Today is Data Privacy Day. Not many people are aware that such a day exists, and this is eerily parallel to the fact that not many people are aware of how much of their personal data is online. The Council of Europe first introduced Data Privacy Day in 2007, with the aim of highlighting issues related to computer privacy. Subsequently the event has spread across the pond to the United States and our neighbor to the north, Canada.

Many large companies with direct ties to the Internet and Internet users have signed on to advance the awareness of online information protection. Intel, Microsoft and MySpace have all signed on to collaborate with government officials and advocacy groups to promote the cause, helping people understand what information may be at risk and how to protect one’s self online.

Brendon Lynch, Microsoft’s Privacy Strategy director talked about the connection between crime and personal information on the Internet. “”In a way, personal information has become the new currency of crime. The Internet is really transforming society in a number of great ways. It has also become a target of cyber-criminals and they are trying to get people’s personal information.”

According to a focus group study conducted by Microsoft, many average Internet users suffer from the fact that they trust security measures such as spam filters and commercial anti-virus software to protect them, and at the same time these users don’t really understand the issue of online privacy or how these tools are supposed to help. Beyond that, the data collected from the groups (18 to 24 years old, 30s to 40s, and 60 or older) showed that people feel sharing information over the Internet is important enough to risk putting otherwise sensitive information online to begin with.

In the same vein, people readily admit that they are responsible for the information on the Internet. “People want to take responsibility, but they want a little help,” Microsoft’s chief privacy strategist Peter Cullen said. “This is a kind of investment portfolio that all the major stake holders have to think about continually contributing to.”

All of this information is very eye opening, and definitely positive. The more people are aware, the more they can spread the news and protect themselves while educating others. It takes a virtual village. Ultimately the government and private businesses will have to acknowledge the reality of the Internet and the data age in which we exist. These types of institutions must then take an active role in promoting best practices online with regards to data privacy and protection.

“Internet users certainly are concerned about how their privacy can be protected in the Internet Age,” Brandon Lynch said. “In many cases, technology has brought about these concerns but ultimately technology plays a big role going forward.”

With more than 150 million active users, there’s no shortage of weird groups to join on Facebook. For instance, are you one of the 805,589 people who enjoys flipping their pillow over to get to the cold side? Join the somewhat obviously named I FLIP MY PILLOW OVER TO GET TO THE COLD SIDE. When John McCain picked Sarah Palin as his running mate, were you one of the 239,906 people who thought you could do a better job? Check out I have more Foreign Policy Experience than Sarah Palin.

While most of these groups are frivolous and do not extend beyond the scope of Facebook, there are other groups that have not been received quite as warmly in the real world. For instance, in Italy, a number of Facebook groups dedicated to praising La Cosa Nostra (i.e. the Mob, the Mafia, etc.) have drawn the ire of police and government authorities. In a recent article at NYTimes.com, Rachel Donadio explored the issue.

From the article:

Your college roommate is on Facebook. So are your cousins and colleagues and friends. But guess who else may find Facebook a great way to stay in touch?

Some people in Sicily who know a few things about networking.

In recent weeks, the Italian authorities have begun investigating Facebook discussion groups devoted to convicted Mafiosi, concerned that some members might be more than fans.

At the same time, a campaign calling on Facebook to remove pro-Mafia pages has been gaining momentum, while thousands of Facebook members have joined new anti-Mafia groups.

The debate spilled over from civil society to online society after recent news reports revealed that more than 2,000 people had joined Facebook interest groups hailing Salvatore Riina, the so-called boss of bosses, known as Totò, who was arrested in 1993 after more than two decades on the run; and his successor, Bernardo Provenzano, arrested in 2006 after four decades in hiding. Both are serving multiple life sentences.

The article goes on to discuss how authorities are concerned that pro-Mafia groups are not only inappropriate, but that social networking might be a potential mode of attracting new recruits to lives of crime. Whether or not this is a legitimate threat is up for debate. However, it does bring up some interesting issues regarding free speech on the Internet. For instance, what is Facebook’s responsibility in monitoring these groups? When does online speech cross from merely inappropriate to illegal? And will someone make a horse head Facebook app now?

Marco Pratellesi has a nice write up on the emerging concept of Google Insurance in a blog post at Corriere della Sera. The piece is in Italian and begins:

Abbiamo assicurato tutto: la casa, l’auto, il motorino, la barca (chi ce l’ha), il cane e perfino la vita. Ognuno di noi è titolare di un numero consistente di polizze. Eppure esiste un nuovo contratto di protezione sugli infortuni, ancora giovane ma in rapida crescita: la polizza sulla reputazione. L’idea è venuta a un americano, Michael Fertik, che ha fondato “Reputation.com”.

