security breach

Your Travel Rewards Points Were Stolen. Now What?

Carrie Kirby — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 10:00:06 +0000

A few years ago, I logged on to the website of an airline mileage program to book a flight, only to find that my miles were gone. I called the airline in a panic, and was told that another customer must have given my frequent flyer number by mistake when booking their flight. The miles were soon restored to my account. No harm was done — except to my confidence in the system.

In a time when two-factor authentication and complex passwords are required to conduct so many transactions, it's unusual that many airlines and points programs still allow you to book with rewards simply by giving your membership number over the phone. Booking online does require passwords, but with so many large-scale data breaches happening recently, many of our passwords have been compromised.

So it's no big shock that cybercriminals have been monetizing stolen rewards points on the dark web by selling discounted trips, paid for with stolen points. In fact, some have even been so brazen as to set up travel agencies and travel portals, complete with photos from happy customers, security firm Flashpoint reports.

Here's how you can protect your hard-earned points from sticky fingers.

Exercise "password hygiene"

If you haven't changed all your passwords recently — especially since Yahoo recently disclosed that all 3 billion of its accounts were hacked in 2013 — do it now. Make your new password longer and more complex. If you're not good at thinking up hard passwords, try a password generator like the one offered by LastPass. And keep updating your passwords about twice a year. (See also: Stop Making These 8 Risky Password Mistakes)

Monitor your mileage accounts

I use AwardWallet to keep track of how many miles I have in the dozen or so points accounts that I maintain for my family. Not only can I glance over all the accounts on the software's dashboard, but it actually sends me an alert when my totals change. So if a hacker used my frequent flyer miles to book a flight, I'd get an alert right away. There are other points tracking tools available as well. (See also: 4 Best Tools for Tracking Your Rewards Miles)

Guard those account numbers

Most credit card companies have stopped printing your card number on every bill, but awards programs haven't gotten so guarded yet. I receive junk mail with my frequent flyer number on it, which is bad because mailbox theft is a common criminal tactic. You can ask your points programs to stop sending you junk mail, and you can also consider getting a locking mailbox to prevent this and other forms of identity fraud. Treat those numbers like the sensitive private information they are. (See also: 18 Surprising Ways Your Identity Can Be Stolen)

Don't log onto your points account on a public Wi-Fi connection

Most of us know not to use online banking while sitting in the airport, but we might not think twice about checking our mileage totals. Don't do it. Criminals can set up Wi-Fi connections that scrape users' data while they log in. Doing this at airports and hotels makes a lot of sense from the thief's point of view — if you want to find customers with a lot of miles, try the airport. (See also: 3 Sneaky Ways Identity Thieves Can Access Your Data)

Beware of shifty agents and brokers

There are "mileage brokers" out there who have accrued large mileage totals, and who offer to book you discount flights which they will pay for with miles. Don't bite, because you have no way of knowing whether the miles they are using were acquired legally or stolen. As a personal rule, I wouldn't give my mileage or points account numbers to anyone I wouldn't hand my credit card to.

Contact the program immediately if you suspect a problem

If you aren't able to log onto your account, you might have just forgotten your password — or someone might have changed it. If you notice an unexplained password problem or any other mysterious activity, change your password immediately, and call the security team for your points program.

They should be able to investigate whether there's been a breach, and they may be able to add extra security to your account, such as requiring a password for any reservation change, or adding two-factor authentication for logging in. As with all forms of identity theft, being proactive helps nip problems in the bud. (See also: Don't Panic: Do This If Your Identity Gets Stolen)

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This article is from Carrie Kirby of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

How to Protect Your Retirement Account From a Hack

Dr Penny Pincher — Wed, 08 Nov 2017 09:00:09 +0000

Unlike your bank accounts that are protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for losses up to $250,000, there is no such universal protection for your retirement funds. If you get hacked, thieves can gain access to your retirement account and transfer funds into their own pockets.

What would happen if your investment account was hacked and funds were stolen? Many brokerages have customer protection guarantees in case of unauthorized account activity, but customers are responsible for taking certain action before and after the hack to qualify for reimbursement of stolen funds.

Investment brokerage policies vary on the subject of restoring losses from unauthorized activities. In general, customers are responsible for promptly detecting and notifying the brokerage of unauthorized activity, and for showing that the security lapse was not their fault.

