Your Secrets Are My Business: Security Expert Reveals How Your Trash, License Plate, Credit Cards, Computer, a nd Even Your Mail Make You an Easy Target for Today's Information Thieves

Privacy is almost obsolete. There's an army of data miners out there digging up as much dirt as possible on you, your loved ones, and practically everyone else in the world, but you can plug up the leaks if you know their tricks. Security experts Kevin McKeown and Dave Stern want to show you who's looking, what he or she is looking for, and how that person is getting access to your most private information, starting with Social Security number, address, and employer, and moving up to your buying habits and your children's play habits. Your Secrets Are My Business is a 250-page self-help manual for the paranoid--and if you're not even a little nervous about who might be looking over your shoulder, by the time you've read the first chapter, you'll be eager for McKeown's suggestions. Even that holiest of holies, your credit-card number, is seen by more people than you probably trust--but if you carefully observe your purchasing habits, you can catch fraud before it wrecks your bank account.

The book alternates, on the one hand, between morbidly entertaining stories of McKeown's days in the trenches following the trail of insurance fraud to the Caribbean and digging through Dumpsters to piece together criminal profiles and, on the other, extremely practical tips for ensuring your privacy (even if you aren't a villainous mastermind). The authors keep the reader interested while making their case for a return to old-fashioned notions of private life. It takes quite a bit of energy to protect your personal information, but the freedom from harassment by junk mailers, telephone solicitors, and other unsavory types is worth it. Whether you want to know how to stay in hiding or just want to learn why people care about what car you drive, Your Secrets Are My Business will make your life seem a thousand times more interesting, because you'll see it through the eyes of a professional investigator. --Rob Lightner