The Valet got his number!

This past weekend, my newest niece was christened. My brother held a party at a lovely restaurant located right on the water. Like so many restaurants, this one provided valet parking. Before I continue, let me say that I'm always uncomfortable letting someone park my car.  To be honest, I don't like the idea of anyone I don't know driving my car at all. But, this isn't about me, it's about another niece's boyfriend.

Arriving a bit late, this niece and her boyfriend rushed inside, leaving the car with the valet. Realizing that he left his wallet in the car, he returned a short time later only to find that the wallet had been moved from where he'd left it. He checked the contents and everything was there, but one of his credit cards was sticking out in a peculiar way. Because he works in the financial/banking industry, he knew how to quickly put an alert on his card.

Sure enough, the very next day the card was used in an attempt to purchase airline tickets. The card company quickly squashed that and notified him about the attempted fraudulent activity. Rather than steal the card outright, the criminal decided to steal the card's information, including the security code on the back.

What does this have to do with IT security? Well, the same crime can easily be done with IT information assets, and you would not even know. All you need to do is make a stupid mistake, let your guard down for a few seconds and a crime of opportunity can happen. Don't leave your IT "wallet" on the console for all to see.