Here are steps you can take to protect your retirement account.

Monitor investment accounts

Unlike a checking account or credit card account that is typically monitored fairly closely, a transfer from an investment account can easily go unnoticed for months until a quarterly statement. The first step in getting funds restored to your retirement account after a hack is to notify the brokerage that unauthorized activity has occurred.

Instead of waiting for a quarterly account statement in the mail, you can access your account electronically to check for unexpected activity. Some brokers allow you to set up alerts and receive notifications by email if a transaction has processed.

Protect account access credentials

There are several important security measures you can take to prevent a thief from accessing your retirement account.

1. Set up two-step verification

An easy way to boost the security of your access credentials is to sign up for two-step verification with your brokerage. This means that in addition to your password, you’ll need a one-time numeric code that is sent to you via text message or email when you try to log in. This adds a layer of security; simply having your login and password is not enough for a thief to gain access to your account.

2. Beware of phishing scams

Criminals often send out emails that appear to be legitimate asking for login information. They may also try to trick you into clicking on a link that leads to a fake website designed to capture your username and password when you try to log in. Some internet security products verify that websites are authentic and post a warning when you try to access unconfirmed sites, in order to provide protection from phishing. (See also: How to Avoid Phishing Scams)

3. Don't sign in on a public Wi-Fi connection

Avoid using public computers to access your retirement account, and avoid logging in over an unsecured Wi-Fi connection. You should also avoid reusing the same password for multiple accounts.

4. Don't share your login with anyone

Think twice before sharing your access credentials with others, even companies such as Mint or Personal Capital that use your login to help monitor your account. If a company that has your login information gets hacked, and your access credentials are stolen and used to drain your account, this loss may not be covered by the recovery policy of your broker. (See also: Stop Making These 8 Risky Password Mistakes)

Secure your computer

Hackers can steal retirement account access credentials directly from your computer. Install anti-virus and anti-malware software, including a firewall, to prevent thieves from breaking in. Use a login for your computer to keep others from accessing your files. After a hack, investigators from the brokerage may want to examine your computer to see that you were using reasonable security features when determining whether you were at fault for the hack.

Policies of major brokers for hacked accounts

Account restoration policies in response to unauthorized activity vary by broker. Following are links to policies at major firms so you can check to see what is required to get retirement funds restored after a hack.

In general, you are responsible for monitoring and protecting your own retirement account by keeping your password secure and taking reasonable security precautions on your computer or other devices. If the hack and resulting loss occurs due to breach of the brokerage's computer system, you'll likely get your funds restored based on the policies of most brokerages.

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This article is from Dr Penny Pincher of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

How to Protect Your Child From Identity Theft

Carrie Kirby — Tue, 17 Oct 2017 08:30:11 +0000

Your ex-spouse calls you, but the name on the caller ID is your child's. You receive a hospital bill for a C-section supposedly performed on your eight-year-old son. Or, you bring your child to the bank to open her first savings account, and are denied because they say she has a record of bad checks.

All these are warning signs for a surprisingly prevalent crime: child identity theft. Most adults are aware that their own names and Social Security numbers can be hijacked by scammers who open fraudulent accounts in their names; not everyone realizes that the same thing can and does happen to kids.

Identity theft can interfere with college, job prospects, buying a car, or getting that first mortgage. So it's important for you to understand how to protect your kids from this fraud. (See also: The Comprehensive Guide to Identity Theft: Everything You Need to Know)

Fraudsters love kids

You might think a kid's identity wouldn't appeal to scammers. After all, kids have no credit history and they're not even old enough to get their own credit cards. But the victim being under 18 is generally not a problem for opening new accounts. The credit bureaus don't know the applicant's age, says Eva Velasquez, CEO and President of the Identity Theft Resource Center.

And, a blank credit history can be attractive to a criminal who might have many blemishes on his or her own report, says Robert Chappell, a state police captain who wrote Child Identity Theft: What Every Parent Needs to Know.

Even better, from a crook's perspective, is the fact that the crime can go undetected for years since no one usually thinks to check a kid's credit report.

"In many instances, the first time a young adult might discover they're a victim of identity theft is when they try to apply for a loan for college and are denied because someone else either already destroyed their credit or already took out a student loan using their Social Security number," Velasquez says.

