Ms. Legal's IDT Information Source

30 Days Has September

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Legal's Identity Theft Information Source) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 12:46:00 +0000

According to PrivacyRights.org, there have been data security breaches of 23,422,538 Records from 427 breaches which were made public this year. 40 breaches have occurred between September 1, 2011 to September 28, 2011.
This is not the total for September as there are a few reported data losses that have not made it to the list yet, like the 4.9 million loss of military Tricare records.

This month contains numerous healthcare losses and quite a few military veterans facility losses. In addition, a CD from the U.S. Army, containing retiree information was lost in the mail between Alexandria, Virginia and San Antonio, Texas.

No agency is safe as there was also a breach of a Police Chief Association in Texas and the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) in Virginia.

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An employee of McDonalds and a group of friends, used stolen credit card numbers to make $50,000 in purchases.

Higher education did not escape this month either, in addition to the cost of student loans, a compromise of personal information is just another worry for the graduate. Depending on how the theft of the information is used, not only may it affect their income but even their ability to obtain a job if someone committed a crime in their name.

The crime of identity theft will continue to affect all industries and be a neverending concern for everyone. Credit monitoring is a start and will help with financial identity theft. Contact us for details on protecting your identity concerning the other forms of identity theft.

Military Medical Identity Theft

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Legal's Identity Theft Information Source) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 17:13:00 +0000

In May, Ms. Legal blogged "So Much for Your Promises", a data security loss of the Tricare system in Colorado. TRICARE is the health care program serving Uniformed Service members, retirees and their families worldwide.

On September 28, 2011, yet another Tricare system has been breached.

Government Info Security reported a data security loss of 4.9 million patients in San Antonio Texas military treatment facilities due to backup tapes for electronic health records not being encrypted.

TRICARE reports that the tapes contained Social Security numbers, names, addresses, phone numbers and some personal health data, such as clinical notes, lab tests and prescriptions.

Contact us for up to date data breaches which may affect you.

Medical Data Breaches

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Legal's Identity Theft Information Source) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 15:53:00 +0000

Since June 30, 2011, there have been ten reported data security breaches, eight of those breaches were exposed from the medical community, according to Privacy Rights. Following is a list of those breaches:

June 30, 2011 - Blue Cross Blue Shield - An April 2011 mailing error caused 3,500 member healthcare statements to be mailed to incorrect addresses.

July 1, 2011 - Concord Hospital, New Hampshire - An audit of Concord's system revealed that an employee accessed the records of 40 patients without proper authorization.

July 3, 2011 - Navos Mental Health Solutions, Washington - 2700 paper records with sensitive information were misplaced, stolen, or improperly accessed sometime around March 15, 2011.

July 3, 2011 - Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation, Arizona - 2000 patient dietician treatment cards were discovered missing.

July 3, 2011 - Barnes-Jewish Hospital, The Siteman Cancer Center, Washington University, Montana - A laptop containing unencrypted patient information was stolen during the weekend of December 4, 2010.

July 5, 2011 - Sutter Gould Medical Foundation (SGMF), California - Around 1,200 patient records were misplaced on May 27 and were buried in a landfill.

July 7, 2011 - Troy Regional Medical Center (TRMC), Alabama - TRMC discovered that someone had removed paper records that contained the information of approximately 880 patients.

July 7, 2011 - Hurley Medical Center - Michigan - A laptop was discovered missing in May. It was held in a locked room in Hurley, but it was not encrypted or password protected. 1,938 records.

As many as 500,000 Americans have been victims of medical identify theft, says the World Privacy Forum. Medical ID theft can cost the victim thousands of dollars, constant stress, incorrect medical histories, and even the threat of loss of life.

Electronic medical records (EMR) is another concern for medical ID theft. EMR is a computerized medical record created on a patient in an organization that delivers care, such as a hospital and doctor's surgery. Electronic medical records tend to be a part of a local stand-alone health information system that allows storage, retrieval and modification of records. Privacy Rights Chronology of Data Breaches show that most thefts are physical and portable, such as a laptop, also reported in Mass Device.

Teachers Beware

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Legal's Identity Theft Information Source) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 14:18:00 +0000

In April 2011, the Texas Comptroller's Office reported a data security loss by their office of the Teacher Retirement System (TRS), Employee Retirement System (ERS), and the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). A data exposure reported June 16, 2011, has again placed teachers in the TRS in jeopardy.

