Privacy protection workshops held at MAFB

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Joshua Smoot
  • 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  John Sileo, CEO of Sileo Group, spoke at the base auditorium, Aug. 26.

Sileo, an award winning author, gave four, one-hour workshops advising Malmstrom personnel how to balance risks and defend their privacy.

Sileo's identity was stolen twice - first by a woman in Florida who bought a new house using his social security number, then by a longtime friend and co-worker. His co-worker embezzled $300,000 while operating behind the safety of Sileo's identity. Sileo and his business were held legally and financially responsible for the felonies committed.

"I spent almost two years of my life fighting like hell to stay out of jail," Sileo said.

Sileo chose to fight back and speak out. After the incident, Sileo became a professional speaker on identity theft prevention and corporate data privacy.

More than 150 Wing One members had a chance to listen to Sileo's presentation.

Tracie Faulk, 341st Force Support Squadron Airman and Family Readiness Center community readiness consultant, has been to several of Sileo's seminars.

"He's an incredible speaker that truly engages with the audience," Faulk said. "He provides valuable education on privacy and identity protection."

Sileo has spoken at over 1,000 seminars, with approximately 35 of those being military bases, and gave three reasons why he believes it is important for him to come to bases and teach military members how to protect their privacy.

Statistically, military personnel are hit by identity theft at a higher rate, according to Sileo.

"They're young, they're mobile, they're distracted and they're thinking about bigger issues," he said.

Secondly, military members are part of a young generation, so they may be more at risk due to increased online activity.

And lastly, military members deal with more important information than the average person.

"They deal with classified data, National Defense, they're dealing with things that we really want protected - not just at the big level, but our troops," he said. "We don't want our troops taken advantage of in any way."

"Everyone should attend his seminars because they're incredible," Faulk said.