How does your child's info get out there?

Anyone with access to a child's Social Security number and date of birth can apply for accounts and services in their name. There are a number of ways scammers can get their hands on those vital digits:

Paperwork

When this information is written on school or sports team forms, it's seen by staff. If forms aren't shredded properly before disposal, it can also be found in recycling bins by thieves. To defend against these risks, be judicious about what you write on forms.

"Leave the Social Security number blank. A Social Security number is like gold to a thief," Chappell says.

Hacking

When hackers broke into health insurance company Anthem's database in 2015, tens of millions of children's records were among those compromised. There's not much you can do to prevent a breach like that, but if you get a letter notifying you that your child's account was involved in a hack, take advantage of any credit monitoring service offered.

Friends and family

Disturbingly, often the person who steals a child's identity is a relative or close friend.

Even parents are sometimes tempted to put their children's names and Social Security numbers on account applications if their own credit is bad. To prevent a relative from exploiting your child's identity, Chappell advises keeping kids' sensitive documents under lock and key, just as you should your own.

"Don't carry your child's Social Security card around in your wallet or allow your child to carry their Social Security card," Chappell advises. "It's just not needed on a daily basis."

What should you do if your child's identity is stolen?

Follow these tips from the Federal Trade Commission and other experts:

File a police report and report the crime to the FTC at IdentityTheft.gov.
Contact the three major credit bureaus to request your credit reports (you can access all three credit reports via AnnualCreditReport.com). Ask each bureau to remove any fraudulent accounts. Then freeze your credit so no new accounts can be opened.
Contact the appropriate creditor to explain that the fraudulent account was opened in a minor's name.
Consider paying for a credit monitoring service.
Visit the FTC's Identity Theft Resource site for more help.

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This article is from Carrie Kirby of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

How to Protect Your Credit After the Equifax Breach

Dr Penny Pincher — Mon, 02 Oct 2017 09:00:06 +0000

Approximately 143 million records were stolen in the recent breach of Equifax, including names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, and addresses. Even before the Equifax incident, identity theft has been on the rise. With this recent theft of millions of records, the risk of credit fraud is sure to grow.

You can take measures to protect yourself from identity theft. These options range from watching out for suspicious activity on your accounts, to paying for credit monitoring services or even freezing access to your credit reports.

Is it worth the trouble and expense to freeze your credit report, or can less intensive steps sufficiently mitigate your risk of identity theft? Here are the options available to you.

Manual account monitoring

You can check your monthly statements from existing bank and credit accounts for unexpected transactions. If you see a transaction you did not make, you have a major red flag.

How much cost and effort?

The cost is zero, but it takes effort to stay on top of all your statements and look for unexpected activity. If you spot theft, you will need to work with your financial institution to undo the fraudulent transactions.

How much protection?

In many cases, you will not be responsible for fraudulent transactions if you report them to the financial institution and work to resolve the issue. (See also: Why Credit Is Safer Than Debit)

Manual credit report monitoring

In addition to monitoring transactions on your existing accounts, you need to keep watch in case thieves open new credit accounts using your stolen personal information. You can request a free copy of your credit reports every 12 months from the major credit bureaus (TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian) and manually check for new accounts that were created by someone else.

How much cost and effort?

Free if you use the free credit reports, limited to one per year per credit bureau. If you want to check your reports more frequently than once per year, you can pay a small fee, typically around $10 per report.

How much protection?

Even if you are diligent in requesting and checking your credit reports, a fraudulent account could go unnoticed for some time due to the delay between when a fraudulent account is created and when you obtain an updated credit report and notice the new account.

How to get your free credit reports

Visit AnnualCreditReport.com to request your free credit reports. You can request reports from all three credit bureaus at once, or you can order from one bureau at a time. Ordering one free report every four months can help you keep an eye on your credit throughout the year without paying any fees.

Credit report monitoring service

You can sign up for credit monitoring services that send alerts when new credit accounts are opened, or when a credit inquiry has been made on your report. (See also: Is Credit Monitoring Ever Worth It?)

How much cost and effort?

Credit monitoring services are offered by the credit reporting agencies and other companies with costs ranging from a few dollars per month up to $25 per month. Free credit monitoring is available from Credit Karma whose free service is supported by loan and credit offers.

