Laptop Repair May Aid Identity Theft

If you are a heavy laptop user a sudden breakdown of your trusted portable workstation becomes a nightmare.  You can’t get any work done, no way you can read blogs and news, and your favorite computer game is lonely without you.  But did you know that laptop repair may aid identity theft, and can cause other financial burdens?

Think about it.  Your laptop is loaded with plenty of personal information.  This identifying info may be in your documents folder, web browsing history, and programs such as Quicken and Microsoft Excel.

Calling for help is safest
If your laptop breaks down try to call the company that sold it to you in order to fix it over the phone.  Make sure to do so if you have warranty on it, otherwise you will be charged for the call.  You can also call your knowledgeable friend, but I am sure he or she might be very busy for the next couple of weeks.  This is the best method to prevent identity theft as you are in possession of your laptop.

Second best
The second best method in protecting yourself from id theft is having a repair person come to your house and help you fix your computer.  By “help you” I mean that you should be aware of what is happening during the repair process.  I recommend ordering some pizza and having you sit down next to the technician all the way through.  I know it is tedious, but in the end it can save your from identity theft hell.

Still acceptable
Another way to fix a laptop that has a software bug, but it powers on and goes on the Internet, is via remote assistance.  This is a great thing to do if you want someone experienced to fix your laptop.  You basically connect to the Internet and invite the repair person to connect to your laptop.  Once connected the person can navigate to certain places as they will have control over your computer.  The possibility for identity theft is higher, but you are able to see what happens on the screen.  If you ever consider remote assistance to fix your laptop make sure to supervise the process.  If you smell something fishy and you have no control via mouse and keyboard simply yank the Internet connection cable or disable the Wi-Fi adapter.  The person on the other end should have no more access.

The worst way
Dropping your laptop off at a repair facility, like Best Buy’s Geek Squad, for example.  This is by far the worst way you can leave your laptop and your identity.  Once you leave the repair facility you have zero control over what the person, or the people, fixing your laptop can access and see.  This “worst way” statement also applies to having your laptop shipped off to a repair facility like: Dell, Gateway, IBM, etc. under the provisions of your warranty.  I know that this is the most common way people fix damaged laptops, but it is also the riskiest way to manage your identity and financial information that may be stored in your laptop.

In the end, you may avoid identity theft as no one will access or utilize the personal information on your laptop. However, this is not guaranteed. You should be cognizant of the fact that if something devious did happen you recently submitted your laptop for repair.