Blog / Identity Theft
New CA Law Expands ID Theft Protections
Jul 3, 2008 by Tom Fragala
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed new California identity theft legislation on July 2nd. The compact legislation, SB 612, amends Section 786 of the Penal Code. It was backed by the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse and California District Attorneys Association. According to the Consumer...
HR Outsourcer Colt Has Data Stolen, Leaves Victims Cold
Jun 24, 2008 by Tom Fragala
According to PC World, a human resources outsourcing firm called Colt Express Outsourcing, suffered a data breach when thieves stole a number of computers from their offices. Incredibly, Colt did not have an alarm security system (they installed one four...
Alaska Law Loaded with Identity Theft Protections
Jun 13, 2008 by Tom Fragala
Alaska has a new identity theft law with protections including privacy of SSN's, credit freezes and data breach disclosures. Alaska’s HB 65 restricts the request, collection, sale, and sharing of Social Security numbers by both private parties and government agencies. The new...
Protect your vehicle from identity thieves
Jun 7, 2008 by Tom Fragala
Your automobile is a target of thieves--that is obvious. Of course, thieves will steal the car itself or valuable items inside, like your cell phone or iPod. That is bad enough. But the information inside your car--not just the...
Is Identity Theft a Bigger Threat Offline vs Online?
May 9, 2008 by Tom Fragala
From Javelin Strategy: We are not saying (online access and data breaches) are not significant factors,” said James Van Dyke, Javelin’s president and founder. “But the point is that it has really been overblown. I think it is to...
Military ID cards will finally have SSN blocked
Apr 26, 2008 by Tom Fragala
ITRC points out that the Department of Defense will finally begin blocking out Social Security numbers on military ID's, dog tags, clothing and military records. About time don't you think? Just imagine the number of cards, documents, and more that...
Sign the Back of Credit Cards or Not?
Apr 24, 2008 by Tom Fragala
One common tip I have heard is that you should not sign the back of your credit cards or write something in its place asking that ID be checked. What should you do? Well, the right question to me is "Is...
Fraud alerts do NOT require lenders to contact you
Apr 13, 2008 by Tom Fragala
The misconception that fraud alerts by law require that you be contacted continues on unabated. In fact, a fraud alert is just words on your credit report. Can it be effective in some cases? Yes. Are fraud alerts some kind...
Non-profit data breach tracking site ends service
Apr 11, 2008 by Tom Fragala
Attrition.org, a non-profit hobby site, has shuttered its news service. They had become one of the "go to" information sources on security and data breaches. Here is an excerpt of their explanation for the shut down (although they leave the...
What steps to take if you are a victim of identity theft?
Apr 11, 2008 by Tom Fragala
Wrong question. If you are expecting to see a list here of several things to do if you are a victim of identity theft, look elsewhere (although you'll probably get bad advice). Why? Because asking what steps to take if...
Truston Wins Info Security Products Guide Award
Apr 9, 2008 by Tom Fragala
After being named a 2008 Hot Company in January, we just received another industry award. This time it is specifically for our patent-pending myTruston web-based technology and was given by the Information Security Products Guide. This program is called the...
FTC reaches settlement with TJX
Mar 27, 2008 by Tom Fragala
So the settlement is that TJX has to submit to a total of 10 security audits over the course of 20 years. Which is something they would do anyway most likely. Now, the FTC has limited powers under the FTC...
Supermarket company Hannaford reports data breach of 4.2 million accounts
Mar 17, 2008 by Tom Fragala
The Hannaford Bros. supermarket chain said a breach of its computer system led to the theft of about 4.2 million credit and debit card numbers from its Hannaford and Sweetbay stores and other locations. Hannaford, based in Maine, said...
Mobile phone account takeover fraud
Mar 9, 2008 by Tom Fragala
Bob Sullivan, in his popular Red Tape Chronicles blog, has a story about someone who has his cell phone account taken over. This is what we call "existing" phone/utility account fraud (aka account takeover). Many folks think poo-poo this kind...
Identity theft help for Canada
Mar 5, 2008 by Tom Fragala
We've heard from a few Canadian citizens over the last year that needed help with identity theft. We don't have a Canadian myTruston version, yet, although I wish we did. The laws are different of course, although many of the...
Getting the run around from your bank on fraud? Use certified mail.
Mar 3, 2008 by Tom Fragala
There is a post on the Consumerist blog about a person that is having trouble getting a credit posted for losses from account fraud. Essentially, the person says the bank is messing around claiming paperwork on the fraud wasn't received, and the...
Brokerage and investment account fraud
Feb 24, 2008 by Tom Fragala
In the midst of so much noise about identity theft, credit reports, freezes and alerts here is some important advice. Don't forget to protect your brokerage, investment and retirement accounts; financial accounts like those you open with a stockbroker or...
Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act
Feb 17, 2008 by Tom Fragala
There is a bill in Congress called the Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act of 2007. It passed in the Senate in November 2007 (S.2168) and referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary in December. According to the Bankers...
Identity theft top complaint: FTC releases annual report
Feb 15, 2008 by Tom Fragala
The Federal Trade Commision released it's annual publication "Consumer Fraud and Identity Theft Complaint Data" for January-December 2007. The number one complaint category, 4 times more than number 2, is, of course, identity theft. The FTC today released the list of top consumer...
Data Security Breach Report by ITRC
Feb 7, 2008 by Tom Fragala
The Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) has released its 2007 Breach Report. They also maintain an ongoing 2008 Breach Report. In 2007, ITRC documented 448 paper and electronic breaches, potentially affecting more than 127 million records. This is a significant...
Disturbing: Texas schools give kids personal data to private company
Feb 4, 2008 by Tom Fragala
Came across this article in Dallas Morning News. The article refers to our child privacy tips in talking about a story of Texas schools giving kid's personal identifying information, including SSN, to a contractor, OZ Systems. But it underscores a...
GE Money Loses Data on 650,000 JC Penney Credit Card Holders
Jan 18, 2008 by Tom Fragala
As a former IT professional, something particularly disturbing about this is that the data breach occurred because of an apparent lost backup tape at the well-known data storage company, Iron Mountain. This just should not happen--this company specializes in data...
Maryland Credit Freezes Now Available by Law
Jan 9, 2008 by Tom Fragala
This news that Maryland credit freeze law went into effect January 1 appears to be a bit underwhleming since all three credit reporting companies announced in 2007 they would offer nationwide credit freezes anyway. However, I think MD residents are...
