With the pervasive threat of identity theft, prospects for structured settlements should be cautious about providing personal or confidential information over the Internet without checking to see if security measures are in place. If they are in place how effective are they? Insurers, claims adjusters or any type of law firm assigning cases or providing online information should also be especially cautious given responsibilities under Gramm Leach Bliley and HIPAA. Of course the advice here goes for any site soliciting online information.
First, does the website post a valid SSL (Secure Socket Layers) certificate which assures that transmissions between you and the server to which you are sending your personal information is encrypted? Check for seals from Thawte, Verisign, Gizmodo, Network Solutions and others. Click on the seal posted on the site to see if it is valid and registered to the site in question. Be especially careful not to send password information over any site that is not SSL.
Second, how safe is the information once it gets to the destination server of your vendor? What has the vendor done to protect your data? Does the website possess a form of Hacker Safe seal? Hacker Safe rigorously scans and probes the website server in a daily security audit and determines if there are any vulnerabilities. The seal will only appear if the site is clear based on high standards set by SANS/FBI, Visa, Mastercard, American Express and other top level financial institutions. Hacker Safe offered by Scan Alert and Trust Guard are two popular choices with the former being used by over half of the top online retailers.
Third, does the website or vendor have a published privacy policy? Some websites have the seal of TrustE, the most widely respected standard in privacy?
One of the websites in the industry actually asks for medical information yet does not possess any of these seals.
Taking advantage of the efficiencies of the Internet is a wonderful thing and is the way of the future, if you are dealing with the right vendor and the right security. The application and display of the above seals demonstrates the vendor's commitment to you above and beyond "the deal".
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