Star Telegram reported that a retired principal exposed a flaw in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas. The article goes on to say that TRS had used a window-style envelope. The principal's name, address and account number were visible through the front window. Anyone who handled the letter could use that information to steal from her.

Data losses are happening daily, protection of personal information needs to be more guarded by institutions who hold sensitive information.

The Year 2011 So Far Has 267 Of These

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Legal's Identity Theft Information Source) — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 03:53:00 +0000

The year of 2011, from January 1, 2011 to today, June 17, 2011, has 267 reported data breaches. Privacy Rights. org categories breaches by industry and the type of breach. There are seven industry categories and eight type of breach categories.

The industries are:
Businesses - Other
Businesses - Financial and Insurance Services
Businesses - Retail/Merchant
Educational Institutions
Government and Military
Healthcare - Medical Providers
Nonprofit Organization

The type of breaches are:
Unintended disclosure
Hacking or malware
Payment Card Fraud
Insider
Physical loss
Portable device
Stationary device
Unknown or other

Privacy Rights is probably one of the best web sites to stay up to date concerning reported data losses, the key word here is reported.534,232,379 records have been breached to date. Many agencies who experience a data loss fail to report it even though data security losses of information is required by law. Privacy Rights says that number is a running total of the approximate number of records that have been compromised, not necessarily the number of individuals affected. It goes on to say that some individuals may have been a victim in more than one breach.

In the year 2007 there were 452 breaches made public; 2008 there were 354 breaches were made public; 251 breaches were made public in 2009; and in 2010, 597 breaches were made public; Are you somewhere in those numbers?

Got Citibank?

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Legal's Identity Theft Information Source) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 13:07:00 +0000

Citi is famous for their identity theft and fraud commercials, However this month In the latest attack, hackers steal Citibank card data.

Citi has multiple data losses over the years, in March Citibank under fire for not disclosing data breach, Citibank under fire for not disclosing data breach - FierceCIO

In April,Citi was notified of a system breach at Epsilon, a third-party vendor that provides marketing services to a number of companies,including Citi.

Got Citi?

Texas, Not, The Lone Ranger

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Legal's Identity Theft Information Source) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 16:12:00 +0000

Hello Texas. There has been another government data security loss in Texas affecting 4,900 employees by The Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services. In April, Comptroller Susan Combs, acknowledged that birthdate, driver's license numbers and Social Security numbers of as many as 3.5 million current and former state employees had been published on a publicly accessible website and remained in the public domain for as long as a year.

Personal information is being exposed or compromised daily, there have been 20 data breaches from June 1, 2011 to June 13, 2011. Some of the breaches include:

Burke County Courthouse Morganton, North Carolina, a night custodian made copies of sensitive documents pertaining to criminal cases. He then traded the documents to an outsider in exchange for drugs.

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, South Carolina, a renter discovered that an employee had taken over 20 boxes of patient information home.

University of Mary Washington (UMW), Fredericksburg, Virginia, A student discovered student data files on a departmental EagleNet site while searching the EagleNet portal for his own information.

Citibank New York, New York, Hackers have managed to access the information of approximately 1% of Citibank's 21 million users.

The VA Caribbean Healthcare System, San Juan, Puerto Rico, veterans and staff had their personal information left unsecured in an open area in the San Juan VA Medical Center.

Ravenel Elementary School, Seneca, South Carolina, A Memorial Day weekend office burglary resulted in the theft of two laptops and a flash drive which may contain student information.

Identity theft can wreak havoc on a victim's life. Identity theft is rampant, you may do your due diligence but with the losses above, who can be trusted for the safekeeping of personal information?

Credit monitoring is a start but only helps with financial identity theft and not the other common types.

Sorry, You Do Not Meet The Qualifications For This Job

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Legal's Identity Theft Information Source) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 18:28:00 +0000

You a starting to enter the workforce and apply for jobs, or maybe you want to change jobs, start a new career, or simply want to reenter the workforce. eHow Money did an article titled, "How Identity Theft Affects People."

