Learn how to identify your risk, and the basic steps you can take to secure your online information and data.

Indianapolis — We rely on the internet to work, bank, shop, and socialize. Our health and financial information are stored online. Connected devices control everything from home security systems to thermostats and TVs. While convenient, these connections open the door for possible malicious activity. Help manage your cybersecurity risks, such as identity theft, with these tips from the Indiana Department of Insurance.

TOP CONSIDERATIONS

Identity theft is the unauthorized use or attempted use of an existing account, use of your information to open a new account, and misuse of your information to commit fraud.

Data thieves gain access to information from a variety of places, including your mailbox, home and business trash, public dumps, public records, and social media.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

How to identify your risk

You are at risk if you store personal information on a home or work computer, or if you bank or shop online. The following scenarios may be signs of compromised data:

• You see unexpected withdrawals from your bank account.
• You do not receive your bills or other mail.
• You receive bills for health services you did not use, or your health plan rejects a legitimate medical claim.

Regularly check your credit report to ensure you do not see:

• A new account you did not open.
• Unfamiliar accounts listed.
• Negative items.

How to keep your information safe online

There are basic steps you can take to secure your information and data:

• Dispose of personal information by shredding documents using a cross-cut shredder.
• Use strict privacy settings on your computer, devices, and browsers.
• Keep passwords private, and do not write your passwords down. You may consider using a reliable password manager.
• Be mindful about the personal information you share on social media.
• Be cautious of what you download from the internet. Navigate directly to websites when you need to initiate a download. Do not download anything or click links from sites or emails that someone sends you.
• If your Social Security number is requested by a vendor, ask why it is needed and how it will be used and protected.
• Remember that there is nothing wrong with telling someone that you are not comfortable sharing personal information.

Keeping your information safe also means ensuring your devices, including smart phones, laptops, desktops, tablets, and other devices, are secure:

• Update your software regularly.
• Change your passwords regularly.
• Use two-factor authentication.
• Use antivirus or anti-malware software to protect against malicious software that disrupts computer operations, gathers sensitive information, gains access to private computers, or displays unwanted advertising.
• Password protect your laptop to prevent unknown users from accessing it.
• Avoid opening emails or attachments from unknown senders.
• Back up your files to an encrypted flash drive or external hard drive.

TOP THINGS TO REMEMBER

1. Regularly check your credit report for warning signs of identity theft. Indiana residents are able to get a free credit report each year. For information about how to request a free credit report, visit https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/free-credit-reports#:~:text=Federal%20law%20gives%20you%20the,TransUnion)%20at%20AnnualCreditReport.com.
2. Any Indiana resident can request a credit freeze free of charge. There is no fee for Indiana residents to place, temporarily lift, remove or request a new password or PIN.
3. Indiana residents can file an identity theft complaint with the Indiana Attorney General’s office. Visit in.gov/attorneygeneral/consumer-protection-division/id-theft-prevention/complaint-form/ to find links to the form.
4. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has resources on how to avoid identity theft. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has an identity theft website to report incidents and develop a recovery plan.

About the Indiana Department of Insurance
The Indiana Department of Insurance protects Indiana’s insurance consumers by monitoring and regulating the financial strengths and market conduct activities of insurance companies and agents. The IDOI monitors insurance companies and agents for compliance with state laws to protect consumers and to offer them the best array of insurance products available. The IDOI also assists Hoosiers with insurance questions and provides guidance in understanding how insurance policies work. Visit the IDOI at www.IN.GOV/IDOI.

The State Of Political Discourse In Our Nation

AUGUST 22, 2022

By Dannie McIntire

A recent headline of an article by Brad Dress, a staff writer for “The Hill” caught my attention; “Nearly one in three Americans say it may soon be necessary to take up arms against the government.”  

He detailed according to a new poll from the “University of Chicago’s Institute Of Politics” that a majority of Americans believe our government is corrupt and almost a third of Americans believe it may be necessary to take up arms against it.

Not surprisingly, of those polled, approximately 35 percent of Republicans and Independents held the above view, while only one in five Democrats concurred with that thinking.

That to me is a striking synopsis of the political discourse we are currently experiencing within our nation.

Perhaps most troubling to me was the statistic that a quarter of those polled stated that they had lost friends over politics.  

Now within my own circle of family, friends, and acquaintances, there are a few that the topic of politics is strictly a taboo subject; they are not going to change my mind and I’m not going to change their minds, but our difference in political beliefs is no reason to end a friendship just because they are wrong. (did I say that). 

What has caused “us Americans” to become so “opinionated” that we are unwilling to listen to opinions, and beliefs, that are different than what you personally believe?

Why can’t political debate occur without derogatory remarks being thrown at each other? Civility in the course of public discussions seems to have gone out the window.

I remember back in my school days, I belonged to 4-H, and it sponsored debating. I still remember my teacher Mrs. Kersy saying, when you are debating, if the other side loses “their cool”, it’s because they don’t have the “facts” to successfully counter your “facts”.  

I think in our society today, too few actually take the time to know the facts, too many get their “facts” in sound bites, and believe everything they’re exposed to on media and social media sites as gospel “facts”

Before the advent of the internet and the explosion of media available through it, newspapers were the primary source of “facts”. My perception as I remember those days, journalists were less politically slanted in how they reported the news, the “facts” were the “facts, let the “shoe fall wherever it falls”.    

Today, newspapers today are dying from a lack of readership, especially many of the small hometown local papers, conglomerates now control the majority of newspapers, and more often than not ensure what is printed in their paper conforms to the corporate point of view. 

A small hometown paper like the City-County Observer is becoming more of a rarity, especially when it is a growing paper. I wasn’t that familiar with the City-County Observer when I was first offered the opportunity to contribute articles. One aspect of the newspaper I did quickly notice was that the publisher printed a diversity of different opinions from all sides of the political spectrum, democrat, republican, libertarian, and “good ol’ boys”.      

On top of offering a diversity of opinions, the City-County Observer is free. Thank you to those who advertise in this paper, it allows the “presses” to keep rolling “freely”.  

FOOTNOTE:  This article was posted by City-County Observer without basis or editing.