Credit monitoring is automatic in the sense that it provides alerts when an inquiry occurs or a new account is opened, but you will need to check the alerts to see if the activity is legitimate. And if there is fraudulent activity, you will need to take steps to counter it.

How much protection?

Credit monitoring provides alerts when new credit accounts are opened, but it does not stop thieves from opening fake accounts. The automatic monitoring simply helps you spot fraudulent new accounts quickly and take action to reverse charges and close the accounts.

Identity theft insurance

Identity theft insurance pays for some of the expenses you could incur associated with restoring your identity, including legal fees and fees from financial institutions. Coverage may also include out-of-pocket losses from credit fraud or other misuses of your personal information.

How much cost and effort?

Identity theft insurance typically costs around $25 to $60 per year and may include credit monitoring and other services.

How much protection?

If you become a victim of identity theft and are covered by identity theft insurance, the ball will still be in your court to resolve the issues. The insurance will cover certain types of expenses you may incur and limits your out-of-pocket losses.

Fraud alert

You can place a fraud alert on your credit report, which notifies credit issuers to contact you for confirmation before setting up a new credit account. An initial fraud alert stays on your credit report for 90 days, and you can extend it for another 90 days after that. An extended fraud alert for confirmed cases of identity theft lasts for seven years.

In addition to putting a fraud alert on your credit report for new credit accounts, you can also request a security alert with ChexSystems for new checking and savings accounts.

How much cost and effort?

It is free to place a fraud alert on your credit file. Once you put a fraud alert on your file with any one of the three major credit reporting agencies, it will be shared with the other two.

How much protection?

When a fraud alert is on your credit report, credit issuers are supposed to contact you before opening a new credit account, but compliance may vary.

Credit report freeze

A credit freeze with the credit reporting agencies prevents your credit report from being shared unless you "unfreeze" your credit report. This prevents thieves from opening fraudulent new credit accounts using stolen personal information.

How much cost and effort?

A credit freeze comes with a higher level of hassle and cost than some other fraud prevention measures. You need to freeze your credit report with each of the three credit reporting agencies, which means requesting the freeze three times. Then every time you want to apply for a credit account, or allow access to your credit report for an employment or housing application, you will need to unfreeze your credit report, then refreeze it afterward.

You'll pay fees every time you freeze or unfreeze your account. The fees vary by state, but generally they range from $5 to $15 for each freeze and unfreeze. Note that in light of the security breach, Equifax is offering free credit freezes until November 21, 2017.

Each bureau will give you a personal identification number (PIN) that you'll need to keep track of in order to unfreeze your reports. You can also request a security freeze with ChexSystems to block new checking or savings accounts from being opened at no cost.

How much protection?

A credit freeze is effective at stopping new accounts from being opened, but you'll still need to monitor existing bank and credit accounts for fraudulent activity, since existing accounts are not affected by a credit freeze. If you know you'll be applying for credit (or a job or apartment that might require a credit check) multiple times in the near future — or if a credit freeze just sounds like too much hassle — you may be better off signing up for a credit monitoring service and perhaps placing a fraud alert on your credit report instead of doing a freeze.

If you rarely or never apply for credit, and will not need to provide access to your credit report for employers or landlords, you may be better off freezing your credit report indefinitely. Keep in mind, though, that it is possible that the PIN needed to unfreeze your credit report could be compromised by thieves, who could unfreeze your credit report themselves. For added protection, you could place a fraud alert on your credit report before freezing it.

A "lock" may be another option

Starting January 31, 2018, Equifax will be offering consumers a new, permanent service that gives them the ability to "lock" and "unlock" their credit report at will. This new service is reported to work in a similar fashion to a freeze, and it is yet to be determined what exactly will differentiate the two methods. Equifax claims the service will include more "modern authentication techniques" for unlocking and accessing your credit report. If you elect this route, make sure to carefully read the terms and conditions before signing up.

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This article is from Dr Penny Pincher of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Security Breach Puts 50,000 Credit Card Holders at Risk

Ashley Jacobs — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 22:10:52 +0000

A security breach at Global Payments Inc., a third-party U.S. based processor, may have compromised 50,000 Visa and MasterCard cardholder accounts. According to ZDNet, both Visa and MasterCard have sent out non-public alerts to banks notifying them of the breach.