British TV Star Foolishly Publishes Bank Account Number to Prove a Point
Jan 7, 2008 by Tom Fragala
Unfortunately for this twit, he proved the opposite point of what he was trying to. Here is what happened. Jeremy Clarkson, presenter of popular British TV show Top Gear, wanted to prove a point. There was recently a massive data...
Why Checking Your Credit Card Statement Is So Important
Jan 6, 2008 by Tom Fragala
It is simple and you know the answer: if you don't check your statement and fail to catch fraudulent charges or even errors the bank makes (within 60 days from mailing), they can tell you to jump in a lake....
Identity Theft Protection: Two Tips for the Holidays
Dec 16, 2007 by Tom Fragala
There are a lot of lists about identity theft flying around this time of year. 12 tips of Christmas, top 10 ways to protect yourself from identity theft...that kind of thing. Well, to save you time and keep things simple...
FTC Releases 2005 ID Theft Survey Results--in November 2007
Dec 16, 2007 by Tom Fragala
The FTC recently released the results of their well-known survey and study on identity theft. For 2005. The big number everyone looks at, total victims, is 8.3 million. Of course, interpreting that number depends on how you define "identity theft"...
Data Breach: Every Family With Kids in the UK
Nov 20, 2007 by Tom Fragala
This may sound hard to believe but a UK government agency lost data on every family in the UK with children under age 16. You read that right. 25 million people, 7 million familes. Two computer discs holding the personal...
TJX Data Breach Was Far Worse - 96 Million Accounts
Oct 24, 2007 by Tom Fragala
Court documents disclose that 96 million Visa and Mastercard accounts (credit and debit) were “impacted” by the TJX data breach. Jaw-dropping numbers, almost hard to believe. I wonder what they mean by “impacted.” Despite TJX having reported some 46 million...
Experian Joins the Credit Freeze Party
Oct 16, 2007 by Tom Fragala
Experian is now going to offer credit freezes in all remaining US states where they do not offer it. Same pricing as Equifax and TransUnion, $10 a freeze, unless state law mandates otherwise. Tags: credit+freeze, credit+report...
Opting-In After You Have Opted-Out
Oct 9, 2007 by Tom Fragala
You may recall my saga from a few months ago, where some of my banks accounts fell victim to fraud because two of my banks sent me convenience checks (which I never requested) on a home equity line and credit...
4 New ID Theft Prevention and Privacy Tools--With Free Trial
Sep 29, 2007 by Tom Fragala
This week we released a new version of our award-winning myTruston service. The new features are FREE to current members for a 45–day free trial period. These four new prevention and privacy services are: Credit bureau fraud alerts Chexsystems fraud alerts Stop...
NetBank Fails, FDIC Insurance Reminder
Sep 28, 2007 by Tom Fragala
This is not something you want to see when you visit your bank’s website: NetBank, an internet-only bank with $2.5 BILLION in assets was shut down today. That’s right, shut down without warning to the depositors and customers. Customers that...
8 Reasons Why TransUnion Offered Nationwide Credit Freezes
Sep 26, 2007 by Tom Fragala
I have yet to see a much analysis of the reasons for the surprise announcement that TransUnion is going to offer all 50 states and DC the ability to freeze their credit file. Apparently, few saw the TransUnion move coming....
Equifax Joining TransUnion in Allowing Credit Freeze Nationwide
Sep 25, 2007 by Tom Fragala
It appears that Equifax is going to respond to TransUnion’s announcement to allow credit freezes nationwide. Same fee: $10 to freeze/unfreeze. No mention yet if victims will need to pay (I doubt it). And of course, they must comply with...
Credit Bureau TransUnion Offers Nationwide Credit Freeze
Sep 18, 2007 by Tom Fragala
TransUnion issued a press release that appears to be a bombshell. Still waiting to learn more about this. They are offering consumers in all 50 states and DC the ability to lock or freeze their credit file. Just how “frozen” it...
Arizona Identity Theft Law Aims to Stop Employment Fraud
Sep 7, 2007 by Tom Fragala
At this time, according to state law, it's a felony if a person uses false identification leading to economic loss of $3,000 or more.On September 19, the law will change, making it a class three felony for anyone using false...
Identity Theft via File Sharing Peer to Peer Network
Sep 6, 2007 by Tom Fragala
This is the first case I am aware of where someone was arrested for committing ID theft through peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, which are popular software and services for getting media including pirated movies, games and music. The story from PC...
Texas Law Allows Credit Freeze For All Residents
Sep 3, 2007 by Tom Fragala
In Texas, you can freeze your credit file, even if you aren’t a victim now. Under a new law that took effect Saturday, consumers can freeze their credit report without having to have a police report. When you freeze your...
How to Prevent Child Identity Theft
Sep 1, 2007 by Tom Fragala
We wrote another article and have made it available in the resources section of this web site. Click here to find it: Stolen Innocence: How to Prevent Child Identity Theft. It has some very useful tips on how to prevent and detect...
Indiana Credit Freeze Law Takes Effect September 1
Aug 30, 2007 by Tom Fragala
INDYChannel.com reports On Sept. 1 [2007], Indiana will join the majority of states in allowing freezes. Attorney General Steve Carter touted the move as away to protect against fraud. As part of the new law, credit-reporting agencies will be required...
Another stolen laptop and retirees take the hit again
Aug 23, 2007 by Tom Fragala
I rarely post about data breaches anymore, because there are so many. But did you noticed that it seems more often than not, it’s retiree data that is stolen or lost? Here we have yet another laptop stolen, this time...
Another ID thief targets high profile ultra-rich
Aug 17, 2007 by Tom Fragala
From Dow Jones The Manhattan district attorney's office has charged five men in connection with an alleged identity-theft ring that attempted to steal millions of dollars from wealthy individuals. The targets included Anthony Pritzker, the president of consumer-credit information firm...
Massachusetts ID Theft Bill Includes Credit Freezes
Aug 4, 2007 by Tom Fragala
Massachusetts finally got an ID theft prevention bill passed and signed into law. It includes credit freezes (for victims and non-victims), data breach notification requirements, and destruction of documents with sensitive data. Unforunately, none of the stories I saw state...
What Does Internet Dating Have To Do With Identity Theft?
