Selling your vehicle? Be sure to erase your GPS

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It seems that nearly every day, we discover that some technology which was designed to make our lives easier, also gives us one more thing to worry about.

The idea for this blog came from a recent, “Dear Abby” newspaper column. In it, a woman wrote to express her concern that she had purchased a used vehicle from a dealer, only to discover that the previous owner’s information was still embedded in the system.

“Abby,” the woman wrote, “I had that man’s home address, the addresses of his friends, his bank, his workplace—every place he had gone.”

Alarming, to say the least.

Alarmed themselves, the staff at “Dear Abby” made some calls to local dealerships.The dealers said the problem is rather common, but they are not legally required to delete information from a navigation system. The seller, they said, should delete the information before selling the car.

Great information! Take heed, so the person who eventually buys your car drives off the lot with your vehicle, not the keys to your entire life.

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Protect Your Online Reputation in 4 Easy Steps

by Lisa Cunningham, Director of Communications

Do you know what kind of reputation you have?

You should, especially online.

In our fast-paced, technology-driven world, most recruiters, employers, and even prospective clients will form an opinion about you based on what they find online before they ever meet you in person.

In fact, Microsoft conducted a survey recently which found that 75 percent of U.S. recruiters and human resource professionals do some online research about job candidates before ever contacting them about an interview. More than half of the recruiters polled said that they have rejected candidates because of information found online, such as photos and controversial discussion board commentary.

Thanks to social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, as well as blogs, video-sharing sites, and search engines, you can find out what you want to know about nearly anything and anyone with the click of a mouse.

All of this free information amounts to a general lack of privacy. Everything which is communicated online is stored forever.

That means that those embarrassing personal blunders, commentaries, and pictures can follow you forever–literally. What’s more, those apps that you download on social networking sites like Facebook, are compiled and sold to advertisers every day.

With all this vital information floating in cyberspace, you want to manage your online reputation as closely and thoroughly as possible. Failing to do so could have major consequences and might even make the difference between you being hired for a job or approved for an apartment, among other things.

So, with all this information floating over the Internet, how can you manage your online reputation? Easily, with just these few, simple steps.

Google yourself

Simply type all variations of your name — including misspellings–as well as your address and phone number, into Google and see what comes up. You want to find out what other people might have posted about you which could have potentially damaging, long-term implications.

Comb the web

Find the things that even Google misses. Check various “people search” engines, like Pipl and ZoomInfo, which compile information from various web sites and social networks into personal files. You’ll want to check these search engines, as sites often mix information about different people with the same name and present them as a single person. Not good if you share the same name as, say, a fugitive on the F.B.I.’s “most wanted” list.

Check your background

Divorces, arrests, and tax liens are all a matter of public record. Request a free public records report from ChoicePoint to see what’s on the record about you. This way, you’ll see what a potential employer or landlord sees about you when they run a background check.

And this is also a good time to order a free annual credit report from the big three credit bureaus. Remember to do this at least once a year to check for inaccuracies which could impact your candidacy for a job or apartment.

Protect your good name

If you find less-than-favorable information about yourself online, you may want to consider hiring a professional service to protect your name and reputation. For a nominal fee, reputation management companies like Reputation Defender will scour the Internet to find out what is being said about you and even have damaging information removed.

While companies like Repuation Defender are successful in removing negative information about individuals from the web most of the time, experts say the best way to prevent damage to your online reputation is to think before you type or post a video or picture online because what happens in cyberspace stays there and can potentially haunt you, forever.

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The Child Sex Trade in America

by Lisa Cunningham, Director of Communications

In recent years, there has been a lot of attention in the media about the global commercial sex trade. But while many of us have heard that the problem exists in several parts of the world, few of us know that it’s also happening in our neighborhoods, right under our noses.

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an estimated 300,000 American children fall victim to commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) each year. Disturbingly, many of these children are younger than 12 years old.

Children who have run away or have been thrown away from their homes are especially vulnerable to CSEC. In addition, the internet has made it especially easy for predators to find and lure unsuspecting children. In fact, experts say, many are lured, raped, and sold into the commercial sex trade within 48-72 hours after running away or being lured by a child predator.

But what is most disturbing is that oftentimes, the very children who are victimized by this crime are also the ones who are criminalized: young girls are regularly arrested for the crime of prostitution, while the real criminals continue to prowl the streets for more victims.

Fortunately, there’s hope. One organization, Living Water for Girls, provides refuge and rehabilitation services for girls between the ages of 12 and 17 who were victims of CSEC. To learn more about the organization and how you can help to protect our children from commercial sexual exploitation, visit their website, livingwaterforgirls.org.

Remember, this crime isn’t just happening overseas. It’s happening right outside our front door.