Identity Theft Secrets

4 Yr Old & Kids Get $4 Million in Tax Credits to Buy Homes

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:01:00 -0700

From the "can't believe its true" file: No one under the age of 18
can legally purchase a home. However, a four year old baby as
well as hundreds of other minors managed to provide
tax payer identification numbers (TIN) as part of the
qualification process in receiving U.S. federal tax credits
reserved specifically for first time home buyers.

"Through July 25, 2009, we identified more than 580
taxpayers younger than 18 years of age who claimed
almost $4 million in First-Time Homebuyer Credits. The
youngest taxpayers receiving the Credit were four years old.
Contract law generally exempts children under the age of 18
from being bound by the terms of a contract. Therefore, it is
unlikely that these taxpayers would have entered into an
arm’s-length transaction for the purchase of a home."

In other words, someone was using the unauthorized social
security number of some unsuspecting victim for perpetrating
identity theft fraud.

So, while technically its not supposed to be possible for a 4 year
old child to sign documents to purchase a home in America, we
see again that it is quite entirely possible for identity theft to be
committed using a tax payer identification number.

Our tip for today is to pull a credit report and especially a public
records profile (pip) on your children to insure no crafty identity
theft fraudsters haven't already run a scam.

PS: Please share this important identity theft tip with loved one
or friend.

$2.1 million Identity Theft Ring Hits Fed Chairman Bernanke

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:01:00 -0700

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's wife was
among the victims of an identity theft ring responsible
for over $2 million in fraud perpetrated by an "inside"
accomplice working for two D.C. area physicians.

In all, prosecutors say, the conspiracy ensnared
500 victims and accounts at least 10 financial
institutions.

During her year as the doctors' receptionist, Leake met
with Gray 20 times, she admitted. At each meeting she
handed over patients' information gleaned by photocopying
personal checks, and retrieving their birthdays and Social
Security numbers from files. In return, Gray paid Leake
between $200 and $500 for each victim's information.

Gray then took that information and used it to create fake
Maryland driver's licenses containing a victim's information
with a picture of another member of the conspiracy, court
documents said. The pictured co-conspirator then used the
bogus license to drain cash from bank accounts, sometimes
by cashing checks stolen from other victims by pickpockets.

Medical identity theft continues to be an effective way for
credit fraudsters to steal your hard earned money. It doesn't
matter how rich and powerful you are, as in the case of Chairman
Ben Bernanke and his wife.

So, our tip for today is to make sure you take the time to contact
your banks & credit card companies to get enrolled in automatic
credit monitoring for your accounts. Also, to safeguard against
medical identity theft which is not by design the purpose of credit
reporting, get your public information profile (PIP) reviewed for
any past or future instances of fraud using your good name.

Identity Theft Criminals Get 3 More Months Delay In Red Flags

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 3 Aug 2009 00:01:00 -0700

In a law originally slated to take effect 11/1/2008, the F.T.C. has again
delayed the beginning of enforcement for a third time. The latest delay
gives identity theft criminals an additional 90 days to operate without
impunity by businesses who are required to implement the F.T.C. written
anti-fraud regulations mandated by the 2003 F.A.C.T.A. law.

Apparently, according to the F.T.C., there is still confusion
over whichbusinesses are required to comply even though
the law has been around now for over 6 years & itself was
an amendment to the much longer standing Fair Credit
Reporting Act (F.C.R.A.) which also historically defines
what firms are included:

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA)
requiring “creditors” and “financial institutions” with
covered accounts to implement programs to identify,
detect, and respond to the warning signs, or “red flags,”
that could indicate identity theft.

Examples of the type of firms which are required to comply
are:

Finance companies
Automobile dealers that provide or arrange financing;
Mortgage brokers
Utility companies
Telecommunications companies
Non-profit and government entities that defer payment for goods or services
Businesses that provide services and bill later, including many lawyers, doctors, and other professionals.

While it may be considered ambiguous by these firms whether they
should comply or not, to the credit of the F.T.C., a great wealth of
resources - even including a special website - was provided to bring
clarity and guidance for implementation.

Evidently, powerful lobbying organizations such as the
A.M.A. objected to the F.T.C.'s definition of them being
included as "creditors" as early as September, 2008
even though there has been a consistent pattern of
medical identity theft data breaches the past 3 years.

So, while the lobbyists and the regulators continue to do battle over
implementing very clear legal steps to protect all of us consumers
from continued identity theft, the criminals and financial fraudsters
have been given another green light signal to perpetrate illegal
activities all the while knowing there is not much real commitment
by our government to wage an all out war against them.

As a result, our tip for today is to take matters under your own
control - especially with medical identity theft as this one of the
softest areas that identity thieves know they can exploit as
"creditors" continue to delay or outright refuse to comply with
regulatory efforts specifically designed to close the loop holes
credit reporting and law enforcement has been frustrated with
for years.

Get your medical identity theft & personal information profile
checked out today.

Finally, make sure to tell a friend or family member of this
important new development in identity theft fraud prevention.

$24K Cosmetic Surgery Powered by Identity Theft

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:01:00 -0700

From the "when will they ever learn file", as a follow up to
our related 2006 post - a California woman used a novel
funding strategy for her plastic surgery desires.

It seems, the Berkley identity theft used a Florida woman's
American Express card to order the following plastic surgery
costing $24,319:

$12,999 for breast enhancement
$11,320 for liposuction

Additionally, though, having secured a beauty make over this
same identity theft fraudster evidently went on a shopping spree
resulting in an additional $6,570 in merchandise charged to that
American Express card.

Fortunately, in this case the identity theft criminal was sentenced
Tuesday to 32 months of prison time.

But, for all those other identity theft victims who have not yet
discovered fraudulent charges made in their good name, now's
the time to take action.

