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Adds Personal Finance section

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@ -316,18 +316,20 @@ The most privacy-respecting option, would be to not use "smart" internet-connect
## Personal Finance
Credit card fraud is the most common form of identity theft (with [133,015 reports in the US in 2017 alone](https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/identity-theft-statistics/)), and a total loss of $905 million, which was a 26% increase from the previous year. The with a median amount lost per person was $429 in 2017. It's more important than ever to take basic steps to protect yourself from falling victim
Note about credit cards: Credit cards have technological methods in place to detect and stop some fraudulent transactions. Major payment processors implement this, by mining huge amounts of data from their card holders, in order to know a great deal about each persons spending habits. This data is used to identify fraud, but is also sold onto other data brokers. Credit cards are therefore good for security, but terrible for data privacy.
**Security** | **Priority** | **Details and Hints**
--- | --- | ---
**Understand the Privacy / Security trade off of Credit Cards** | Recommended | Credit cards have technological methods in place to detect and stop some fraudulent transactions from going through. Major payment processors mine huge amounts of data from their card holders, and know a great deal about each persons spending habits. They track the types of merchants you visit, as well as locations (either from physical store location, or your IP address). Since credit providers don't want to foot the bill for fraud, they have an interest in keeping accounts as safe as possible. Credit cards are therefore good for security, but terrible for data privacy.
**Apply a Credit Check Lock** | Recommended | This will stop anyone from requesting a hard or soft credit check on you, without you first consenting it. This is important since credit checks reveal a lot of personal details about you, and (without a lock) there is nothing to stop any company, organisation, individual or government entity from requesting your credit history at any time, without you being notified. For instructions with specific agencies, refer to this article on [Intel Techniques](https://inteltechniques.com/blog/2018/09/28/complete-credit-freeze-tutorial-update/)
**Enable Fraud Alerts** | Recommended | Fraud alert messages notify potential credit grantors to verify your identification before extending credit in your name in case someone is using your information without your consent. You can contact credit agencies and request that they implement a fraud alert on your account, to help protect against identity theft
**Know how to Freeze your Credit** | Recommended | If you suspect that any of your personal details have been exposed, you will need to apply a credit freeze as soon as possible, to prevent identity theft. Ensure you know how to do this for your specific credit bureaus. Check your credit, debit accounts, email inbox and post regularly, monitoring for anything that doesn't look right
**Use Virtual Cards** | Recommended | Virtual card numbers let you pay for items without revealing your real card or banking details. They also offer additional features, such as single-use cards and spending limits for each card. This means you will not be charged more than you specified, or ongoing subscriptions or in the case of a data breach. [Privacy.com](https://privacy.com/join/VW7WC) is a popular service, See also: [Revolut METAL](https://revolut.ngih.net/Q9jdx), [MySudo](https://mysudo.com)
**Use cash for daily transactions** | Optional | Digital payment methods leave a comprehensive data trail. Using cash for local transactions makes it near impossible for you to be tracked through spending.
**Use an anonymous cryptocurrency for online transactions** | Optional | Unlike card payments, most cryptocurrencies are not linked to your real identity. However many blockchains have a public ledger, where transaction details can be publicly viewed online. A privacy-focused currency, such as [Monero](https://www.getmonero.org) or [ZCash](https://z.cash) will allow you to pay for goods and services without any direct link to your identity.
**Buy Crypto Anonymously** | Advanced | If you are buying a common cryptocurrency (such as BitCoin), in order to use it as a payment method avoid paying by card on an online exchange, since this will link directly back to your real identity. Instead use a service like [LocalBitcoins](https://localbitcoins.com), or buy from a local BitCoin ATM ([find one here](https://coinatmradar.com)). Before withdrawing, consider using a [bitcoin mixer](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Mixing_service), to make your transaction harder to trace.
**Use an alias details for online shopping** | Advanced | When you pay for goods or services online, you do not know for sure who will have access to your data. Using an alias name, forwarding mail address and not disclosing your personal phone number will go a long way in keeping you safe. Services such as [SimpleLogin](https://simplelogin.io/?slref=bridsqrgvrnavso) or [Anonaddy](https://anonaddy.com) will allow you to create anonymous forwarding email addresses
**Use alternate delivery address** | Advanced | When online shopping, if possible get goods delivered to an address that is not associated to you. For example, using a PO Box or forwarding address.
**Sign up for Fraud Alerts and Credit Monitoring** | Recommended** | A Fraud Alert is a note on your credit report, that asks any business seeking your credit report to contact you to confirm your identity before granting credit in your name. Credit Monitoring tracks your credit history, and will alert you to any suspicious activity. You can enable fraud alerts and credit monitoring through credit the bureau's websites: [Experian](https://www.experian.com/fraud/center.html), [TransUnion](https://www.transunion.com/fraud-alerts) or [Equifax](https://www.freeze.equifax.com/)
**Apply a Credit Freeze** | Recommended | A credit freeze will prevent anyone from requesting your credit report, hence stop someone applying for a financial product in your name, or a corporation requesting your details without your consent. You will need to temporarily disable your credit freeze before getting a loan, or any other financial product. You can freeze your credit through credit the bureau's website: [Experian](https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html), [TransUnion](https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze) and [Equifax](https://www.freeze.equifax.com/)
**Use Virtual Cards** | Optional | Virtual card numbers let you pay for items without revealing your real card or banking details. They also offer additional features, such as single-use cards and spending limits for each card. This means you will not be charged more than you specified, or ongoing subscriptions or in the case of a data breach. [Privacy.com](https://privacy.com/join/VW7WC), [MySudo](https://mysudo.com/) and [others](/5_Privacy_Respecting_Software.md#virtual-credit-cards) offer this service
**Use Cash for Local Transactions** | Optional | Unlike any digital payment method, cash is virtually untraceable. Using cash for local and everyday purchases will prevent any financial institution building up a comprehensive data profile based on your spending habits
**Use Cryptocurrency** | Optional | Unlike card payments, most cryptocurrencies are not linked to your real identity. However many blockchains have a public ledger, where transaction details can be publicly viewed online. A privacy-focused currency, such as [Monero](https://www.getmonero.org) or [ZCash](https://z.cash) (see [more](/5_Privacy_Respecting_Software.md#cryptocurrencies)) will allow you to pay for goods and services without any direct link to your identity
**Buy Crypto Anonymously** | Advanced | If you are buying a common cryptocurrency (such as BitCoin), in order to use it as a payment method avoid paying by card on an online exchange, since this will link directly back to your real identity. Instead use a service like [LocalBitcoins](https://localbitcoins.com), an anonymous exchange, such as [Bisq](https://bisq.network), or buy from a local BitCoin ATM ([find one here](https://coinatmradar.com)). Before converting BitCoin back to currency, consider using a [bitcoin mixer](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Mixing_service), to make your transaction harder to trace.**Use an alias details for online shopping** | Advanced | When you pay for goods or services online, you do not know for sure who will have access to your data. Using an alias name, forwarding mail address and not disclosing your personal phone number will go a long way in keeping you safe. Services such as [SimpleLogin](https://simplelogin.io/?slref=bridsqrgvrnavso) or [Anonaddy](https://anonaddy.com) will allow you to create anonymous forwarding email addresses
**Use alternate delivery address** | Advanced | When online shopping, if possible get goods delivered to an address that is not associated to you. For example, using a PO Box, forwarding address, corner-shop collection or pickup box
## Sensible Computing