Krebs on Security reported that the breach was first detected by Global Payments in early March. The accounts were compromised between January 21st and February 25th 2012. The information obtained in the breach could be used to make counterfeit cards. It is unknown whether or not banks will issue new cards to cardholders as a result of the breach.

Affected banks have begun analyzing transactions on the potentially affected cards in an attempt to find common points of purchases. So far, the transactions of the cards that have been analyzed seem to share the characteristic that they were used in parking garages in the New York City area.

Visa has released information saying that the breach is being investigated by the Secret Service as well as an unidentified forensics company. The investigation is still in its early stages. Visa and MasterCard have both stated that their networks were not compromised as a result of the breach.

If you use a Visa or MasterCard credit card, you may be affected by this breach. The good news is that most credit cards have fraud protection, so even if you are affected by this security breach, you most likely will not be affected by fraudulent charges if you catch them early enough.

Make sure you spend some time this weekend checking your credit card statements either online or by phone to see if there has been any unusual activity going on. If there has been, get in touch with your credit card company ASAP!

Additionally, if you have yet to get your free credit report this year, get your free annual credit report to make sure there are no discrepancies on your report.

Be sure to share this article with your family and friends via Facebook, Twitter, and email so they know about the security breach and can check their credit card statements to make sure they were not affected.

This article is from Ashley Jacobs of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Social Media and Identity Theft in 2010

Jabulani Leffall — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:00:04 +0000

In the next few days and weeks you will be bombarded with things to watch for in 2010 — you know, lists and such.

They will detail ways to save, what the best vacation destinations are, who's hot and who's not — you know, the important stuff.

Most of this important stuff, such as this blog post for example, you may wish to share via a social networking site: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace — you know, the important sites.

But hark, hark I say, these sites are actually important sites because millions use them. And millions such as yourself, will be vulnerable to scams, trickery and tomfoolery that will at best lead to some embarrassing hijacking of your page or computer and at worse, help a hacker dial down into what in the data protection world is called PII or personally identifiable information. We've covered a little bit of this in this blog but never enough.

Allow me to pose this question: Would you walk into a dark alley that says "Check out this really cool video of you and your friends"? Would you& trust a Bobby D. like character who says "I got some nice dresses for ya, right around the corner if you walk into that alley"? Would you walk into that alley with your ID in hand, brandished for all to see?

Of course not. You are, after all, kind of sane. I mean you're reading this aren't you?

Yet so many people want to check out those cool videos and see which designer dresses that Bobby Digital has for them every time they log on. Sure they'd skipped the dark alley but only to do the same exact thing digitally on Facebook, et. al, every single day.

This is why Antivirus software firms such as McAfee and Symantec both see 2010 as a breakthrough year for social media sites — wait for it — surprise, uhh yeah, a breakthrough in terms of them being attacked by hackers.

What's alarming, if not brow-raising, is that most of the hacks on your favorite social portals for posting, partying, pandering, pithiness, and persiflage will take place because you or someone you know, walked into that dark digital alley in search of fun, just curious and also just plain careless.

“Mostly it's the users in an individual or small business environment through carelessness,” said David Bloom, a Los Angeles-based consultant specializing in social media. “Like Pogo said, ‘We have met the enemy and it is us.

Indeed most hacker intrusions count on curious users who they can snare by simply having the users click on web links or log in via fake web pages that look like the homepages of the most popular social media destinations.

Spoofing, for instance, involves hackers sending you phony alerts or messages supposedly from your friends, or in the case of Twitter, followers. But once you click on them there’s the possibility of being re-routed potentially malicious sites or triggering automated viruses or remote code execution, which gives a hacker control of your browsing session.

Phishing, meanwhile, also counts on user participation but usually uses more familiar subject matter to users as bait. Users might get an “emergency” message, or a “video of you” from a friend. Another method is a fake error message from your social networking site requiring your action.

With Phishing, users are most often lured into clicking on a spoofed link or page such as fake web pages that look like home pages of trusted web sites — i.e. Facebook — where users unwittingly type in login information or click on page links.