Our tip for today is guard against your credit being accessed
without your authorization. Active credit monitoring can alert
you via wireless or email alerts when suspicious activity first
takes place given you the necessary time to limit or even
prevent extensive damage to your credit.

Its usually a free service offered by all the major credit card
companies such as Visa, Amex, Discover, Mastercard - so
make the call today to get your financial security and peace
of mind.

Plus, to find the often times hidden, past incidents of non-
credit report damage such as liens or court judgements
resulting from criminal activity committed in your
name, get your personal information profile (pip).

You will be shocked to know the volume of information on file
with your public information profile that presents over 400 ways
an identity thief can easily ruin your good name. Any one of
those 400 ways can cost you your job, force you to pay
higher auto insurance, or even land you in jail.

Finally, make sure to tell your friends and associates about this
latest new development in the war against identity theft fraud
and how to prevent it from happening to you or your loved ones.

$1.4 million Identity Theft Fraud Ring Recruited Bank Employees

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 8 Jun 2009 00:01:00 -0700

In a sign of the financial services industry turmoil has created
fertile ground for identity theft by insiders, a major identity
theft fraud ring was recently uncovered that stole over $1.4
million with the aid of tellers in at least 3 major banks.

According to the New York County District Attorney, the
identity theft criminals used the stolen personal information
to mostly create counterfeit checks in the thousands.

By fraudulently cashing and depositing the
counterfeit checks, the defendants stole over
$1.4 million from one bank’s accounts and
substantial additional sums from other banks.

"Victims of this scam included private individuals,
corporations, religious institutions, hospitals, and
schools, as well as city and state government agencies."

While every major retail bank in Manhattan was targeted,
the following banks were disclosed in the recent indictment
as part of an on-going investigation:

JP Morgan Chase
TD/Commerce
Wachovia
HSBC

The fraud ring would not have been as successful in their identity theft
fraund operation without the aid of bank staff.

"These employees, often tellers, had access both to the
banks’ computer systems and to large numbers of valid
checks processed during legitimate customer transactions.

In return for cash payments, the recruited tellers
photocopied valid customer checks and printed out
copies of customer profiles, which contained the
customers’ names, addresses, social security
numbers, bank account numbers and account balances."

Serious personal information used in a very serious identity
theft fraud crime - one which may very well still yet to be
fully uncovered as the investigation continues possibly
involving these additional financial institutions:

Some of the other financial institutions affected by this
group’s criminal activities are

Bank of America
Citibank, Capitol
One Bank
Washington Mutual Bank
EAB Bank
Banco Popular
Amalgamated Bank
M & T Bank
Sovereign Bank
First National Bank
United Bank
Citizens Bank
Fleet Bank

With the scale and scope of this latest insider fueled identity theft
fraud, this case has the opportunity to become of one of the the
largest in 2009.

So, our tip for today is to take action by not waiting for the identity
theft criminals and the banks to notify you of your financial future
being ruined.

Check out your bank statements if you transact with any of the
financial institutions listed above. Also, for the on-going prevention
of identity theft, it would be wise to institute automatic credit
monitoring on all of your major banking and credit accounts.

Finally, as your social security number (ssn) can be used in
other major forms of fraud such as medical identity theft and
arrest warrant scams both of which can put you in jail - get
your public information profile (pip) to review for these very
serious forms of identity theft that no major credit bureau
report was ever designed to catch.

Verizon Claims 9 of 10 Corporate Security Breaches Avoidable

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 18 May 2009 12:34:00 -0700

In one of the more exhaustive studies we've seen lately,
Verizon Business Security concluded "nearly nine out of 10
breaches were considered avoidable if security basics had
been followed."

The study, based on 285 million compromised records from
90 confirmed breaches, suggested many of the data security
breaches did not require extensive fixes to plug the leaks.

"...did not require difficult or expensive
preventive controls. The 2009 report
concluded that mistakes and oversight
failures hindered security efforts more
than a lack of resources at the time of
the breach."

Even more alarming, though, is the vast majority of those
security breaches were not discovered by the target but
rather by other entities which had to bring it to the target's
attention:

"In 69 percent of cases, the breach was
discovered by third parties."

So, the key takeaways are the problem is growing, it's mostly
avoidable, and the organizations suffering the data security
breaches don't typically know about the problem until notified
by a 3rd party (meaning consumers).

Our tip for today is to guard your financial future and assets
against identity theft. Don't leave it up to organizations who
are either clueless or distracted with corporate mergers and
other internal issues to combat the highly focused identity theft
crime syndicates that exploit organizational vulnerabilities which
render your hard earned financial data available on the world
market.

Latest Buzz on Id Theft Secrets

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 00:01:00 -0700

For the Buzz from the latest Id Theft Secrets Blog
updates, get the free widget to place on your website
or start page.

Help stop identity thieves from operating from behind the
dark veil of knowledge hidden from the general public.

Provided since 2002 by a former identity theft victim who's
mission is to share the information and resources consumers
can arm themselves to fight back against identity theft and
credit fraud.

Don't have a website - no problem - here's a quick and easy fix.

Simply subscribe to Id Theft Secrets for your free, anonymous
tips that everyone is buzzing about for years on Google, Yahoo,
AOL, MSN, Ask, Delicious, Flickr, iTunes and many other important
areas across the internet for grabbing your iPhone compatible mobile
alerts.

ID Theft Via Text Messaging

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 1 Mar 2009 00:06:00 -0800

Ever resourceful in continuing to extend the reach of their
criminal activities, the newest threat now comes from text
messaging by identity thieves.

This alert to our subscribers is part of our continued scanning
of the world's latest fraud developments and represents a major
new identity theft scam technique to use both speed and confusion
to compromise consumer safety.

Here's what happened.

Identity theft criminals, in Colorado where first reported,
send out fake text messages to the cell phones of unsuspecting
potential victims. The messages ask for information about the
recipient's debit or credit cards.

The text asks people to call a 1-877 number to find out why
their card was suspended. To reactivate the card, the caller is
told to enter in the card number, expiration date and PIN code.

By calling the listed phone number and providing the confidential
information requested by the fraudulent criminal, the consumer
essentially is handing over their bank account access privileges.

Armed with that confidential access information, the identity theft
fraudster can very quickly clean out the victim's debit account or
run up a massive amount of fraudulent transactions on their credit
card in less than a day.

Key note, unlike credit cards, debit cards are directly hot linked to
your bank checking or savings accounts which are much harder to
recover lost funds from - especially if you do not catch the criminal
activity within the first week of it happening.

So, our tip for today is to guard well your providing any
confidential access information to an authorized party via
text messaging. Additionally, unless you have specifically
enrolled in your bank or credit card company's fraud
monitoring alerts service, do not respond to these fake
attempts by identity theft criminals determined to ruin
your financial future.

PS: Tell a friend or associate you know of residing in the
Denver, CO area of this important new development in
identity theft to contact their local police department
immediately. Finally, make to check back frequently
for our free, anonymous tips to help you reduce your
potential for identity theft.

Id Theft Rising Out of Control

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 15:48:00 -0800

Identity theft rose nearly 50% during the period of 2007 - 2008 and
continues to be one of the fastest growing forms of crime in America.
With the recent melt down and ensuing turmoil within the financial
services industry, 2009 looks to be an even more frightening prospect
for U.S. consumers to suffer data breaches.

According to figures released by the IRTC, reported data breaches
rose 47% during 2008. When combined with a study by the Javelin
Research, an even more alarming picture of 2008 emerges according
to CNN Money.

The number of victims rose 22% to a record 9.9 million in 2008
from 8.1 million a year earlier, with about one in 23 U.S. adults
becoming victims, according to the fifth annual study by Javelin
Strategy & Research, released Monday.

To put those numbers into focus in terms of how prevalent identity
theft security breaches negatively impact U.S. consumers, a major
data research firm, Gartner Research, was recently quoted by
P.C. Magagine of an even higher number - "15 million identities are
stolen per year - or what translates into 2 per second."

What ever figure you ultimately feel comfortable in believing is
closer to reality, the simple fact that will still be remaining after
all of the research and analyis is identity theft is a growing and
serious threat to most Americans.

A threat that is not going away or will suddenly diminish.

Here's why:

ITRC estimates that only 2.4 percent of all the companies
breached had encryption or other strong protection methods
in use, while only 8.5 percent of reported breaches involved
surmounting password protection.

So, why transact with a business that doesn't place enough
value in you precious personal data to even utilize the most
minimal level of basic encryption or password protection?

The answer is and always has been, money. Corporations
will always be driven by revenue: either the acquisition of
or defense of from loss. Until the day comes where there's a
hefty penalty applied to these firms for not protecting your
data, you will continue to be a victim in waiting.

Why wait further? Take action immediately to gain back
some of the basic protection you assume the so called guardians
of your entrusted data would already been taking for your benefit.

Our tip for today, is to start by taking back control of your data.
Begin by shredding, using a cross cut shredder, any old financial
statements lying about the house. Next, eliminate the source of
the paper by contacting your bank and credit card companies to
request "paper less" statement delivery.

Then, make sure to order up a free copy of your credit report that
you are entitled to under the law. Diligently scrutinize your credit
profile for any accounts or suspicious transactions not authorized
by you. Also, make sure that you enroll in a credit monitoring service
through your credit card and banking institutions to pre-emptatively
catch would be identity thieves before they are able to cause major
damage to your credit resulting from attempts to open up fraudulent
accounts in your name.

Finally, take this final step which is even more important than just
credit reporting verification - conduct your own personal information
profile (PIP) investigation of your public records profile. This very
important and necessary step is vital to catch any instance of
identity theft which can exist in the over 400 public databases that
no credit reporting agency was ever designed to check.

This final step can not only save you from the potential for identity
theft and credit fraud, but also can keep you from being falsely
arrested or fired from your job due to the misdeeds of an
identity theft criminal.

5 Million CheckFree Consumers Warned Against Identity Theft Exposure

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 13:54:00 -0800

With the new year's first major security breach, CheckFree issued
a consumer disclosure recently warning more consumers were
negatively impacted than originally thought.

Computer hackers operating in the Ukraine effectively redirected
CheckFree's web traffic to illegal computer servers.

"...because the company lost control of its Web domains, it
doesn't know exactly who was hit. And so it must warn a
much larger number of customers."

While there are indications the exposure could have been much
worse, consumers should be wary as CheckFree holds a significant
reach within the banking community for bill payment services:

"...wouldn't say what banks were affected by the hack, but
the majority of these five million customers were CheckFree's
own users, she said. In total, about 42 million customers
access CheckFree's bill payment site..."

So, our tip for today is to contact your bank immediately if you
are a user of CheckFree's bill payment services. Find out if your
accounts exhibit any potentially fraudulent activity.

Finally, as major identity theft security breaches such as this one
tend to further develop over time, check back with us for updates
as we continue to provide free, anonymous tips to prevent id theft.

35 Million Data Records Exposed in 2008 to Identity Theft

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 4 Jan 2009 13:04:00 -0800

Last year over 35,000,000 personal data records were exposed via
656 separate security breaches representing a 47% increase from
2007.

According to a recently released study by the ITRC, the overwhelming
majority of those exposed records also did not include encryption nor
password protection to minimize unauthorized access:

"...only 2.4% of all breaches had encryption or other
strong protection methods in use.

Only 8.5% of reported breaches had password protection."

But, even more alarming of this very large number of Americans who
were unnecessarily exposed to potential identity theft, the unreported
number of records exposed could be much higher as not every state
has laws requiring businesses requiring consumer disclosure.

And of those states which do, the laws vary greatly which renders a
great many Americans vulnerable to the often times hidden potential
identity theft has already been perpetrated against their financial
safety but goes unreported solely due to some company avoiding
embarassment:

"Some 15.7 percent of all breaches were attributed to
insider theft, a figure that more than doubled between
2007 and 2008, ITRC said."

So, our tip for today is one New Year's resolution you can easily
achieve. Get protected by following these simple steps:

1) Get a copy of your free credit report to check for any fraudulent
credit accounts listed in your name.

2) Enroll in automatic credit monitoring available through your
bank or credit institutions you currently have accounts with.

3) Get your public information profile (PIP) checked out to really
catch the often times hidden identity theft which can lurk in any of
the over 400 data sources containing your name that are
not covered by your credit report.

* Criminal identity theft here can get your arrested or lose your job
without you even knowing why, when, or who accessed your file.

Finally, make sure to let your friends and family members know about
these alarming growth trends in identity theft which can be minimized
by taking advantage of these free, anonymous tips for identity theft.

Florida Security Breach Exposes 250,000 Consumer's Social Security Numbers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 6 Dec 2008 16:56:00 -0800

When a test server was made accessible to the internet for over two
weeks, Google's indexing service inadvertently made available online
the highly sensitive personal data a quarter of a million residents of
the state of Florida.

According to the Agency for Workforce Innovation website's
new release of this past Thursday:

"The security breach occurred on an Agency
test server for 19 days in October 2008 and
resulted in the exposure of the names and
Social Security Numbers of approximately
250,000 customers who received services
through Florida’s One-Stop Career Centers
between January 2002 and November 2007."

Given the worldwide reach of Google's search engine and how
easily would be identity thieves can trade -or- transform a
consumer's social security number (ssn) into revenue, it is
very scary to think about the ramifications of this latest
identity theft security breach coming so close to the major
holiday shopping season.

A time when, due to the sheer volume of billions of transactions,
fraud can easily be obscured within the vast majority of legitimate
commerce.

But, for identity theft fraudsters, having unauthorized access to
a consumer's full name and social security number can make it
all to easy to secure "instant credit" from eager retail store clerks
who get extra incentives during the holidays to open up new lines
of credit to support more impulse shopping.

So, our tip for today is for anyone in Florida that may have utilized
the Florida One-Stop Career Centers between Jan. 2002
and Nov. 2007.

Take immediate action by conducting the following steps:

1) Check if your name's on the list by using the official state
of Florida website.

2) Secure a totally free copy of your credit profile report from the only
source authorized by the (3) major credit bureaus and check for any
suspicious accounts listed under your name and social security number
(ssn)

3) As credit reports will n-o-t show evidence of criminal identity
theft committed against you in the form of medical identity fraud,
property tax fraud, & outstanding arrest warrants all of which
require your social security number, you would be highly
warned to also get an immediate scan of your PIP.

Your personal information profile (pip) is the only way that we
know of to cost effectively and time efficiently scour the
more than 400+ public databases which could contain your
full name, social security number, address, & even in
some instances your authorized signatures.

Finally, be a good friend or family member, give the gift
which keeps on giving beyond this holiday season. Let those
you care about take advantage of these free and
anonymous identity theft prevention tips available
from Id Theft Secrets.

Missing Baylor Laptop Exposes Patients to Identity Theft

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 06:20:00 -0800

In Texas, a recently reported laptop theft has resulted in the issuance
of a consumer warning notifying an additional 100,000 patients who
had limited information stored on the computer.

According to the Dallas Business Journal article:

"A laptop stolen from an employee's car in Royse City
has prompted Health Texas Provider Network, a subsidiary
of Baylor Health Care System, to notify 7,400 patients that
their personal information may be at risk. Social security
numbers and a limited amount of patient information was
stored on the laptop."

As an added preventative step, the decision was made
to also notify other patients with less sensitive personal
information stored on the same computer:

"Although law does not require it to do so, the network
said it is taking extra measures to notify an additional
100,000 patients who had limited information stored
on the computer, but not their social security numbers."

So, our tip for today is to let anyone you know of associated
with Baylor Health Care System to contact them immediately
for more more information on the offer of free credit monitoring
services.

A toll free number & special website have been setup to support
information seekers:

800.554.5281

Baylor Healthcare System

PS: Be a good friend, family member or co-worker. Help others to
be on guard against identity theft credit fraud by sharing these free,
safe tips to aid in the prevention of identity theft.

Identity Theft from Inmates Running The Prison

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:01:00 -0700

Are the inmates running the prison when access to computers
by convicted criminals leads to the identity theft of innocent
people?

As a follow up to our popular series on identity theft by
prison inmates, we share a brief story of at least a happy
ending to an otherwise dismal indictment of information
access by the wrong hands.

It appears a former Massachusetts prisoner managed to
without legal authorization gain access to 1,000 of the
prison's current and past employees:

"Janosko allegedly found a way to manipulate
research computers so that he and other inmates
could access files that contained the names, birth
dates, phone numbers and Social Security numbers
of more than 1,000 current and former prison
employees, the DOJ reports."

While the convict was ultimately caught and is awaiting
conviction for his crimes, it causes us to wonder how
an inmate would even be allowed access in the first place
to internet research services containing highly sensitive
personal information such as:

Dates of Birth
Social Security Numbers
Phone Numbers

So, our tip for today is to guard well your personal information
as you really never know where it will wind up deposited online
where unfortunately a resourceful criminal can exploit the profit
motive to the detriment of your financial future & safety of your
family.

PS: Be a good friend or family member by passing this free tip
along to help in preventing identity theft credit fraud from
happening to someone you care about.

Woman Steals Daughter's Identity To Become High School Cheerleader

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 12:12:00 -0700

Over the years, we've shared with you a number of bizarre
examples of identity theft. This latest case just in from the
I can't believe it really happened file adds a whole new twist.

It seems a 33 year old Wisconsin mother always really wanted
to have become a high school cheerleader. By stealing her
teenager daughter's identity, the mother's lifelong dream
became true - almost.

"Wendy Brown enrolled in a high school saying
she was 15-years-old. According to reports,
Brown attended cheerleading practices, had
her own locker, and went to a party at the
coach's house.

She was finally caught after the check
she wrote for $134.50 to pay her cheerl
eading uniform bounced causing people
to look at her a little more closely
and ask questions."

I guess the mom figured no one would
notice her age difference?!!

You may ask, what about the daughter &
her teenage friends noticing?

Well, the 15 year old daughter lives out of
state with her grandmother and evidently
had no idea mom was impersonating her.

So, our tip for today is to guard well your
personal identity and to be on the watch
for unfortunately scandalous relatives who
like the Wisconsin mother, hold no limits
to committing fraud in someone else's
good name.

PS: Make sure to be a good relative or friend
and share this latest identity theft prevention
tip. Also, to receive automatic, spam free updates
of future identity theft secrets, check out our easy
subscriber options in the upper left hand of this
page.

Feds Indict 11 in Biggest Ever Identity Theft Case

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 9 Aug 2008 02:44:00 -0700

As a follow up to our original 2007 story on
the Identity "Theft to the Maxx" large scale
data breach effecting 40 million consumers,
a federal court this past week charged a fraud
gang responsible for data breaches involving
nine major retailers.

11 people, including even a confidential informant
working for the Secret Service, were charged in
connection with a case involving illegally tapping
into the wireless payment processing systems
of the following retail outlets:

TJX (TJ Max)
OfficeMax
Boston Market
Barnes & Noble
Sport's Authority
DSW
Forever 21
BJ's Wholesale Club

Besides tapping into the wireless networks of
these major retailers, the thieves were successful
in setting up programs that captured card numbers,
passwords and account information from a massive
amount of unsuspecting consumers.

While TJX admitted to 45 million consumers were
negatively impacted from the two year period
the identity thieves had unauthorized access to
their payment processing data, court documents
revealed the real estimate was closer to 100
million consumers confidential data was compromised
based on depositions by Visa and Mastercard.

The ring leader, a Miami man who was also the
confidential informant for the Secret Service,
turned out to be a double agent who had been
providing criminals information about ongoing
investigations and tipping off associates.

With the massive amount of credit account
access information stolen and provided to
worldwide identity thieves, this case involving
TJX has a big impact in our personal identity
and financial safety.

So, our tip for today is contact your Visa or
Mastercard issuer and request a replacement
account number as well as the capability to
have "alias" number issuance for when you
conduct business online.

Additionally, make sure you select a credit
monitoring service to alert you to any
unauthorized transactions and/or over a
certain threshold amount to keep the chances
of identity theft credit fraud from damaging
your financial future.

Finally, be a good friend and share this tip
with them so they too can fight back against
identity theft.

BoNY 4.5 Million Consumer's Data Loss

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 31 May 2008 11:31:00 -0700

This just in from the "when will they ever learn" file.
The Bank of New York (BNY Mellon) waited 8 weeks
after the Connecticut legal requirement to inform the
public of this very serious data loss involving personal
information which was unencrypted.

"On February 27, 2009, BNY Mellon was
transferring a load of computer tapes
containing information including names,
addresses, dates of birth and Social
Security numbers, when it lost a tape
carrying data on about 4.5 million people.

Under Connecticut state law, banks are
required to immediately notify customers
when such information is lost, but BNY Mellon
did not notify People’s of the true extent of the
breach until mid-May, some eight weeks later."

This is the second major data loss incident this
year for the Bank of New York who is the world's
largest custodian of assets.

According to a statement released by the bank
involving this second data security breach on
April 29th:

"... a backup data-storage tape containing
images of scanned checks and other payment
documents was lost while being moved from
Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, spokesmen for
the bank said Friday. It involved data of
47 institutional clients..."

Two time loser overall and two time loser
of unencrypted data.

Even worse, with BoNY apparently violating
a Connecticut law by failing to report
the data breach within the required
timely manner, it has now brought the
wrath of the states' governor who requested
subpoenas to be issued related to the loss of
bank customer data being transported.

Compounding the multiple events of data loss
of unencrypted, highly sensitive consumer data
is the suspicion that BoNY attempted to break
the law by not informing consumers in a timely
manner.

Is it perhaps because BoNY Mellon did not actually
know just who's data was lost so they were unable
to notify the correct individuals negatively impacted
by these data losses?:

"We'd like to provide people with a more current
characterization [of what happened], but we are
not yet in a position to make that available,"
said BNY Mellon spokesman Ron Sommer. "Our
intention is to make it available as soon as we can."

Well it seems the governor also wants the facts
straight for the record as well:

"... subpoenas seek details about the extent of
the data breach, the timeline and conditions
surrounding the tape loss, copies of any law
enforcement or security reports filed
following the loss, the names and addresses
of all Connecticut customers whose names
were included in any of the missing files and
other pertinent facts."

Meanwhile, a class action lawsuit has been
filed seeking 7 years of credit monitoring
services for the 40 individuals represented.

The Bank of New York (BNY Mellon Corp.)
has, to their credit, offered 1 year of free
credit monitoring services to any one
who has been negatively impacted.

So, our tip for today is directed towards
any of the 4,500,000 individuals who may
have been needlessly exposed to the potential
for identity theft and credit fraud.

Contact the Bank of New York immediately
to seek more information on safeguarding
your accounts as well as to get details of
their 1 year of free credit monitoring offer.

(212) 495-1784

-or-

(412) 234-5000

Finally, make sure to tell a friend or associate
of this important development involving the
opportunity for large scale identity theft so
they may also seek immediate preventative
action.

PS: With such a large scale, repeated data loss
involving the industry leader in assets data,
credit monitoring alone will not protect you
from identity theft - here's why.

Identity Theft Hits Lifelock CEO From His Own Ads

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 26 May 2008 19:22:00 -0700

In response to dares posed by the CEO of Lifelock, an
Arizona firm which has run ads featuring his Social
Security Number (SSN), an instance of identity theft
fraud was successfully perpetrated against Todd Davis.

"Davis acknowledged in an interview with The Associated
Press that his stunt has led to at least 87 instances in which
people have tried to steal his identity, and one succeeded:
a guy in Texas who duped an online payday loan operation
last year into giving him $500 using Davis' Social Security
number.

Davis learned about the fraud in Texas when the payday-
loan outfit called to collect on the loan, he said. He didn't
get an alert beforehand because the company didn't go
through one of the three major credit bureaus before
approving the transaction."

The article further illustrated the danger in deliberately
provoking identity thieves to use his widely available
Social Security Number (SSN) as a publicity stunt in
promoting his company's fraud prevention services
in newspapers, on billboards, radio, & even MTV:

"Davis said it's possible driver's licenses have been issued
to other people in his name because of the widespread
availability of his personal information — and because
of what he described as the flimsy mechanisms in
place to report that kind of fraud."

Look - anyone who's been involved with studying identity
theft from more than just a cursory perspective would
readily understand that identity theft fraud comes in
many forms and there are several very serious types
of identity theft that no credit bureau's profile
report was ever set up to catch - let alone alert
you to:

Medical ID Theft - where someone uses your name and SSN
to obtain medical care often times in a busy hospital emergency
room. Besides the medical insurance problems this can create
for you, even worse your life can be put in peril as the identity
theft fraudster will cause your blood type, medicine interactions,
and allergies to be listed incorrectly on your medical records.

SSN Fraud - where someone uses your social security number
to illegally work within the U.S. which as a result you run the
potential to have the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) send
you a delinquent tax payment demand due to supplemental
income not reported on your annual tax filings. With penalties
and interest, you could easily be looking at a 15% - 20%
incremental tax bill. Ask the lady in California who was served
a demand to pay a $1,000,000 back taxes bill.

Criminal Arrest Identity Theft - where a criminal uses your name
and SSN upon their arrest to avoid any prior offenses from showing
up. The result of this fraud perpetrated against your good name,
though, is you now have just entered the vast criminal information
network. Any unpaid parking tickets or failure to appear in court
notices listed under your name will lead to a potential arrest warrant
that can easily render you time in jail and job loss.

One of our long time editors, took the proactive step to check his
public information profile and was alarmed to find out a convicted
felon in Ohio shared the same first and last name (different middle
initial).

He could have easily been mistaken for the criminal who had been
convicted of assault and battery, but had skipped his bail hearing
and was eventually apprehended.

So, our tip for today is twofold.

Unlike the CEO of Lifelock, remove your social security number
from your wallet or purse to eliminate the potential for an identity
thief to gain easy access.

Secondly, get your public information profile (pip) and review it
for any instances of whether an identity theft fraudster has
already committed acts against your good reputation
and social security number with medical or criminal
identity theft.

These simple, effective steps will immeasurably lower your
potential for identity theft.

PS: Make sure to tell a friend about this important development
in the war against identity theft scams and credit fraud.

LendingTree Sues over Data Breach

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 6 May 2008 18:48:00 -0700

Two former Vice Presidents of LendingTree are alleged to
have stolen customer passwords which subsequently allowed
up to 5 home loan lenders to gain unauthorized access to
sensitive consumer information which could be used for
identity theft.

According to the LA Times article concerning Monday's
lawsuit filing by LendingTree:

Named as defendants in the lawsuit are
Newport Lending Corp., related company
Southern California Marketing, Sage Credit Co.,
Chapman Capital Inc. and Home Loan Consultants.

LendingTree accuses the firms of computer fraud
and of using consumer records -- including Social
Security numbers and income and employment
information -- to offer loans to its customers.

As a result, LendingTree was forced to send out
letters recently to its customers alerting
them to the potential for identity theft.

Those effected submitted loan-qualification data
between October 2006 and early this year.

While it was not disclosed exactly how many consumers
would receive the warning letters from LendingTree,
the number could reach into the millions as the firm
has processed over 23 million loan applications
since 1998 according to the LA Times.

Even LendingTree, on their company website, warns
consumers of the inevitable unsecure nature of data
and the need to take proactive steps to protect it:

"...although we take steps to secure your information,
we do not promise, and you should not expect, that
your personal information, searches, or other
communications will always remain secure. Users
should also take care with how they handle and
disclose their personal information."

So, our tip for today is for any consumers who have
utilized LendingTree's on-line loan application process
during the period of October, 2006 through March of
this year. Contact LendingTree immediately if you
suspect your personal data has been part of the group
which was compromised during this time period.

LendingTree can be reached toll free at

1-800-555-TREE

Contact Us Form

Company Chat Agent

Finally, please let a friend or associate know of this
important development in the war against identity
theft and unauthorized access to sensitive personal
information.

Identity Theft Justice Extremes

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 15:20:00 -0700

In a bizarre twist to two cases of identity
theft, one perpetrator faces a life sentence
while another has their previous conviction
over turned by the courts.

Maryland's highest court overturned
yesterday a Howard County man's conviction
on identity theft charges, ruling that the
state law is ambiguous and can't be used
to prosecute someone who takes the identity
of a fictitious person.

"Two of the seven judges dissented, arguing
that legislators could not have intended the
"illogical result" of allowing a perpetrator to
escape prosecution by using a fake identity."

Crazy isn't that judges would allow a convicted
identity theft criminal to go free while in the
next case you will see the opposite end of the
spectrum represented within the same state
of Maryland.