Which roughly translates to: We have insured everything: the house, the car, . . . the dog and even life.  . . . Now Michael Fertik, founder of Reputation.com is offering a policy on Reputation.

Managing Reputational Risk Online is important to individuals, brands, organizations and institutions in the information age. With the increase of multi-directional messaging in the online channel, taking steps to protect and insure one’s online reputation ensures peace of mind for individuals.

Ah, the cleverness of a credit card fraudster has no limits!  This week brings news of a potential new scam that’s intended to siphon away your money by adding small, relatively innocuous charges to your credit card.  Charges appear from Adele Services in Melville, NY for amounts as small as $0.20.  The catch is that there is no such company as Adele Services, the Boston Globe reports.

The gig seems to be that Adele — or whoever these fraudsters really are — will make millions of dollars by quietly attacking many millions of unsuspecting credit users.  If I am being optimistic, I might guess this means that the average credit fraudster has realized that the days of pulling off conspicuous spending sprees on stolen credit have come to an end.  But if I am being more realistic, I know that this more likely spells the start of a time when thieves try to skirt the detection systems set up by running smaller frauds over a larger base of customers.

We founded Reputation.com to help people stop certain kinds of fraud before it has a chance to hurt them.  Since our business offers different types of subscriptions, we always want to make sure people know what types of charges appear from us on their credit cards.  Our transaction will always say “Reputation” right on them, alongside our 1-800 number and our home state of California (marked by CA).  If your charge doesn’t look like our example below, it’s not us!  Feel free to give us a call and we’ll make sure you get to the bottom of the problem immediately.

We also encourage you to check out our credit card loss prevention tips.  Follow these and you should have a healthy, fraud free credit card life.

Credit Card fraud is big business, both for the people who perpetrate it and for the companies that build software to try and stop it from happening in the first place.  The Secret Service (the governmental agency tasked with stopping this type of crime) describes the total losses to businesses and consumer as in the “billions of dollars.”  Here at Reputation.com, we’re often asked to test or review many of the top software solutions designed to stop credit fraud.  And though I have seen a lot that I like, I really think that the best prevention really come down to some basic sleuthing performed by the individual.  Here are my top 5 tips for how to make sure you don’t become a victim of credit card theft:

1.  Make sure to review your credit card statement, regularly. 

I recommend that you take the time to do this online, at least once a week.  Many of the credit card companies also allow you to set up alerts for certain types of charges, or to get emails with balance updates.  You may also want to set up an aggregation tool to help you review data quickly across all of your accounts.   I like the security features and the ease of use that Aaron Forth and his team have built at mint.com.

2. Shred your paper statements as soon as you’ve reviewed them. 

Better yet, save some trees and don’t receive paper statements (you can also do this through your online account).  Simply discarding your paper statements in the trash without shredding provides a rich target for thieves who want to mine you personal information and transaction data.

3. Watch out for imposters who pretend to be affiliated with your credit card or banking institution. 

You should be very skeptical when you are receiving a phone call or an email from somebody claiming to be from your bank or credit card issuer.  Unless they can positively identify multiple pieces of information that are personal to you (e.g., the kind of card you have, recent transactions, your last payment amount, etc.) you should not provide additional information to the person.  It’s not good enough for them to simply know your name and address – this information is all too easy to get from the web.  When in doubt, it’s better to be safe and call the number on the back of your card to verify if there are any issues on your account.

4.  Be prepared to act if there’s a problem.

Most card issuers can cancel you account instantaneously if you call them.  Keep a file with the numbers of your credit card issuers and/or banks and make sure you bring this when traveling.

5.  Stay aware of your rights and benefits as a card holder. 

Federal law protects unauthorized use of credit cards for any amount over $50.  The better card issuers actually offer complete protection from any fraudulent charge at any time.  You should inquire to see what your protection is.

6. A bonus tip from Reputation.com! 

If you want to protect the data that most identity thieves use to pose as you, we think you should check out MyPrivacy.  The product sweeps the web for public evidence of your address, age, income data, names of your relatives and other sensitive personal information and then we allow you to lock down those records through our proprietary protection.  The best defense!  I’d be happy to let readers of this post try it for a month for free.  Click this link and you’ll automatically have a code for a free month of MyPrivacy.  Stay private, stay protected.