Jul 29, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
MSNBC had an interesting Dateline show recently about catching ID thieves. The show created a fake online electronics store and advertised it as one that accepts stolen credit cards to pay for merchandise. Apparently such stores exist, so no one became suspicious. When the news crew tracked the...
Beware of Novelty ID Cards
Jul 23, 2007 by Tom Fragala
The other day I came across a web site that sells “novelty” identity cards of many types. Social Security cards, driver’s licenses, diplomas, birth certificates, work permits, contractor certifications, you name it. I saw it mentioned in a forum where...
It's Not Easy to Catch a Thief
Jul 20, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
Identity thieves are not often caught and prosecuted. This article from Concord Monitor Online explains the frustrating issues involved by recounting one woman’s attempt to get justice after she became an identity thief victim. "If somebody had a credit card...
How the Pros Protect Themselves
Jul 16, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
Here’s a great article about how the tech experts protect themselves from identity theft and other fraud. The article features tips from Frank Abagnale, a former identity thief turned FBI consultant on white collar crime. These days, Mr. Abagnale never uses a debit...
The Most Important Opt-Out to Prevent Identity Theft
Jul 14, 2007 by Tom Fragala
I just found out I was victimized by ID theft again. The same MO: stolen “convenience” checks from my mailbox. This time it was convenience checks for my Citibank credit card, similar to the Wells Fargo convenience checks on my home...
Now Phishing Sites Can Be Created in 2 Seconds?
Jul 14, 2007 by Tom Fragala
The TrendMicro Anti-Malware Blog points to a rather creepy new technology for hackers: Approximately two seconds is now all it takes to create phishing sites with the use of a new “plug and play” phishing kit that malicious users have fashioned...
Social Security Scam
Jul 9, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
Beware of a new scam where a caller claims to be from the Social Security Administration and offers to increase your benefits. They are using scare tactics to pressure individuals to give out their bank account numbers. A Social Security spokesperson...
Credit Freeze Law for Mississippi
Jul 5, 2007 by Tom Fragala
Mississippi residents, as of July 1 2007, can avail themselves of a credit freeze. According to Insurance Journal: The law says a consumer whose personal information has been illegally used by others must file a police report, and then may...
Debt Elimination Can Cause Major Headaches
Jul 5, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
Here’s another scheme that I often see. Many of my clients have complained that debt elimination (also called debt settlement) companies take their money and run. The victims I’ve worked with were lucky that they only lost money, because according to...
Credit Freeze Now Available in D.C.
Jul 2, 2007 by Tom Fragala
As reported in Brian Krebs’ Security Fix blog Residents of the District of Columbia now have the right to "freeze" their credit reports as a way to ward off identity thieves. As of July 1, people living in the nation's...
Synthetic Identity Theft
Jun 29, 2007 by Tom Fragala
We have blogged about this before and inside the industry this term is getting a lot of play. The mainstream media is starting to pick up on synthetic ID theft. Simply put, it means an imposter uses different parts of...
It's Worth Repeating: Social Security Cards and Wallets Do Not Mix
Jun 27, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
I give a number of identity theft seminars every year and at each seminar, at least one of the attendees will admit to carrying around their Social Security card in their wallet or purse. In this day and age, and...
Tips for Teens Which Are Prime Targets of ID Theft
Jun 26, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
An article gives tips to teens to keep them safe from ID thieves. With the popularity of myspace and the fact that teens often post their personal information onto the Web, it’s easy for them to become victims. Teens need...
Don't Trust Your Caller ID
Jun 25, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
Here’s a great blog by Susan Brenner that gives a lot of information about caller ID spoofing that can be used to steal identities or even worse. The spoofing is being used to commit identity theft and other types of fraud, though,...
32% of Americans Haven't Checked Their Credit Report
Jun 22, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
According to a national poll by Bankrate, Inc, it’s true. Digital50.com reports that Bankrate also found that 45% of Americans don’t know their credit score. I can understand those not wanting to pay for a credit score, so it makes sense that...
ID Theft Victim Chases Down Thief
Jun 19, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
Here’s a great story about an ID theft victim that took matters into her own hands and single-handedly tracked the thief that stole her identity.She actually chased the thief down and waited for police to arrive. It’s a great story,...
Pin or No Pin - Which is Safer?
Jun 16, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
I often get the question, “should I enter my pin number at the store for extra security with my debit card?”. The answer is contrary to what you might think. Don't use your pin number! A question and answer column sums it...
Bruce Schneier on Identity Theft
Jun 15, 2007 by Tom Fragala
Below is a video from YouTube. See here for the back story on ZDNet....
Correlation Between Being In Debt and Becoming An ID Theft Victim
Jun 12, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
Do you know that the more in debt you are, the more likely you are to become an identity theft victim. That’s because when you’re in debt and sinking quickly, you are more likely to chase financing deals in a...
Creative ID Thieves Target Real Estate
Jun 11, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
High foreclosure rates in neighborhoods can many times be blamed on identity thieves. Here's an article that talks about how they do it. The thief in this case is a mortgage broker that bought and sold homes, but usually under...
An Uncreative Plan from the Presidential Identity Theft Task Force
Jun 10, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
An article criticized the Presidential Identity Theft Task Force for some of the issues we’ve been blogging about for a while. The article sums up the report of the task force’s findings as this: The report focuses on four main...
Innovis - A Free Report Is Yours For The Asking
Jun 7, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
Innovis data solutions is relatively unknown to consumers – it is similar to the three credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Innovis supplies credit grantors with information on all of us "to assist in marketing, verification, authentication and fraud...
Truston Offers Discounted Upgrade for LifeLock Customers
Jun 4, 2007 by Tom Fragala
We issued a press release this morning (read it here). Here is an explanation of what it is about. Last week, there was a shocking article about LifeLock by Ray Stern in the Phoenix New Times. Truston understands that their customers (and...
Scam Targets Visa and MasterCard Customers
Jun 4, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
According to this article, scammers pose as if they are from the fraud department of Visa or MasterCard and rattle off a purchase on the credit card that the cardholder didn’t make. The caller promises to reimburse the cardholder once a 1-800 number is called...
Beware of Scams with Craigslist
Jun 1, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
Craigslist.com is a website that lets sellers post ads for free. A man selling a truck on Craigslist was almost bilked by a variation of the Nigerian 419 scam that I’ve blogged about previously. A buyer named “Jimmy Davis” wanted to buy...
