Identity Theft

Freakonomics Blog » I.D.-Theft Watchdog Finds the State of Texas is Wide Open for I.D. Thieves

To his surprise, Peisner was allowed to proceed (without giving the three-digit security code on the back of his credit card, no less), and within moments he had access to the site’s database. For $1 per search, he ran searches on several common last names including “Campbell,” “Smith” and “Jones,” as well as “Greg Abbott,” the attorney general. The result? Hundreds of PDF’s for the common names and a handful for Abbott, many of them containing addresses, Social Security numbers, and other personal information. Lucky for the attorney general, Peisner chose to publicize his findings here rather than sell them to the highest bidder — though he did receive an invoice for the searches within minutes of completing them. This morning, he contacted the office of Texas Secretary of State Phil Wilson to let him know of the vulnerability, and was told that the matter would be directed to the office’s I.T. department. Meanwhile, the site’s security hasn’t changed; Peisner was able once again to access the database using the name “Ima IDThief” and the same credit card information.

deseretnews.com | Agency warns of potential child-ID thefts: "There are roughly 20,000 people of all ages in the Workforce Services database who are potentially impacted by Social Security identity theft, according to the Utah Attorney General's Office."

TJX data breach faces FTC probe

"The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) confirmed Monday that it's investigating the massive data breach at TJX Companies Inc. that exposed millions of customers to potential identity fraud."

Top 10 Most Famous Hackers of All Time: "The portrayal of hackers in the media has ranged from the high-tech super-spy, as in Mission Impossible where Ethan Hunt repels from the ceiling to hack the CIA computer system and steal the 'NOC list,' to the lonely anti-social teen who is simply looking for entertainment."

Business Intelligence Lowdown: Top 10 Big Brother Companies: Ranking the Worst Consumer Privacy Infringers: "How much would you sell your private data to a company for? Would you take $100 to let someone see every site you have visited over the past year, how about $1,000? Today, many major companies spend millions collecting a variety data on individuals such as; what charities you donate to, your political beliefs, your shopping habits, your educational data and your contact information.

Unfortunately, you never get to decide how much your privacy is worth to you, because these companies aren't asking your permission."

Lost computer sparks another Veteran identity theft scare: "There's another identity theft scare at the Veterans Affairs Department. As many as 38,000 veterans may be at risk of identity theft because a subcontractor lost a desktop computer containing sensitive personal data."

Another security lapse?!

HNS - New identity theft and online fraud techniques: "Authors of computer viruses and threats -including phishing scams- are looking for direct financial profit from cybercrime. For this reason, they are using more innovative and diversified techniques to, above all, steal users’ identities or obtain bank details to commit fraud.

In the first half of 2006, PandaLabs registered a 50 percent increase in identity theft and online fraud related activity. What’s more, it detected new tricks that used phishing techniques but with different methods than those traditionally used."

Police combat ID theft: "Schichtel sent in a resume and, when he was contacted, he forwarded his birthday and Social Security number. More than a year later, he received a call from Spokane, Wash., informing him that he was six months overdue on a credit payment.

'I was unsuspecting completely,' said Schichtel, Fifth Third's vice president for financial institutions. 'If it can happen to me ... it has got to be so much easier to happen to someone who's not familiar with these things.'"

And it goes on to say that he is STILL dealing with the problem today!

Identity Theft is Growing Threat for Seniors: "Financial abuse of the elderly is a growing problem in the Sacramento area, with reports of theft by family members and caregivers up 300 percent over the past three years, according to the Sacramento County District Attorney’s office."

Tips for keeping your hard drive secure from identity theft: "When you get rid of an old computer or donate it to charity, you can open yourself up to identity theft if you don't take some important precautions.

Before you dispose of a PC, it is vital to erase any vital information stored on its hard drive. The relatively cheap cost of taking it to a professional to have the service done correctly could potentially save you thousands of dollars and the headache of having to deal with identity theft. Programs designed to wipe your hard drive clean are also available on the web and are pretty inexpensive. Either way, you have to make sure all data is erased before you dispose of the drive."

This means SHREDDING the data, not just deleting it.

Win the War Against Identity Theft [Fool.com: Commentary] August 7, 2006: "the war against identity theft rages on. Here's a list of the most recent skirmishes:

* A Michigan man reportedly in possession of 112,000 customer records of Sentry Insurance has been caught trying to sell 36,000 of them to a U.S. Secret Service agent working undercover. The price? $25,000.

* A public computer in the service of the city of Hampton, Va., accidentally published sensitive data on thousands of taxpayers, including Social Security numbers.

* Recent research from Gartner shows that only 20% of U.S. banks are in compliance with federal guidelines for securing data.

Discouraged? You should be. Clearly, our public institutions are operating without needed body armor, which leaves consumers exposed on the front lines."

Protect yourself against identity theft - Credit Card Offers: "It is difficult dealing with an identity theft and most of all is difficult to repair what others have messed up for you. We cannot completely prevent identity theft, but we can take some simple precautions to minimize the risks."

Some good information. Even though you cannot prevent it from happening to you - you can make it less likely to happen.

Repairing is definitely very difficult. You really need a professional's help.

TimesDispatch.com | Equifax owes damages in identity-theft lawsuit: "In June 2003, Sloane gave birth to a son at Prince William Hospital. A few months later, a woman working in the hospital's billing department lifted Sloane's Social Security number from hospital records and used it to open several credit accounts, running up thousands of dollars in debt in Sloane's name.
. . .

"More than two years after her Social Security number was stolen, Sloane's credit score was still hundreds of points lower than it was before the identity theft, she said in January."

How could Ms. Sloane have avoided this? And she is still working on fixing it!