Digital Filing and Record Keeping Question

I think @Sarahsuccess is asking some very important questions about how we can protect our sensitive personal information. I believe in the right to privacy, and I agree with @Oogiem and @mcogilvie that keeping anything one values offline is the best practice. However, I suspect that doing that alone is not sufficient and that we need to learn how to actively defend ourselves.

We have known at least since Snowden's revelations that we are under surveillance by our government and that technology corporations are likely providing the means whereby for that surveillance. Which technology corporations can we trust then? Should we have their software on our computers?

In addition, criminal data breaches are a significant threat. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's U.S. and World Population Clock, the population of the United States on August 31, 2024 was 337,026,371. According to the Annual Data Breach Report of The Identity Theft Research Center (ITRC). at least 353,000,000 individuals in the U.S. were impacted by a form of data breach in 2023. That is a lot of people!! Note that the number of individuals experiencing data breaches in 2023 is greater than the number of people in the U.S. population. I am guessing that some people were impacted by more than one data breach.

Keeping our data off the internet on our own computer, and backing it up to an independent device, and keeping a copy off-site are all good steps to take. I think more is needed. I think we need to learn how to actively defend ourselves, but I am not technologically educated, and I have no answers that would solve this serious problem.
 
@Mrs-Polifax, mass data breaches make a lot of headlines, where the confidential information of very large numbers of people are obtained, do represent a threat. The information obtained can be used in a variety of ways. There are steps you can take, like freezing your credit and keeping your system software up to date. However, the most damaging attacks are still human engineering attacks, where a target is induced to do something which makes them or the systems they use vulnerable to further exploitation. This can be as simple as inducing someone to click on a link in an email or on a webpage, but also includes people responding to personal phone calls. Even people who are familiar with such scams and have helped others avoid them have fallen for them. A bit of education on things like phishing and other attacks combined with a very, very large dose of caution and skepticism can go a long way.
 
mcogilvie said:
@Mrs-Polifax, mass data breaches make a lot of headlines, where the confidential information of very large numbers of people are obtained, do represent a threat. The information obtained can be used in a variety of ways. There are steps you can take, like freezing your credit and keeping your system software up to date. However, the most damaging attacks are still human engineering attacks, where a target is induced to do something which makes them or the systems they use vulnerable to further exploitation. This can be as simple as inducing someone to click on a link in an email or on a webpage, but also includes people responding to personal phone calls. Even people who are familiar with such scams and have helped others avoid them have fallen for them. A bit of education on things like phishing and other attacks combined with a very, very large dose of caution and skepticism can go a long way.
Click to expand...

Thanks, @mcogilvie,

I agree that being manipulated into being a victim of exploitation is where the gravest danger lies. I had an experience of this. and as you mention, it need not be a digital experience.

I was injured and disabled and in pain. My doctor approved me for PT in my home, and I was connected with a third-party PT contractor for my health plan. The PT evaluated me and gave me a third-party contract to sign. It was only a paragraph on one page, which seemed oddly short for a contract. I read it carefully, and it seemed okay, and I needed treatment, so I signed it. I was given the attached copy.

A few days later, in the contractor's packet of information left for me by the PT, I discovered a copy of several other pages of the same contract that I had never seen, did not know existed, and would never have signed, if I had I known they were part of the contract. I tried many things to recover, but ultimately, this did not turn out well for me.

You say this can happen even to people who know to beware of it, and that was my experience. I had by chance read about this very same contract manipulation years earlier, so I knew it was something to watch out for, but at the time, that did not even occur to me, so my knowledge could not protect me.

Having a very, very large dose of caution and skepticism seems like a watchful, wary way to live, so I do not feel good about that alternative, but I'm not sure there is a better choice. Thanks for giving me your thoughts about ways to be safe from from these scams of various kinds, which are a bit scary to be sure.

Warmly,

Emily
 
Last edited:
Mrs-Polifax said:
Thanks, @mcogilvie,

I agree that being manipulated into being a victim of exploitation is where the gravest danger lies. I had an experience of this. and as you mention, it need not be a digital experience.

I was injured and disabled and in pain. My doctor approved me for PT in my home, and I was connected with a third-party PT contractor for my health plan. The PT evaluated me and gave me a third-party contract to sign. It was only a paragraph on one page, which seemed oddly short for a contract. I read it carefully, and it seemed okay, and I needed treatment, so I signed it. I was given the attached copy.

A few days later, in the contractor's packet of information left for me by the PT, I discovered a copy of several other pages of the same contract that I had never seen, did not know existed, and would never have signed, if I had I known they were part of the contract. I tried many things to recover, but ultimately, this did not turn out well for me.

You say this can happen even to people who know to beware of it, and that was my experience. I had by chance read about this very same contract manipulation years earlier, so I knew it was something to watch out for, but at the time, that did not even occur to me, so my knowledge could not protect me.

Having a very, very large dose of caution and skepticism seems like a watchful, wary way to live, so I do not feel good about that alternative, but I'm not sure there is a better choice. Thanks for giving me your thoughts about ways to be safe from from these scams of various kinds, which are a bit scary to be sure.

Warmly,

Emily
Click to expand...
I’m sorry you had that experience. There are many unscrupulous people, but many, many more who are decent and honest. I don’t think modern technology has changed that much, just made everything faster, good and bad.
 
mcogilvie said:
I’m sorry you had that experience. There are many unscrupulous people, but many, many more who are decent and honest.
Click to expand...
Yes, I agree. Thank goodness for that. It would be tragic to let our unfortunate experiences define our reality.

mcogilvie said:
I don’t think modern technology has changed that much, just made everything faster, good and bad.
Click to expand...
I believe I see your point that people are not necessarily any less honest and decent, but that unscrupulous incidents may be happening more often and affecting more people because everything is happening faster at a larger scale. Millions can be affected in one security breach caused by a few unscrupulous people.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top