it seem as real as possible, Bakker said.
He suggested everyone keep copies of their credit and debit cards, driver's licenses, and passports.
Bakker presented a personal experience with the habit as an example.
His daughter was traveling abroad, when her purse with her credit cards was stolen.
"I was able to call back at 1:30 a.m. in the morning and canceled them immediately," he said.
Bakker also explained that banks do as much as possible to prevent fraud, as the bank could be held liable by the federal government and lose confidence from their customers.
Bakker and four other executives from Metavante met with classes Tuesday as part of the Lumpkin College of Business and Applied Sciences' Executives-in-Residence program.
Bakker and the executives will visit classes today as well.
Cheryl Noll, chair of the School of Business, said the executives have visited multiple classes including marketing and human resources classes.
"It gives students a chance to find out from people in the industry what is current," she said.
Noll said the executives explained to students what companies are expecting from new employees.
Metavante, based in Milwaukee, delivers banking and payment technologies to more than 8,000 financial services firms and businesses worldwide.
Matt Hopf can be reached at 581-7942 or at mthopf@eiu.edu.
He said Covey's book was one of two books that have changed his personal habits.
Bakker, president of risk and compliance solutions at Metavante Technologies, Inc., told the standing-room-only audience Tuesday night in the Lumpkin Hall Auditorium that "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss was the other book.
Bakker spoke to students about protecting their personal information during his presentation "Fraud Schemes: How banks protect you. How you should protect yourself."
Playing off Covey's book title, Bakker presented his "The 7 Habits of Highly Secure People" on protecting people from identity theft as part of the lecture.
Protecting a personal computer should be taken seriously, including the installation of anti-virus software and adware or malware protection software.
Bakker said both strong passwords and security questions are necessary.
He said he has more than 90 passwords for different accounts.
One of the best habits should be controlling personal information, especially on social Web sites.
"You are putting some stupid stuff on your Facebook account," Bakker said. "They use this stuff for identity theft."
He said if anyone receives an e-mail from a bank asking for credit card or account numbers, that person should look up the bank number in the phone book or use the number on the back of their credit card.
Many scammers will provide a local telephone number in phishing e-mails or letters to make it seem as real as possible, Bakker said.
He suggested everyone keep copies of their credit and debit cards, driver's licenses, and passports.
Bakker presented a personal experience with the habit as an example.
His daughter was traveling abroad, when her purse with her credit cards was stolen.
"I was able to call back at 1:30 a.m. in the morning and canceled them immediately," he said.
Bakker also explained that banks do as much as possible to prevent fraud, as the bank could be held liable by the federal government and lose confidence from their customers.
Bakker and four other executives from Metavante met with classes Tuesday as part of the Lumpkin College of Business and Applied Sciences' Executives-in-Residence program.
Bakker and the executives will visit classes today as well.
Cheryl Noll, chair of the School of Business, said the executives have visited multiple classes including marketing and human resources classes.
"It gives students a chance to find out from people in the industry what is current," she said.
Noll said the executives explained to students what companies are expecting from new employees.
Metavante, based in Milwaukee, delivers banking and payment technologies to more than 8,000 financial services firms and businesses worldwide.
Matt Hopf can be reached at 581-7942 or at mthopf@eiu.edu.
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