What Evil Lurks in the Hearts of Men? The Office of Privacy Protection Knows

On July 23, in the Central Library's Sacramento Room, Debra Castanon of the California Office of Privacy Protection gave an educational talk on identitfy theft and ways to avoid falling into a crime ring that's caused dread for millions of Americans.

Perhaps the most chilling tip of the night related to debit cards. Castanon admonished patrons to never let their debit card out their site, lest the magnetic footprint on the card's strip be stolen. It happens: just click. She went on to discuss everything from securing your mailbox to emphasizing the need to acquire 'diamond-cut' paper shredders, as - given enough time - the remains of simple north-south shredders can be easily pieced back together by criminals.

Castanon when on to discuss a number of other areas to be vigilant about. She also distributed a number of information sheets on fraud awareness to attendees. Click here for the electronic versions of the forms.

Overall, the visit was solid: informative, smart and choc-full-o' reasons to act with thoughtful pause next time you're consuming, dear consumer.