By extension, links are becoming an important component of social networking security. Recently the heavy use of condensed URLs or web addresses (tinyurl and bit.ly) to post links on Twitter and Facebook has made easier to access or cut and paste into a web browser. On the flip side, the URL shorteners can also make it nearly impossible to identify the domain or origin. This increases chances of clicking on a spoofed or malicious link. Also, URL shorteners can also help spammers to evade spam filters installed on personal computers.

“Whether its tinyurl or bit.ly technology, users are getting into the habit of clicking links that they don’t know or trust,” says Corey Thomas, Vice President of Product and Operations for IT security firm Rapid7. “This makes it much easier for a hacker to highjack the target’s system. The most important thing in a situation like this is letting users know the potential risks of tiny URLs and that they should not be clicked on unless absolutely necessary.”

Someone can easily Tweet this blog and shorten the url from Wise Bread to something that looks like an algebra equation and bam you now have "nice dresses."

So remember this year as you give status updates on where you are and what size shoes you're wearing while sitting there, people, perhaps even the wrong people, will be watching and waiting.

Cue ominous musical score and ring in 2010 with vigilance.

This article is from Jabulani Leffall of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Lock bumping - your home isn't safe

Paul Michael — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 21:28:40 +0000

I heard about lock bumping last month from a friend. I figured it was all just a bunch of hokum. But I checked it out. It's not a myth, it's not an urban legend. Crooks can make a generic key to open any lock, including yours. And it's easy. As the video below will show, even a child can do it.

So, what is Lock Bumping?
It's a technique that's been around for many years (some say it dates back as early as the 1950s) and it's a simple way to 'pick' a pin tumbler lock using a bump key. And more scary is this...one bump key will work for ANY lock.

Ok, then what's a bump key?
I don't want to go into explicit detail here, for obvious reasons, but a bump key is basically a blank key that has been filed down to the lowest level in each groove. It will slide into any pin tumbler lock and enable the would-be thief to gain entry to your home in seconds.

How does it work?
Again, without delving too deep into specifics, the technique involves sliding the 'bump key' into the lock and giving it a thump. The tumblers inside will align, you give the key a turn, and quicker than you can say 'where's my DVD player?' the thieves are in to your home and ripping you off. The video below is quite scary, and shows you just how easy it really is.

Scared? You should be. So, how do you protect yourself?
Fortunately, Lock Bumping does have counter measures. And believe it or not, more expensive locks are actually more vulnerable and open to attack. Because they are more precisely machined, expensive locks will turn more easily after a bump. The same goes for locks made of hardened steel, as they will sustain less damage during a bump. A cheaper lock may not withstand the force of the knock and refuse to turn.

Bump-Proof Locks
They do exist. They range in price from just under $100 to, well, several hundred dollars. But when you consider the financial costs of replacing your valuables or your identity, that's not so bad really.

The most affordable bump-proof lock I discovered was at a site called wholesalelocks.com. Their Bump-roof BiLock looks like it's tough as nails. That's one serious looking lock. Other bump-proof locks that I've found, although not quite as affordable, include Medeco , Videx Cyberlocks , Mul-T-Lock , and GoKeyless . I'm sure there are a few other secure locks on the market too. Just pop down to your local DIY store and ask if they have any Bump-Proof locks. If they don't (which is likely) they can certainly point you in the direction of someone who does sell them.

Is there a quick-fix solution?
There are a few. Your local locksmith is well aware of Lock Bumping, and can come out to your home and make your current locks more secure. If you don't fancy the call out charge, you could always fit an additional Mortise or Deadbolt lock to each exterior door. Unlike cylinder locks, these are far more difficult to bypass (although nothing is impossible), and two locks on a door is also a good deterrent.

Finally, if it's so prevalent, why aren't lock manufacturers doing anything?
Good question, right. The answer is an old one. Money. Right now, less than 5% of the population knows about Lock Bumping, and even fewer really give it the attention it deserves. The cost of making bump-proof locks is much higher, which means the cost to buy them is higher. And ultimately, that higher price point affects the bottom line.

So, that's the scoop on Lock Bumping. Much more information is out there on the web if you really want to find it. More worrying, if you can find out how to make a bump key, so can any thief. Yikes. Now, I'm off to buy a Doberman with sharp teeth and an appetite for criminals.

This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: