Area Agency on Aging Region IIIA
RESOURCE GUIDE - Internet Safety
The TRUSTe Program: How It Protects Your Privacy
TRUSTe believes that an environment of mutual trust and openness will help make and keep the Internet a free, comfortable, and richly diverse community for everyone. As an Internet user, you have a right to expect online privacy and the responsibility to exercise choice over how your personal information is collected, used, and shared by Web sites. The TRUSTe program was designed expressly to ensure that your privacy is protected through open disclosure and to empower you to make informed choices.
A cornerstone of our program is the TRUSTe "trustmark," an online branded seal displayed by member Web sites. The trustmark is awarded only to sites that adhere to established privacy principles and agree to comply with ongoing TRUSTe oversight and consumer resolution procedures. Privacy principles embody fair information practices approved by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Federal Trade Commission, and prominent industry-represented organizations and associations. The principles include:
- Adoption and implementation of a privacy policy that takes into account consumer anxiety over sharing personal information online.
- Notice and disclosure of information collection and use practices.
- Choice and consent, giving users the opportunity to exercise control over their information.
- Data security and quality and access measures to help protect the security and accuracy of personally identifiable information.
So, what does TRUSTe's Trustmark mean to you? All Web sites that display our trustmark must disclose their personal information collection and privacy practices in a straightforward privacy statement, generally a link from the home page. More than one trustmark may be displayed if personal information privacy practices vary within the site. When you see our TRUSTe seal, you can be assured that the Web site will disclose:
- What personal information is being gathered about you.
- How the information will be used.
- Who the information will be shared with, if anyone.
- Choices available to you regarding how collected information is used.
- Safeguards in place to protect your information from loss, misuse, or alteration.
- How you can update or correct inaccuracies in your information.
[NOTE: Some sites have fraudulently copied the TRUSTe trustmark. To check its legitimacy, click on the trustmark. If it is authentic, it will take you directly to the TRUSTe site.]
Internet Fraud Article from the Department of Justice
This article answers the following questions:
- What is Internet fraud?
- What are the major types of Internet fraud?
- What is the Department of Justice doing about Internet fraud?
- How should I deal with Internet fraud?
- How can I get more information about Internet fraud?
Top Tips for Your Readers
From the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), this article helps you invest wisely and avoid costly mistakes. Contents of this article include:
- Investigating before you invest
- Top ten questions to help you avoid trouble
- Learn to identify these telltale signs of fraud
- Avoiding online scams: tips for investors
- Fraud in cyberspace: older scams in a new medium
- Tips for checking out online newsletters
- Internet fraud: investor tips
- Online trading tips
- Choosing an investment professional
- Cold callers must follow these rules
- Portrait of a "boiler room"
- Publications for investors
Internet Fraud Watch
Online services and access to the Internet provide consumers with a wide world of information, and sellers with a new way to promote their products or services. "Cybershopping," "banking online," and other conveniences will spur an increasing number of consumers to do business by computer. But crooks also recognize the potential of cyberspace. The same scams that have been conducted by mail or phone can now be found on the Internet, and new technologies are resulting in new ways to commit crimes against consumers.
That's why the Internet Fraud Watch was launched in March of 1996 enabling the National Fraud Information Center (NFIC) to expand its services to help consumers distinguish between legitimate and fraudulent promotions in cyberspace and route reports of suspected fraud to the appropriate law enforcement agencies. Our thanks go to the organizations who have helped to support the Internet Fraud Watch.
The Internet Fraud Watch section of the NFIC Web site provides tips, articles, bulletins and other information that you can use to avoid fraud, protect your privacy, and navigate the Net safely and enjoyably. If you wish to report possible fraud, use the Online Incident Report Form.
The Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC)
A partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) who's mission is to address fraud committed over the Internet. For victims of Internet fraud, IFCC provides a convenient and easy-to-use reporting mechanism that alerts authorities of a suspected criminal or civil violation. For law enforcement and regulatory agencies at all levels, IFCC offers a central repository for complaints related to Internet fraud, works to quantify fraud patterns, and provides timely statistical data of current fraud trends.
Additional Information to Protect Yourself on the Internet
- Be cautious about giving out your personal information.
- Keep anonymous as much as possible.
- Be cautious about signing up for memberships; they can lead to a lot of junk e-mail.
- Set up a separate e-mail address to use on the Internet.
- If you plan to make purchases on the Internet, set up a separate credit card with a small credit limit just for those purchases.
- Check out a website's privacy policy before shopping. If it has no privacy policy, don't do business with it.
- Check for the encryption lock in the corner. It should be in the closed position when you give out confidential information.
- Deal with established, legitimate companies with which you are familiar.
- Deal with sites that also give out their real information: name, address, and phone number.
- If it doesn't look right, it probably isn't. Avoid it!
- Use an anti-virus program such as Norton. Update at least once a week. If you suspect fraud, report it first to your Internet Service Provider, such as MSN, AOL, etc.
- Look for the TRUSTe trustmark and make sure it is legitimate.
Additional Helpful Websites
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