Checking if Your Child is an ID Theft Victim Can Be Stressful
May 31, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
Identity thieves target children because odds are they can use the child’s identity for years before anyone will notice. I originally posted the following blog in January of 2007, but am revisiting it in case you missed it the first...
Oops! Medical Center Exposes Patients to Identity Theft (Again)
May 31, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) sent donation solicitation letters to thousands of its former patients. Unfortunately, the patients’ social security number appeared through the window of the envelope. Yikes! Oddly enough, UPMC didn’t learn its lesson from a previous mishap. ...
Identity Theft Fear Damages Banking Profitability
May 28, 2007 by Tom Fragala
I got this article in FinanceTech via the Javelin blog. A study was done by Javelin which reports that the banking industry is leaving $8 billion on the table because over tens of millions of US consumers don’t bank online because...
Teens Are Key Targets for ID Thieves
May 26, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
Identity thieves go after the identities of teens and young children because they know they have a lot of time before the victim will check his credit - often the thief can use the fraudulent ID for many years before...
Senator Allard Is On The Right Track
May 25, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
Senator Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) announced that the provision he introduced to fight identity theft has been included in The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007. Currently, the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Department of Homeland Security are prevented from sharing...
The Jury Duty Scam Keeps on Coming
May 24, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
I constantly hear rumblings about the Jury Duty Scam and Tom Fragala has blogged about it previously on this site. Based on this article it sounds like the residents of Florida are getting hit hard by it. According to the investigators, scheme artists are calling victims...
Truston Featured Again in PC Magazine
May 22, 2007 by Tom Fragala
Neil Rubenking at PC Magazine wrote an article on ID theft titled Protect Your Identity that was published today. Truston was one of the featured solutions including ZoneAlarm’s Internet Security Suite....
InfoUSA Knowingly Sells Lists of Elderly to Criminals
May 22, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
An article in The New York Times describes a truly harmful practice. Companies that maintain data on individuals often create lists of the elderly, those with cancer, even those that gamble and then sell those lists to companies that have been known to commit fraud. An unethical...
Beware of Social Security Card Scam
May 21, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
A new scam is surfacing in Maine where the caller tries to convince the person on the other end of the phone that his social security card is no longer valid and that a new one needs to be reissued. It...
Not Again?!?
May 20, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
The newly merged Alcatel-Lucent just announced a similar mishap to IBM’s – which I recently blogged about. Employees of Alcatel-Lucent and retirees of Lucent have been notified that an unencrypted CD has been reported missing. The disc was prepared by Hewitt Associates,...
Debt Collection Protection for ID Theft Victims
May 19, 2007 by Tom Fragala
Did you know? The California Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (CA Civil Code section 1788.18) prohibits a debt collector from continuing to collect on a debt of an alleged victim of identity theft if the victim has completed all the...
Shame on IBM!
May 18, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
IBM is one of the leaders in encryption software and other data management technologies so it’s very surprising that their retirees’ data has been compromised. It happened when the human resources department’s back-up tapes were transported by a contractor from...
Businesses Scammed with Fake Invoices
May 17, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
I’ve blogged before that identity thieves often target businesses by creating fake checks in the business’ name and cashing them. Another twist that I’m hearing more and more about are scammers sending fake invoices in the hopes that a business will go...
Truston Featured on MSN.com
May 16, 2007 by Tom Fragala
We were a featured link on the main MSN.com home page (still are currently) as one of “Today’s Pick’s”. We got a 10X traffic boost and a surge in membership. The MSN.com homepage linked to a MSNBC page actually, which...
Now They're Coming Out of the Woodwork to Confess
May 15, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
Here’s another account from an identity thief on how he did it. James Jackson is in prison now, but he claims to have stolen the identities of such celebrities as Danny De Vito, Mel Gibson and a federal judge. I don’t...
ID Thief Gives Whole New Perspective
May 10, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
I found a really interesting article on ID theft that provides a whole different perspective – it’s from the ID thief’s point of view. The thief tells how he did it so that the public can learn from it (but only after...
Scams That Target Those With Bad Credit
May 6, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
I read an excellent blog with a summary of scams that target individuals and businesses with less-than-stellar credit. Scammers know that as your credit score goes down, your options for credit do too. They feed upon the desperation of an individual with a...
TSA Loses Hard Drive with 100,000 Employees' Social Security Numbers
May 6, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has lost a computer hard drive with information on 100,000 of its past and present employees. The files of TSA employees from January of 2002 to August of 2005 were on the hard drive with records of...
Virginia Tech Shootings Scam
May 3, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
Beware of ANY emails regarding the recent Virginia Tech shootings. There is a scam that comes by email claiming to have video from the shootings. If you open up the email to watch the video you actually download a computer...
New Article in PC World About Truston
May 1, 2007 by Tom Fragala
PC World, which wrote about Truston in their staff blog back in February, wrote about us again. Erik Larkin, who wrote the blog post, contributed a well done piece today in the Privacy Watch section of the PCWorld web site....
Medical Facilities are Cracking Down
May 1, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
More and more hospitals and medical facilities are requiring photo identification when they check patients in. Medical identity theft is growing and the results are serious. Read more about what it is and its consequences in a past medical id theft...
Car Dealership Loses Out to Identity Theft - Aided by Its Own Salesman
Apr 30, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
A used-car dealership was burned by one of its own salesmen recently. Evidently the salesman conspired with a man that bought two trucks from the dealership using a stolen identity. Unfortunately the dealership figures that there may be more fraudulent sales by the...
Beware of Calls from Collection Agencies
Apr 28, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
In Kansas, identity thieves are phishing for information by acting as collection agencies and calling to collect on an unpaid debt. When the victims deny that the account is theirs, the caller tells them to file a police report and...
Waiters in 40 Restaurants Aided Identity Theft Ring
Apr 25, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
If you ate in a restaurant in Manhattan’s Chinatown, NY City, Florida, New Hampshire, New Jersey or Connecticut recently, check your credit card statement carefully because you may be a victim of credit card fraud. Waiters in 40 restaurants skimmed information from...
Quite a Slip Up: Lube Maker Feels Data Breach Pain
Apr 24, 2007 by Tom Fragala
This is what happens when a web developer doesn’t know what they are doing… More than 250,000 people's names and addresses are now naked on the web after the maker of a popular sexual lubricant called Astroglide accidentally exposed lists...