The following events could occur to create an effect, which may not be in your best interest, when it comes to new employment:

Details are stolen and used fraudulently.
ID thief gains cash,information, or services under your name.
Your credit report is affected and a fraudulent entry is made.
Potential employers check your credit report and see this entry.
Potential employers decide not to give you the job, due to the entry.

As you can see, unless you have been keeping an eye on your credit report, identity theft can lead to a number of effects which eventually relate back to employment. Under new federal laws, you are allowed a free credit report every year, one from each of the credit reporting agencies.

The employer reviews your application but will never give you the reason why they chose another candidate over you.

So, if you are having trouble getting employment, maybe you are a victim of identity theft. There is another catch,when applying for a job, think of all that is handed over to the prospective employer, social security numbers, driver's license, date of birth, previous work history, and any professional licenses. After employment, additional personal details are given such as bank account details, and even in some cases - credit card numbers.

The best way to keep an eye on your personal details is to pull a quarterly credit report to check for errors and to have some sort of credit monitoring service. The easiest way to protect your identity is to obtain a reputable identity theft service which monitors your credit with complete restoration and also offers access to an attorney for advice and to have representation for any crimes which may occur in your name.

It Doesn’t Even Matter How Hard You Try

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Legal's Identity Theft Information Source) — Wed, 25 May 2011 19:23:00 +0000

MSNBC May 23 2011 - How to protect your identity during a disaster
Have copies of important documents safely stashed elsewhere
The MSNBC article has an excellent overview on identity theft and natural disasters. The recommendation of keeping "originals in one place, like a safe deposit box at the bank, and copies in a portable locked box that you can take with you if you have to evacuate" is invaluable.

Rebuilding lives after a natural disaster is tough enough, but no matter how hard you try, if identity theft occurs from that disaster, a victim's life will never be the same and will have a never-ending battle to guard their identity to the end of their time.

So Much For Your Promises

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Legal's Identity Theft Information Source) — Mon, 23 May 2011 19:08:00 +0000

Many data security losses go unreported or are publicized months or years after first discovery. The promise to protect personal information is virtually impossible for any industry to make and uphold in our present world.

On May 21, 2011, it was released that Military members are again the target of a data breach. TRICARE Management Activity of Colorado reported that 4,500 individuals were affected by a breach involving paper records that occurred on June 25, 2010.

The military has multiple data losses and continues to experience breaches. The most well known breach was May 3,2006, where a data analyst at Veterans Affairs took home a laptop and an external hard drive containing unencrypted information on 26.5 million veterans.

The end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010, ended and began with military data security breaches.

A laptop computer containing names and Personally Identifiable
Information for approximately 42,000 Fort Belvoir Morale, Welfare
and Recreation patrons was stolen on November 28th 2009.

On January 14th, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) released that 18,000 recipients of a special pay for disabled retirees, were sent to wrong addressees.The error occurred when the DAPS document duplicating system malfunctioned.

This is one one many breaches first reported a year after it occurred. What is highly disturbing is that there was no media coverage of this one or any statement on a TRICARE site.

Identity theft ruins lives, do a search on youtube or any search engine and see how many lives have been shattered, many of our military members.

Arts & Crafty

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Legal's Identity Theft Information Source) — Mon, 16 May 2011 14:57:00 +0000

May 13, 2011 - Michaels Stores across the country hit by thieves stealing credit and debit card information through tampered pin-pad machines.Michaels operate specialty retail stores which provide a large assortment of general crafts, home decor items, picture framing materials and services, art and hobby supplies.

KWQC 6 interviewed Stephan Kirkman with Global Security Services. Kirkman says thieves are finding more high-tech ways of stealing information including placing a fake keypad that stores credit card information, over the existing pad.

"When you input your four digit, six digit pin number, it actually pushes the ATM pin number but it is also pushing theirs which then transmits through a GSM, or cell unit, and sends the criminal a text message," said Kirkman.

An example of how pin pad theft may occur, is that the thieves recruit employees to change out the fake pin pad and then walk out with the pad containing the information.

If you use Michaels and are worried about becoming a victim, you can contact them with any questions by calling 1-800-MICHAELS or going to michaels.com.

Identity Theft is Rampant

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Legal's Identity Theft Information Source) — Wed, 11 May 2011 13:15:00 +0000

Identity theft is the nation's fastest growing crime according to FBI statistics and identity theft/fraud is the fastest-growing category of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) complaints.