Meanwhile, in Anne Arundel County, a woman
is facing the prospect of a life behind bars after
pleading guilty of aggravated identity theft.

It seems, according to the case investigators,
the identity thief used her victim's lost wallet
and identity to get narcotic pain medication
from 85 hospitals and health care providers
throughout 11 different states across America.

Two different cases, same state, with polar
extremes to the justice ultimately rendered
for identity theft victims.

So, our tip for today is to not count on the
justice system to always work in your favor
should you become an identity theft victim.

Take proactive care of your own financial
freedom by guarding against identity theft
from ever happening to you.

Seek out, especially for medical identity theft,
a solution to catch the often times hard to catch
criminal activity against your good reputation.

Remember, its up to you to take the first steps
to insure your chances of becoming an identity
theft victim do not need to rely upon the courts
to remedy you after its too late.

Identity Theft Ranking of Corporate America

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 13:45:00 -0700

Consumers really have no reliable way to determine
the relative safety of their business and banking
relationships against identity theft. With the lack
of widely available public information available,
the average citizen faces a diminished ability to
discern which institutions are actively competing
to protect you from identity theft.

That is until just now.

According to a recent story published by the
New York Times based on an original paper
published by consumer advocate Chris Hoofnagle,
"... some institutions have a far greater
incidence of identity theft than others."

You might recall, as we had previously reported,
that until 2005 there really was no nationally
binding law which required companies to disclose
identity theft or major security breach incidents
to the general public.

For years, private banks and businesses could
keep the magnitude and frequency of fraudulent
account activity hidden from the public at large.

Big banks and other businesses would rather
keep you uninformed of those losses suffered
by millions of account holders nationwide.
Instead of funding more proactive ways to
combat fraud and identity theft, the general
trend was to pour more money into advertising
and brand promotion as means to simply over
power any negative perceptions associated with
incidents that became too large for segments of
the population and the mass media to ignore.

However, in 2005 everything changed with the
landmark legislation requiring companies to
publicly disclose within 30 days incidents of
security breaches negatively impacting
consumer information.

Since that time, over 125 million Americans
have been the innocent victims of unauthorized
exposure of their sensitive consumer information
such as social security numbers, credit information,
etc.

Now let's roll the calendar forward to current day
2008.

While some industry trade research has indicated
identity theft to be on the decline, the official
government watchdog's statistics paint a different
picture:

The Federal Trade Commission reported last
month that calls about identity theft to
its consumer complaint hotline constituted
36 percent of all calls last year — little changed
from 37 percent in 2005 according to the New
York Times.

The banking industry tends to believe there
has already been enough disclosure, however:

Doug Johnson, a senior policy adviser at
the American Bankers Association, an
industry trade group, said that revealing
internal bank data on identity theft would
not do much to help fight the problem.

He said that it might actually distract
financial institutions, which now privately
share information among themselves and
collaborate to fashion antifraud techniques.

So, our tip for today is for you to be the
judge of where to conduct financial related
business based on safety to account holders.
Take a look at the chart as well as the original
full report by Mr. Hoofnagle and decide on your
own.

We simply, in this case, provide the access to
you being a more informed consumer in fighting
back against identity theft and consumer fraud.

PS: Make sure to tell a friend or associate about
this identity theft prevention tip.

Credit Bureau Alleges Lifelock Identity Theft Service is Fraud

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 21:38:00 -0800

Credit-reporting agency Experian has filed a lawsuit
against identity theft services company Lifelock,
charging it with "misleading advertising and fraud."

Additionally, Lifelock, allegedly placed fraud alerts
illegally on credit files maintained by Experian.

Experian’s lawsuit claims that LifeLock is engaging
in deceptive and fraudulent behavior by adding
hundreds of thousands of fraud alerts every 90
days to Experian’s consumer credit database in
a manner that was not intended by Congress when
it implemented the federal Fair Credit Reporting
Act (FCRA).

The complaint alleges that corporations are
specifically prohibited from adding fraud
alerts to consumer credit files and that LifeLock’s
service uses consumers’ free yearly allocation of credit
reports without adequate disclosure.

The heart of the Experian complaint and the media
counter attack from Lifelock is about money. While
Experian certainly has made some valid points in their
complaint, let's face it Lifelock's revenue stream comes
at the expense of the credit bureaus.

With over 700,000 members paying $10 monthly, according
to Lifelock, that's over $80 million in annual revenue. Now,
combine that with the $25 million in venture funding Lifelock
announced last month and - well you get the picture - especially
if you work at Experian. By the way, Experian markets their own
credit monitoring service as a means for consumers to protect
against identity theft.

How is the consumer's best interest being served in all of this
public squabbling over which company is wrong or right?
What should the average citizen do?

Well, let's take a closer look at Experian's complaint.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a federal law
which provides several rights to protect consumers and
their credit information. While, we're not lawyers here,
Experian raises an interesting point against Lifelock's
business model if in fact they are illegally placing fraud
alert requests.

Furthermore, if the average citizen knew they could request a
fraud alert themselves, thereby cutting out the middle man
(Lifelock), why would there even be grounds for Experian's
lawsuit.

While not taking sides, we can definitely inform our readers that
from a review of the Experian complaint, Lifelock appears to be
deriving revenue by taking advantage of the following services
which are free and/or can be directly ordered by any
consumer armed with the proper contact information:

Junk Mail Restricted

On the next business day after our request:
You will be sent an email from us stating that
we have processed the request to remove
your name from Junk Mail lists. Not only is
junk mail annoying, statistics show it’s also
one of the most common ways thieves hijack
your identity.

Pre-approved credit offers blocked

You will be sent an email from us saying that
we've asked for you to be removed from
pre-approved credit offer lists. Like junk mail,
by blocking irritating offers, we also block one
of the avenues thieves use to steal your identity.