More on Medical ID Theft
Apr 23, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
In a past I’ve blogged about medical identity theft and how it can become a very serious form of fraud if the thief using your medical insurance is treated for a serious health condition. Not only can the you be turned down for life insurance...
Corporations Are Victims Too
Apr 21, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
With all the warnings to individuals about preventing identity theft, corporations don’t get much attention but they can be victims just as easily. Corporations make good targets when their financial information is easy to obtain and they don’t have a solid checks and...
Update on My Recent Identity Theft
Apr 19, 2007 by Tom Fragala
I just updated the blog post about the fraud I suffered this week. The story gets worse....
Shouldn't the Victims Be Compensated?
Apr 19, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
An article appeared on the NetWork World website about a CVS Pharmacy in Texas facing fines for throwing valuable customer information into a dumpster behind the store. It’s not the first time it’s happened and it certainly won’t be the...
A Victim Again: Fraudulent Home Equity Check
Apr 17, 2007 by Tom Fragala
Not a good way start to the day. I got a call at work this morning (9am PDT) from someone claiming to be from the Wells Fargo fraud department. I have several accounts at Wells, including checking, mortgage and home equity...
Good Should Come From This Victim's Experience
Apr 16, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
There is an article on Myrtle Beach online that serves as a good reminder of just how much the victim goes through when an identity has been stolen. The thief opened credit card accounts in the victim’s name and paid the...
Medicare Scam
Apr 15, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
The elderly are targets of a scam in Iowa, according to KHQA 7 online, where the caller claims to represent Medicare and asks for personal information. Victims have been known to give social security and bank account numbers. Medicare doesn't...
Mystery Shopping Meets the Nigerian Scam
Apr 13, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
Just when I thought I had seen everything, it got worse! I've blogged on mystery shopping fraud and also nigerian money scams, but now to make matters worse, the two have combined to really take advantage of consumers! According to...
eBay Buyers Beware - Even The Experienced Ones
Apr 11, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
I’m a big fan of Clark Howard – a consumer advocate with a nationally syndicated radio show. He’s alerting eBay buyers to a new scam that is successfully duping even experienced buyers. In his March newsletter, he explains how it’s done. Scammers build up...
Beware of ATM Scams
Apr 10, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
Some identity thieves will stand extremely close to you while you’re using your ATM card and watch as you put in your pin. If you become distracted after your PIN is entered and your ATM card is still in the...
Vishing Is Now a Common Tool for ID Thieves
Apr 9, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
According to an earlier blog of mine, vishing is an effective way to steal a victim’s identity. Scammers can create any phone number to show up on caller ID, which creates a lot of new opportunities for identity theft. For...
Right Versus Might: Brennan Law Wins Fisher v. Wells Fargo
Apr 8, 2007 by Tom Fragala
Recently, there was a court case worth noting. A married couple won in a credit damage case versus Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. Following a seven-day jury trial, a civil jury in Rancho Cucamonga has just ordered Wells Fargo Home Mortgage...
Stiffer Penalties for Identity Theft on the Elderly
Apr 3, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
Great news! Acccording to All Headline News Media Corp, Tallahassee, FL (AHN) - If you steal someone's identity in Florida, you may be charged with a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison. But if you steal...
A Mistake From The White House May Lead to Identity Theft
Apr 2, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
You can only do so much to prevent identity theft. Take this article from US News and World Report, for example. A mundane trip manifest of reporters who traveled to Latin America with President Bush has turned colossally controversial because...
Tips to Protect the Deceased's Identity
Apr 1, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
To add to Tom's blog about scammers stealing the identities of the deceased, here are some more tips from an id theft article in the Times-Picayune. Send copies of the death certificate to all three credit-reporting agencies, as well as...
How To Smoke Out Scam Artists Targeting Aggrieved
Apr 1, 2007 by Tom Fragala
Michelle recently blogged about this topic. And the WSJ Sunday has a story on how scammers target families of the recently deceased with tips on how to avoid it. Families in mourning have yet another burden to contend with in the...
Identity Thieves Target The Dead
Mar 29, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
Identity thieves will swoop in on the dead because for them, the best identity theft victim is one that no longer needs his credit and won't ever realize it's been stolen! Here's how one thief in Louisiana managed to grab...
Disputing Your Credit Report...
Mar 28, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
As a financial counselor, I'm often asked the question, "When I find a mistake on my credit report, should I call the creditor directly or dispute it throught the credit bureau?". The answer is - it depends. If an account...
Be Careful When You Write A Check
Mar 27, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
I counseled a fraud victim recently that wrote a check to a stranger that came to the door selling Mary Kay. My client bought a small item from the woman and wrote a $5 check. It turned out that the...
Utility Worker Charged With ID Theft
Mar 25, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
Here's a chilling reminder that you can never be too careful - but sometimes you don't have a choice. This utility worker had access to all kinds of information for each customer and she chose to help herself to at...
Texas Bill Would Extend The Statute Of Limitations In ID Theft Cases
Mar 24, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
According to the article, Workers' Comp, Identity Theft Bills Pass Texas House, an identity theft bill in Texas will give law enforcement more time to investigate and prosecute identity theft. HB 887 would extend the statute of limitations from three...
Credit Card Industry Says Restaurants are Data Sieve
Mar 24, 2007 by Tom Fragala
Electronic payment processors, including Visa and Mastercard, say that restaurants are the biggest source of credit card data breaches and security leaks. In a way, no surprise since there are millions of restaurants, many of which are small operations, that...
Symantec Reports on Internet Threats--Your Identity at Risk
Mar 24, 2007 by Tom Fragala
Symantec released its Internet Security Threat Report and it includes information about how hackers are selling personal data including complete “identities” for under $20. Infoworld has the story. The data is sold on so-called "underground economy servers," used by criminal organizations...
CA State Website Publishing Social Security Numbers
Mar 23, 2007 by Tom Fragala
California, which prides itself on being the most privacy-friendly state, gave its residents an unpleasant surprise today. It was discovered that a California state web site had been exposing people’s Social Security numbers for years. The SSNs were including on...
Identity Theft by a Photocopier?
Mar 21, 2007 by Tom Fragala
Here one that you should at least be aware of. It’s possible that sensitive documents you copy on a photocopy machine, at a public place or work, could be an ID theft risk. Many of these devices now have small...