As a victim of identity theft, the theft can cause devastating consequences. Victims face long hours of closing bad accounts, opening new ones, and repairing a wrecked credit record. Many people are already victims and are not aware that their identity has been compromised. It may take significant out-of-pocket expenses to clear a victim's name. In the meantime, the victim may be denied jobs, loans, education, housing, and cars, or even get arrested for crimes they did not commit. Unfortunately, the experience of thousands of victims is that it often requires months, and even years, to navigate the frustrating, identity-recovery process.

As with any crime, you can't guarantee that you will never be a victim, but you can minimize your risk. Managing your personal information wisely, however, no matter how well you guard your information,nothing helps when a third party loses or exposures your information. Here are some personal tips to protect your identity:

1. Don't give out personal information on the phone, through the mail or over the Internet.

2. Shred anything that has personal information prior to putting in the trash.

3. If you do not use the pre-screened credit card offers you receive in the mail, you can "opt out" by calling 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567- 8688.

4. Deposit outgoing mail in postal collection boxes or at your local post office, rather than in an unsecured mailbox.

5. Limit the amount of personal data you carry around, leave extra credit cards and social security card in a safe place at home.

6. Copy the contents of your purse or wallet in case it is stolen and you need to file a police report.

7. Do not leave insurance card, registration, or anything which has personal information in your car.

These steps can help lessen your chances of becoming a victim of identity fraud, but nothing is a sure thing. The thing to remember is that documents you throw away often have all the information a thief needs to steal your identity and wreak havoc on your life.

Androids

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Legal's Identity Theft Information Source) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 16:17:00 +0000

Are you using Android 2.3 Gingerbread phone? US-based researchers in North Carolina discovered a flaw in the latest Android release, Gingerbread has been on the market a few months. A Gingerbread user could have their device compromised by clicking on a malicious link, which allows viewing of user files. The weakness was supposed to have been patched in Android 2.3, yet there was still a way to bypass the fix.

The researchers suggest users to be cautious when viewing unfamiliar websites. Other suggestions are to disable Javascript and switching to a third-party web browser.

555-555-5555

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Legal's Identity Theft Information Source) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 19:44:00 +0000

In 1981, Tommy Tutone didn't want Jenny to change her 867-5309 phone number. The Time wanted you to call 777-9311 in 1982 because they wanted your phone number. Fast forward to 2011, you just got a call from 555-555-5555.

Caution, 555-555-5555 is a "spoofed" number, which means that whoever called you "tricked" your caller ID to display an incorrect phone number. The number may appear as 555-555-5555 or it may appear as a legitimate number, maybe even displays as a friend's number. The caller ID may also display the name of a state or business. Who spoofs? Bill collectors, hackers, spammers,criminals trying to get your personal information, or anyone who wants you to think that they are calling from some other number rather than their own.

What can you do? Do not press any number that the recording may ask you to press. If there is a live caller, hang up the phone, if there was a name of a company given, you may want to call the company back, if it is someone that you have done business. Type the phone number into a search engine or visit a site like Who Calls Me to input the number to see if there are any write ups about the number. Who Calls Me is a user supplied database of strange phone numbers to callers and also SMS messages. Users may search for numbers and also report numbers.

At Dictionary.com, one definition of "Spoof" is as follows: as to fool by a hoax; play a trick on, esp. one intended to deceive. Well, better let you go for now, your phone is ringing, it's your mother on the phone or so your caller ID says.

Facebook Hacked - Again

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Legal's Identity Theft Information Source) — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 21:57:00 +0000

Pogo Was Right reported on January 26,2011 that the social network founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook page was hacked. Weird messages were posted on his official page.

What can you do to stay safe on Facebook? Here are a few tips:

1: Don’t accept friend requests unless you absolutely know who they are and that you would associate with them in person, just like real friends.

2: Post only what you want made public.It's great that old friends can contact you, but now scammers and thieves are accessing the personal information that you post as well.

3: Visit the Privacy and Security Center. Manage your privacy settings. Follow these steps:

1. Read the Facebook Privacy Policy.
2. Visit the Facebook Privacy Help Page.
3. Customize your Facebook Privacy Settings to share only the information that you want shared.
4: Restrict access to search engines.
5: Verify any requests for personal information or money by calling your friend or emailing them at their personal email address.

Keep safe on Facebook and check your privacy settings periodically.

Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Legal's Identity Theft Information Source) — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 21:08:00 +0000

Ever heard of Spokeo, if not, check it out. Spokeo most likely has posted your personal information, available to anyone who wants to find you.

Type in your name, also all names of family members to remove them from the Spokeo's listings. Here are the steps to remove your name:

1. Once you are one the site and find your name.
2. Click on your name if it is there. You may have to navigate
several pages by picking your state and city. You need to perform steps 3-9
for each state if you have lived in multiple states.
3. Copy the URL.
4. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click PRIVACY
5. Paste the URL.
6. Type your email address. I would advise getting an email alias
from hotmail, yahoo, or other free email provider.
7. Type in the code.
8. Check your email for verification of removal and click the link.
9. Return to Spokeo to confirm removal.

Removal of your Spokeo listing from public searches for free. However, the site has a disclaimer that removing your Spokeo listing from public searches does not remove your information from the third-party data sources.

Protect your identity.

How to Recognize a Red Flag

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Legal's Identity Theft Information Source) — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 00:16:00 +0000

Evidently, the Senate did not.

In the effort to fight identity theft, the Federal Trade Commission's Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA) is in force and has been since 2005. FACTA enforces entities who hold sensitive personal information, such as name , address, date of birth, driver's license number, social security number, and such, on employees, client, customers to be protected and safeguarded.

The Red Flags Rule is an amendment to FACTA. The Rule was an effort to protect consumers who obtain credit for services they may receive. The Red Flags Rule is now in effect after many delays. The Senate has made it clear that lawyers, doctors, dentists, orthodontists, pharmacists, veterinarians, accountants, nurse practitioners, social workers, other types of health care providers and other service providers will no longer be classified as 'creditors' for the purposes of the Red Flags Rule. The Senate passed S.3987. These industries certainly bill and provide payment plans. The health industry is at the top of the list for identity theft victims in addition to being the most dangerous form of identity theft.

Hopefully these industries will remember that they still fall under FACTA to offer protection to the consumers.

FLASH: Internet Explorer Users

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Legal's Identity Theft Information Source) — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 06:12:00 +0000

Microsoft has discovered a vulnerability in all supported versions of Internet Explorer. You may want to use Firefox, Opera, Safari, or another browser.

2010 Year End Checklist

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Legal's Identity Theft Information Source) — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 22:33:00 +0000

We are coming to the end of a tough recessionary year, and you are probably more aware than ever that you need to get everything in order. So, as you begin to tackle all those last minute things you do at year-end, here are a few items that should be at the top of your list.

1. Be sure to check your credit and bank statements to ensure the accuracy of holiday purchases. If there is the smallest discrepancy,be sure to question it, as identity thieves usually test accounts that way prior to using them. The thieves also are able to charge multiple accounts with small amounts if they have many credit cards or bank accounts from different victims.

2. Remember to shred personal information. Did you know that your account number is on the order form of the catalogs that you receive?

3. Shred all holiday card envelopes and remind those that you send cards to do the same. Remind your friends that they are prime targets for identity theft if they have rural mailboxes.

4. What personal information did your child leave at college during the holidays?

5. Remove all personal information from your vehicle. Never leave insurance card, registration card, etc. in you car. Especially if you have a garage door opener.

6. After shopping, keep purchases in your vehicle out of sight or in the trunk. Carry nothing on your seats or in the floor.

7. Be aware of IRS fraud through loss or missing mail. Employers must provide W-2 wage and withholding forms to you by January 31st.

Call 888-588-5648 for more information concerning identity theft or situations on you may need to use an an attorney.

CSA 2010 Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Legal's Identity Theft Information Source) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 12:53:00 +0000

PSP contains most recent 5 years of crash data and 3 years of roadside inspection.CSA 2010 is not something commercial drivers can not react to after the fact.They must be pro-active and be prepared!

Motor carriers, trucking companies, and commercial drivers must have a clear understanding of CSA 2010. CSA 2010 replaces SafeStat with a new Safety Measurement System (SMS) that measures the previous two years of roadside violations and crash data. With SMS, every inspection counts, not just out-of-service violations, and both driver and carrier safety performance are monitored. This will affect your driver's driving record and their ability to be employed as a Driver.

The Safety Measurement System (SMS) assesses carriers in each of seven BASICs. Below are the seven BASICS and their corresponding Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) parts:

- Unsafe Driving (CFR Parts 392 & 397)
- Fatigued Driving (Hours-of-Service (HOS)) (CFR Parts 392 & 395)
- Driver Fitness (CFR Parts 383 & 391)
- Controlled Substances/Alcohol (CFR Parts 382 & 392)
- Vehicle Maintenance (CFR Parts 393 & 396)
- Cargo-Related (CFR Parts 392, 393, 397 & Hazardous Materials)
- Crash Indicator (Reportable Crashes)
A drivers violation history impact a carriers Safety Measurement System (SMS) evaluation.

Carriers are evaluated on inspections and crashes associated with their own DOT number, violations that a driver receives while working for a carrier apply to that carriers SMS evaluation.

How serious is the FMCSA's CSA 2010 for truck drivers and trucking companies? There are 275 Violations with 222 of those violations will go against the driver and the carrier.

Motor carriers, trucking companies, and commercial drivers must be pro-active and be prepared!

The Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP) process - Motor carriers may request, through NIC Technologies, driver information for the purpose of pre-employment screening. The driver must provide written consent. Individual drivers may request their own driver information record at any time.

At a minimum, be familiar with CSA 2010 "PSP" report (inspections/crashes), DAC Report; and MVR and Criminal/Infraction Reports.

Be safe and be prepared, protect your safety records.

CDL Drivers & CSA 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Legal's Identity Theft Information Source) — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 20:48:00 +0000

How serious is the FMCSA's CSA 2010 for truck drivers and trucking companies?

In the matter of CSA 2010, 99% of companies and drivers had no idea what it was and most didn't care.

There has been so much pressure on the trucking industry in the last few years that most people involved in it has developed a wait and see attitude about it.

CSA 2010, starts in November, it is the most serious law to ever hit the trucking industry, good people and their families may suffer because they don't have the knowledge to make decisions about this issue because they got bad or no information at all.

Trucker and motor carriers are the blood of America. I would hate to see Drivers on the side of the road because a Carrier is put out of business due to CSA 2010. Due to this law, certain terms make it possible where Drivers will no longer be able to go from carrier to carrier.

How serious is the FMCSA's CSA 2010 for truck drivers and trucking companies?There are 275 Violations with 222 of those violations will go against the driver and carrier.

CSA 2010 is going to have a major impact on CDL drivers. Drivers can not afford to just take tickets and violations anymore. Points add up against a driver may have an adverse effect on the carrier's safety record.

Also part of CSA 2010 deals with Driver Fitness. It states that a driver’s body mass index (BMI) maybe a risk factor. The concern is not the BMI itself but related medical concerns from increased BMI such as sleep apnea,increased blood pressure, and more. Companies may write in their policies that a driver with a certain BMI may need to undergo sleep apnea tests, which are expensive.

Click here for information that CDL Drivers need now.

The Cost of Identity Theft in the Workplace

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Legal's Identity Theft Information Source) — Tue, 04 May 2010 14:54:00 +0000

American businesses spend about $50 billion per year on identity theft in the workplace according to the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC). According to the U.S. Department of Justice Statistics, identity theft is now passing up drug trafficking as the number one crime in the nation. A preliminary study done by ITRC shows that the majority of id theft criminals are repeat offenders. Other convictions include substance abuse, narcotic trafficking, violent crime, robbery, and immigration issues.

While determining the total and exact cost of identity theft in the workplace is virtually impossible, Studies on the total cost of identity theft vary. One study said that identity theft cost U.S. businesses and consumers $56.6 billion in 2005. No matter what the total cost it is very clear that bottom lines all across America suffer from identity theft in the workplace, which results in high absenteeism and turnover, declined mental and physical health, reduced productivity, and internal communication breakdown.

The Unisys’ study reported that 69% of those survey said they would stop using a site that lost their personal information, resulting bad reputation in the community.

A Zogby study reports that 91% of Americans are now concerned about identity theft and expressed concern that legitimate retailers would sell their information without consent.