Credit bureaus contacted

Within 24 hours of our request:
You will receive an email from us stating that
fraud alerts have been requested on your behalf.
When fraud alerts are established with the major
credit bureaus, creditors are required to verify
your identity before opening any new lines of
credit, issuing new cards or increasing your credit limit.

LifeLock orders credit reports You will receive an
email from us stating that your credit reports have
been ordered on your behalf from the major credit
bureaus. Your reports will be sent directly to you.

What is a Fraud Alert?

Usually within an hour of your enrollment as
a member of LifeLock, we request alerts be
set on all of your credit reports at Equifax,
Experian and TransUnion. Within a week
or two after enrolling, these major credit
bureaus will send you credit reports showing
your alerts are in place.

So, our tip for today is two fold. Before considering
services from Lifelock, take a close look at what
you actually can get by directly engaging the
sources:

Junk Mail Restricted

DMA’s Mail Preference Service

Pre-Approved Credit Offers Restricted

www.optoutprescreen.com
1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688)

Fraud Alerts Placed with Credit Bureaus

Free Credit Reports

AnnualCreditReport.com
1-877-322-8228

Finally, as part of our second tip, make sure
to check out the rest of our website to find
the many other no or low cost options you
can leverage against would be identity thieves.

Remember, only a portion of all identity theft
cases are the result of someone getting
access to your credit information.

Medical, criminal, & public information is more
accessible and vastly harder to detect abuses
against than a credit file.

So, make sure to also tell a friend about this
important new development in identity theft
prevention tips.

Identity Thief Top 10 List Suspect Caught

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 13:33:00 -0800

In Phoenix, AZ, a 24 year old woman was apprehended
for multiple counts of identity theft across three different
cities.

It seems, this woman committed her first act of
identity theft when she stole a purse from a woman's
car when she was dropping her child off at daycare.

According to a recent survey by Javelin Strategy,
33% of all identity theft cases which occurred
in 2007 were the result of a lost or stolen wallet,
checkbook, & credit cards.

So, our tip for today, is to be on the guard against those
identity thieves who spot opportunities to steal your
valuable personal data when you are distracted.

Don't ever leave your purse, cellphone, etc. in
your car without you being there as it only
takes minutes for a desperate criminal to
make you their next victim.

But, identity theft will impact you with hundreds of hours
to clear your good name from the thousands of dollars of
financial damage an identity thief typically will cause.

Finally, be a good friend and tell your associates and relatives
about today's tip and just how quickly they can guard their
financial well being from dishonest identity thieves.

Identity Theft Greatest 2008 Threat From P2P File Sharing

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 11:36:00 -0800

While 2007 saw a record number of consumers negatively impacted,
2008 promises to continue with an abnormally high amount of data
breaches as identity thieves continue to adjust their tactics to match
evolving information security practices.

According to statistics published by the Identity Theft Resource
Center, 125,142,405 consumers were unnecessarily exposed to
identity theft in 2007. Folks, that's nearly 1/2 of the entire U.S.
population.

While we have reviewed a financial services industry research firm's
claim that 2008 is forecasted to be a year of decline in terms of the
number of aggregate data breaches involving consumer identity
theft exposure, we believe there is considerable room for improvement.

Here's why.

According to the Identity Theft Assistance Center & the SANS
Institute, popular P2P file sharing applications pose one of the
single most vulnerable internet security holes to be exploited
this year by identity thieves.

From a recent Help Net Security article on the topic, the
Associated Press reported that “more than 1 billion
searches are conducted daily over peer-to-peer systems.

A good number involved bank names, the word “password”
and other terms that appear to be attempts by would-be
thieves to dig up other people’s sensitive documents.”

Think this is just a warning only, think again as the
Help Net Security article pointed out how just 3 of the
top consumer data security breaches from 2007 were
attributed to file sharing applications:

November, 2007 - Thirty-five year old Seattle man
pleads guilty to using P2P file sharing programs to access
the computers of victims and steal their personal information
from tax returns, credit reports, bank statements and
student financial aid applications.

September, 2007 - Over 5,000 social security numbers
and other personal information on customers of
Citigroup’s ABN Amro Mortgage Group were
exposed over a P2P file sharing network. A
former business analyst joined a file sharing
network where people share music and video.
Work-related information that she had downloaded
onto her personal computer was inadvertently shared.

June, 2007 – Over 17,000 social security numbers of
current and former Pfizer employees were exposed
by a laptop owned by Pfizer and used by an employee.
The employee’s spouse used a P2P file sharing program
and inadvertently shared documents containing the
personal information.

So, our tip for today is directed to parents who let
their children utilize popular P2P file sharing applications
such as Limewire, etc.

You have two choices to protect yourself from inadvertent
identity theft exposure. First, you can simply delete the
P2P file sharing software from your hard drive and
make sure your child does not have administrator
level rights to reinstall it at some later date.

Or, secondly, you can backup any sensitive files to a
thumb drive and then subsequently delete those
files off your hard drive altogether.

Failure to do either of these two can result in your sensitive
personal information from being needlessly exposed to
identity thieves who could even by half way around the
world operating in some foreign country well beyond the
reach of our local law enforcement authorities.

Stolen Laptop Identity Theft Leads to Free Debix Protection

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 11:12:00 -0800

In Nashville, the local government is providing no cost
identity theft protection to 337,000 registered voters
as a result of a December 24th theft of two laptops
from the Davidson County Election Commission.

According to the Nashville Business Journal story,
the local government officials are doing the honorable
thing by providing a year's worth of free identity theft
protection:

"My goal is to not only protect the voters
whose Social Security numbers have been
put at risk, but also to protect the integrity
of the election process," Dean says.

So, our tip for today is for any registered voters
in the greater Nashville area, contact Debix
Identity Protection Network for your free
year's worth of identity theft services.

Debix can be contacted via phone at

(888) 332-4963

Make sure to tell a friend or associate about
this important identity theft prevention free
offer.