Credit Card Skimming at Gas Station
Mar 18, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
Here’s an interesting story that gives insight into identity theft by way of card skimming. According to the 680 news in Seattle, Three men from the G-T-A are facing 80 fraud charges related to a debit card skimming scam in...
Protecting Your Online Identity
Mar 18, 2007 by Tom Fragala
The WSJ has a story titled “Protect your own identity”. It is really about protecting your home network. The tips include: Pick a better password for your home router. Turn off the Service Set Identifier (SSID) so people can’t find...
Job Applicants Beware of Identity Theft Risk
Mar 17, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
In Colorado a couple of years ago, a man and woman posted a want ad in local newspapers for an assistant position. Applicants were interviewed and then asked to fill out an application, complete with social security number. It turns...
FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center 2006 Annual Report
Mar 16, 2007 by Tom Fragala
Press release from the FBI today. They released the 2006 annual report from their Internet Crime Complaint Center (www.IC3.gov). I haven’t read the report yet but a a couple of things I noticed in the news release. There were 207,000 complaints...
Compensation for ID Theft Victims in West Virginia
Mar 16, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
ID theft victims would get access to financial help from the state Crime Victims Compensation Fund under a bill that passed the Legislature. In a nutshell, The fund, which is filled with levied fines and federal grants, helps crime victims...
The First Identity Theft Conviction in the Swift Raid
Mar 15, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
A federal jury found a Swift plant employee guilty of identity theft for using a fraudulent social security number to get her job. The employee was the first to be tried for identity theft since the illegal immigrant raids on...
A Very Unlucky Lottery Winner!
Mar 14, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
Poor Guy. According to this reader's comment, a lottery winner's picture was recently posted in the Morning Sentinel newspaper in Maine along with his social security number and other personal information. How could that have happened? Two big thumbs down...
Who is Really Motivated to Pursue ID Thieves?
Mar 14, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
This article from the NY Times explains some of the reasons that ID Theft is as prevalent as it is. There are plenty of victims—credit card companies, banks, the consumer and the merchant—but there’s not much of an incentive to...
Daylight Saving Time Provokes Scams
Mar 11, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
Beware of email scams related to the daylight saving jump. Because daylight savings is taking place three weeks sooner than usual, it may cause some problems for computers and electronic devices. Daylight savings has received some media hype and that...
FBI Shuts Down Fraud Ring That Falsified 14,000 Identities
Mar 9, 2007 by Tom Fragala
An example of just how widespread SSN fraud is, how it is used and the connection to illegal immigrants. From an FBI press release March 6, 2007: United States Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced that JESUS JAIME MARTINEZ, age 22,...
Tax-Preparers Can Leave You Wide Open to ID Theft
Mar 9, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
When you hand over your paperwork to your tax-preparer, you may get more than you bargained for. Let's face it, you've just given all the information an identity thief needs to hijack your identity. How do you know that your documents...
WSJ: Skimming Fraud Gets More Sophisticated
Mar 8, 2007 by Tom Fragala
The Wall Street Journal has a story on skimming devices on point-of-sale systems like the fraud scheme which happened at the Stop & Shop stores recently. The article highlights the weaknesses at the POS at retail locations. Another reminder to...
FBI 2006 Financial Crimes Report: Data Source Disputed
Mar 8, 2007 by Tom Fragala
On March 7th, the FBI released their annual financial crimes report. This report blew me away for a number of reasons. It includes a number of fascinating data points with regards to FBI’s impact on identity theft. And, from what...
Reduce Your ID Theft Risk by Opting Out
Mar 8, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
If you haven't yet, opt-out of receiving credit card offers by calling 1-888-5-optout (1-888-567-8688). Every piece of mail with your name and address gives an ID thief a chance to target you and when that piece of mail has a...
Gartner Drops Bomb: Says ID Theft is Skyrocketing
Mar 7, 2007 by Tom Fragala
Gartner issued a press release today about their forthcoming report that is going to take the noise up a notch in our space. It will delight a lot of people that want raw, scary statistics and stun others who hoped that consumer...
Medical Identity Theft Can Be Harmful To Your Health
Mar 7, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
Identity thieves are usually after their victim’s good credit, but that's not all they want. Medical insurance coverage has become as good as gold to identity thieves because with it, they can get free medical care for themselves. All it...
Senator Wayne Allard's Fight Against SSN Theft
Mar 4, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
Senator Wayne Allard (R-Colorado) gets it! He knows that a number of illegal aliens can use the same social security number to get a job and then never pay the income taxes which leaves the victim and eventually the country...
Another Twist on ATM Tampering
Mar 2, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
Be leery if an ATM machine seems to swallow your card—you may be just about to become an identity theft victim. According to the Hillsboro Argus in Oregon, ATMs can be rigged by thieves to hold onto your ATM card...
Fraudwar Blog Does Review of MyTruston
Feb 28, 2007 by Tom Fragala
Ed Dickson of the FraudWar blog (#1 ID theft focused blog according to Technorati) wrote a positive reivew of the new MyTruston service recently. Here are a few of the things he said about us. Tom Fragala, CEO of MyTruston (Identity...
Vishing: A New Name for an Old Trick
Feb 27, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
Vishing refers to voice-phishing to get a victim’s vital information. It happens when an identity thief poses as a customer service rep from a bank or credit card company and calls to ask the victim to verify their information. The...
MyTruston Released to the Public
Feb 25, 2007 by Tom Fragala
Exciting news! We are finally launching the full public version of our MyTruston service! Here are the announcement details. 1. Availability February 26th 2. Prevention service free, Recovery service $19.99 / month, while you need it. 3. Find out more...
Scam Series : The Concierge Scam
Feb 22, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
There’s a new scam that targets hotel customers while they are staying at the hotel. If you get a phone call from the front desk of the hotel you’re staying at, beware if the caller asks for your credit card...
Mass. Considers Law Making Retailers Liable for Data Theft
Feb 21, 2007 by Tom Fragala
In response to the massive data breach at TJX, parent company of TJ Maxx, lawmakers in Massachusetts are mulling over a new law. It would force retailers to take responsibility for security breaches. WSJ has the story.> If it passes, and...
TJX Data Breach Worse Than Originally Feared
Feb 21, 2007 by Tom Fragala
CNet.com reports, The breach of credit and debit card data was initially thought to have lasted from May 2006 to January. However, TJX said Wednesday that it now believes those computer systems were first compromised in July 2005. TJX also...
Supermarket Checkout Keypads Compromised
Feb 20, 2007 by Tom Fragala
In a bold scam similar to what happens to ATM cash machines (see this video), data thieves setup skimming devices on the keypads in the checkout lanes at some Shop & Stop supermarket stores in New England. That really takes...
My Former Bank's Response To ID Theft Questions
Feb 17, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
One of my biggest concerns of identity theft is a drained bank or investment account. Years ago when I researched identity theft, I had a lot of questions for my bank. I asked what my liability would be if someone...
ID Analytics Release Research On ID Fraud by Geography
Feb 16, 2007 by Tom Fragala
On February 14, ID Analytics, Inc. released a new research study on identity theft and geography in the U.S. Here are some tidbits of interest from their press release. The ten states with the highest rates of identity fraud are:...
Scam Series: Identity Theft While Pumping Gas (Video)
Feb 16, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
I found an excellent Public Service Announcement video made by the Broward Sheriff’s Dept in Broward, Florida. With real footage it shows an identity thief searching for his next victim and then stealing the victim’s information while she’s distracted. It...
Banks Fight Back Against TJX in Data Breach
Feb 16, 2007 by Tom Fragala
The Canadian Privacy Law Blog (great blog, not just about Canada) pointed me to this eye opening story in a CIO Magazine blog. It is important because a bank seems to have tied the TJ Maxx security breach directly back...
Identity Theft Statistic Battle Raging
Feb 14, 2007 by Tom Fragala
There’s a battle going on about ID theft stats. USA Today has a story about this here http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2007-02-07-ftc-idtheft_x.htm. Javelin Research says ID theft is dropping. US PIRG , Consumer Affairs, consumer advocate Chris Hoofnagle and others are ripping Javelin apart saying...
Data on 200,000 Wellpoint Customers Stolen
Feb 14, 2007 by Tom Fragala
Courier-Journal reports: Computer tapes containing personal information on about 196,000 members of health insurer WellPoint — including many Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield customers in Kentucky and Indiana — have been stolen from the office of a WellPoint vendor....
Scam Series: Skimming and ATM Card Cleaning
Feb 13, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
When I think of skimming, I think of waiters and credit cards. As the story goes, once the waiter is out of your sight, he runs the credit card through a reader that read your credit card account number. The...
How myTruston Credit Inpecting Can Help Prevent ID Theft
Feb 13, 2007 by Tom Fragala
In the words of one of our myTruston members which signed up for our free prevention service: While I have never been a victim of Identity Theft, I was interested in learning more about the process of protecting myself. When...
Mystery Shopping Is A Great Front for Identity Thieves
Feb 8, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
The first sign of a scam is that you can make a lot of money for only a little work. Mystery shopping happens to be one of those nebulous terms that make people think they can get paid very well...
A Series on Scams
Feb 8, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
Scams come in all shapes and sizes and are a lot of times used to commit identity theft. I want to alert the public to some very creative scams in hopes that individuals will recognize a scam for what it...
VA loses another hard drive
Feb 6, 2007 by Tom Fragala
I have written a lot about the VA in the past (see here). Everyone knows they had a laptop (and, don't forget, external hard drive) stolen last year with data on 26.5 million vets and active military. Well, they are...
Beware of Class-Action Lawsuits Offering Rewards, Especially Baby Products
Jan 31, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
If you get information of a class-action lawsuit against a baby product manufacturer, beware!! It may be a scam designed to find out your child’s vital information including social security number and name – all the information an identity thief...
Debunking The Myth Behind Fraud Alerts
Jan 24, 2007 by Tom Fragala
Don't get fooled into thinking that fraud alerts provide you much protection from identity theft. THEY DO NOT. Here's a question I got from someone today and my response. This might be a dumb question, but why not just post...
Checking if your child is an ID theft victim can be stressful
Jan 22, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
Knowing what I do about ID theft and that children are easy and often valuable targets for ID thieves, I was compelled to check my youngster's credit file...just to make sure his identity hasn't been hijacked. I know that unless...
TJX and its Customers Suffer Enormous Data Breach
Jan 20, 2007 by Tom Fragala
This could be the big kahuna, the largest most serious data breach of all time. TJX is the parent company of Marshalls and T.J. Maxx. This security breach happened eight months ago. The full extent of it is unknown or...
Moneygram Data Breach Disaster
Jan 16, 2007 by Tom Fragala
What a security horrow show. Bank account numbers, SSN’s and driver’s licenses for 79,000 people were breached. It doesn’t get much worse than that. Reuters reports: MoneyGram International Inc. the second-largest U.S. money transfer company, on Friday said someone illegally...
Data breach at University of Idaho
Jan 14, 2007 by Tom Fragala
70,000 people are at risk after a data theft at the University of Idaho. The breach was announced nearly two months after it happened. Spokesman Review reports The names, addresses and Social Security numbers of about 70,000 students, faculty members...
Who's Watching the Watchers? Federal Official Steals Identities.
Jan 14, 2007 by Tom Fragala
WOODTV.com reports A former federal official (in Grand Rapids, MI) is charged with using her access to password-protected accounts to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars and various identities....
Two New Data Breach Bills in 2007
Jan 13, 2007 by Tom Fragala
Consumer Affairs has a good article about the first two updated data security bills bubbling up from the new Democrat-controlled Congress. They are the Social Security Number Misuse Prevention Act and the Notification of Risk to Personal Data Act. I have...
Using Identity Theft to Get G'd Up
Jan 12, 2007 by Tom Fragala
A gang of Dairy Queen identity thieves nabbed. Serves the thieves right—they used the stolen credit and debit card numbers to buy crap from thugfashion.com. This website says “Those who look for true bling bling, find it only here.” You can’t make this...
Is Mass. Finally Going to Get Serious About Identity Theft?
Jan 12, 2007 by Tom Fragala
According to Eric Bourassa of MassPIRG in this Somerville Journal story, Massachusettes is the only state in New England that has neither a credit freeze law or data breach law. 26 states have laws allowing individuals to freeze access to credit...
New article: 3 Tips to Stop Identity Thieves From Exploiting Your Mail
Jan 12, 2007 by Tom Fragala
I wrote a new article entitled 3 Tips to Stop Identity Thieves From Exploiting Your Mail. Your personal and business mail can be a gold mine to thieves looking to hijack their next victim's identity. This article has 3 tips...
Happy Birthday Elvis Presley (And a Surprise)
Jan 8, 2007 by Tom Fragala
ELVIS PRESLEY, Born 08 Jan 1935, Died Aug 1977, SSN 409-52-2002. That isn't a typo. That's Elvis' real social security number and a clue as to how serious our privacy and identity theft problems still are in 2007. And, no,...
Laptops Stolen from Towers Perrin Contain Retirement Data
Jan 8, 2007 by Tom Fragala
A message from Truston. Do you want relief from the concerns about identity theft because of the laptop theft? But are you also worried when services like credit monitoring or so-called "fraud alerts" require your confidential personal information? Well, try...
Wisconsin Prints Social Security Numbers on Tax Booklets
Jan 6, 2007 by Tom Fragala
The Wisconsin Department of Revenue really screwed up. They transferred taxpayer SSN’s to a printer (idiotic, illegal move #1) and the printer dutifully put the SSN’s on 170,000 tax booklets (idiotic, illegal move #2). And no one along the way stopped to...
Five questions to ask to protect your Social Security number
Jan 3, 2007 by Tom Fragala
Your Social Security number is important, confidential information. You should avoid giving it out unnecessarily. The trick is knowing, as best you can, when it is necessary. Keep your Social Security card and number in a safe place. Never carry your...
Federal Identity Theft Task Force Seeks Public Comment
Jan 2, 2007 by Tom Fragala
On May 10, 2006 President Bush signed an Executive Order creating the nation's first ever Identity Theft Task Force. The goals of the Task Force are to develop a strategic plan to better prevent identity theft, coordinate prosecution, and ensure...
Businessweek Story on Medical Identity Theft
Jan 2, 2007 by Tom Fragala
BusinessWeek has a story on medical identity theft that is worth a read. Here’s one key point that is raised. While the Fair Credit Reporting Act gives victims of financial identity theft the right to see and try to correct...
Security freeze laws in 8 more states
Jan 1, 2007 by Tom Fragala
Eight states see credit freeze laws go into effect starting January 1, 2007: Hawaii. Victims of ID theft only, with a police, investigative report or complaint filed with a law enforcement agency. No fees permitted. Illinois. After January 1, 2007,...
Man allegedly stole identities of 90 pro baseball players
Dec 21, 2006 by Tom Fragala
AP via ESPN.com has the story. The theft happened via dumpster diving, which is what many so-called expert cite as the most common and dangerous threat. Sure, it’s a well-known, maybe even common, but it’s totally overrated. There’s so many...
Identity Theft Benefit Programs - They're Not Always What You Think
Dec 19, 2006 by Michelle Pastor
I just looked over the paperwork for some identity theft benefit programs for a client and what I found was pretty unsettling. This particular client’s husband died 6 months ago and she was inundated by her bank and other companies...
Illegal Immigrants and Identity Theft
Dec 17, 2006 by Michelle Pastor
According to the Denver Post, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has made identity theft the primary focus for the first time in its December 12th raid on illegal immigrants working at Swift meat-packing plants. ICE officials detained an undetermined number...
100 Million Data Breach Victims Since 2005
Dec 16, 2006 by Tom Fragala
Infoworld has an article on this. Note that the victim numbers aren’t precise and the Privacy Rights Clearninghouse doesn’t claim that they are meant to be. They are really all about tracking the scope of reported victims. That disclosure pushed the total...
Boeing Laptop Stolen with 328,000 People's Data
Dec 16, 2006 by Tom Fragala
Boeing suffers yet another data breach via laptop theft. Files on the laptop contained employees' names, Social Security numbers, home addresses, phone numbers and birth dates, with some listing salary information. This time an employee left the laptop unattended (they...
UCLA data breach effects 800,000
Dec 12, 2006 by Tom Fragala
UCLA is notifying victims after suffering the largest known data breach ever at a university. This effects around 800,000 current students, former students, applicants, faculty and staff. The database was “fraudulently accessed” starting way back in October 2005! From the...
Victims to Receive Choicepoint Settlement
Dec 8, 2006 by Tom Fragala
Victims who believe they may have suffered losses as a result of identity theft caused by the data breach at ChoicePoint Inc. finally have a chance to recover some monetary pay back. Background from FTC.gov: In 2005, ChoicePoint, a company...
California Credit Freeze Law At Risk
Dec 6, 2006 by Tom Fragala
You didn't read this on the evening news but a bomb detonated recently and it has the potential to cause earthquakes nationwide. Parts of the California credit freeze law were struck down in appeals court. In other words, this means...
Another Database With Your Information - Keep An Eye On It!
Nov 15, 2006 by Michelle Pastor
ChexSystems is another database that we, as consumers, can access. This is the database that banks and credit unions use when they decide whether or not to let you open a savings or checking account. ChexSystems generates a Consumer Report...
Golden Ticket Period is Over
Nov 14, 2006 by Tom Fragala
FYI, the period for new golden tickets window is closed. Thanks to everyone to tried out the system. For those that sent feedback, your thank you gift will be sent in the next few weeks (they are on order, arriving...
Tip: A Personal Data Disclosure You Should Know About
Nov 12, 2006 by Tom Fragala
Most of us know about the free annual credit report we are entitled to by federal law. Did you know that the same law also entitles you to a free disclosure report from certain data brokers? A data broker, loosely...
Social Security Administration Cries Wolf Over Phishing Scam
Nov 10, 2006 by Tom Fragala
Today the Social Security Administration issued a press release warning about an email scam. While this is certainly serious, what struck me was their apparent cluelessness about phishing scams. The term phishing doesn't appear anywhere in the press release even...
High Foreclosure Rate in Colorado is Linked to ID Theft
Nov 8, 2006 by Michelle Pastor
Here in Colorado, we're not proud of it, but we have the worst foreclosure rate in the nation. It's been a real concern so officials investigated, and their findings surprised me! According to an October 29 article in the Denver...
Experian-Gallup survey - 1 in 4 consumers suffered data theft
Oct 31, 2006 by Tom Fragala
Experian just released a survey it did with Gallup. 26 percent reporteither personal data or financial data being stolen. These results are pretty remarkable. However, keep in mind this is a survey, and you surveys often tell a different story...
Tip: Does the SSA Investigate Identity Theft?
Oct 28, 2006 by Tom Fragala
Question: Does the Social Security Administration inves