It is proven that the negative effects of identity theft or a breach of information to a business can have long term and far reaching ramifications. It should be a priority for business owners and executives to heighten their awareness of identity theft, and the financial and image costs of a data loss. What would a data security loss cost your company?

To request a free Worksheet to analyze the cost of a security data loss to your Company call 888-588-5648.

Russian Roulette

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Legal's Identity Theft Information Source) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 14:15:00 +0000

Military personnel, active, retired, or former members, are prime targets for identity theft.

Identity theft is an ever increasing problem worldwide. While most consumers have a minimal knowledge of identity theft, most are unfamiliar with the complications of being a victim and unknown facts. According to the article, WHAT THE STATISTICS DO NOT TELL US by Victoria Sanchez, "the key for consumers is prevention. Yet those who have taken all precautions and are victimized nonetheless."

Prevention has been taken out of the hands of the consumer hands because personal information is kept in many places. What happens to the personal information, who handles the information, or how it is protected is not controlled by the consumer.

The military has multiple data losses and continues to experience breaches. The most well known breach was May 3,2006, where a data analyst at Veterans Affairs took home a laptop and an external hard drive containing unencrypted information on 26.5 million veterans.

The end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010, ended and began with military data loss breaches.

A laptop computer containing names and Personally Identifiable
Information for approximately 42,000 Fort Belvoir Morale, Welfare
and Recreation patrons was stolen on November 28th 2009.

On January 14th, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) released that 18,000 recipients of a special pay for disabled retirees, were sent to wrong addressees.The error occurred when the DAPS document duplicating system malfunctioned.

History has proved that identity theft prevention is not feasible because personal information is scattered throughout many agencies. Identity theft protection is the only option to help monitor personal information. There are six types of identity theft, with certain types, access to an attorney may be critical. Being unprotected is like playing Russian Roulette,especially for members of military due to the many data loss breaches,carrying of the military ID, and their mobility.

No Protection and A Disservice

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Legal's Identity Theft Information Source) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 12:39:00 +0000

November 1, 2009 is the deadline for companies to comply with the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Red Flag Rule. The Rule is an amendment to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), which passed in 2003 and is in effect.

This single Act in my opinion, is the only Rule that can truly protect Americans from the mishandling of important information and the protection of their name and personal information.

A New Jersey newspaper, The Philly Burbs, reported the a federal Bill, that would put the American public at risk for identity theft, has unanimously passed bipartisan legislation in the House.

The article states that , The House of Representatives passed bipartisan legislation which would protect small firms such as dental and accounting offices from the Federal Trade Commission's Red Flags Rule.

The House needs to realize the type of information that the industries whom thye are trying to exempt hold, prior to this Bill being passed. Personal information in the medical and financial communities is enough to completely take over someone's life. The following is my response to the New Jersey new article:

"I am from Texas. I can not imagine that public official who is elected to protect people would try to pass a bill that is detrimental to the American public. Our Attorney General make it quite clear that our people will be safeguarded.

Identity theft hurts many and there is a lengthy process to clear their name and usually no recovery , especially from the entities whom this Bill covers.

This Bill should never pass until one can safely go into a doctor's office and not hear or see other patient's information behind the reception desk or in the hallway.

This Bill should never pass until cleaning crews are escorted while cleaning unoccupied offices after hours.

This Bill should never pass as long as laptops are being taken home and left unattended.

This Bill should never pass, it will totally put people at risk and ruin lives. Any rule that protects the public in my eyes is not an "unnecessary regulations."

The House also needs to realize that FACTA is already in effect and support the enforcement date of the Red Flag amendment section of the Act to protect the public.

Medical identity theft is the most dangerous as seen in the video from WISN 12 News.

Be All That You Can Be, Again!

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Legal's Identity Theft Information Source) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 10:43:00 +0000

On October 2, 2009, The Washington Post reported that "the personal data of tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers, including those in the Special Forces, continue to be downloaded by unauthorized computer users in countries such as China and Pakistan."

The article goes on to say that the loss increases the threat of identity theft and retaliation against soldiers on sensitive missions.

The loss occurred through "peer to peer" file-sharing software. December 5, 2008, 24,000 army soldiers had their identity breached through the same type of software.

Military members are put in harms way constantly, they should not have to worry about being a victim of an identity theft nightmare.

Protect our military and keep them safe.