« Previous Post | Blog Home | Next Post »
Blogging from the ID Theft Summit
Posted on Feb 23, 2006 by Tom Fragala
I am writing this from the ID Theft Summit in Los Angeles. It’s around 945am and Governor Schwarzenegger just finished speaking. He managed to get everyone laughing when he joked that so far he hasn’t been hit by ID theft because criminals can’t spell his last name. Right now the Chairman of the FTC is speaking. She mentioned Choicepoint several times—they are the whipping boys so far today. She is focusing on businesses that don’t implement basic privacy and security measures “poor security today is just bad business.”
So far today, I’ve been hanging with Linda and Jay Foley of the ID Theft Resource Canter (where I am a volunteer). Linda is in a wheelchair and it’s actually been fun wheeling her around. We can’t go more than 20 feet before someone they know stops and says hello.
Prior to the keynote, the Linda, Jay and I were pleased and honoured to meet with Deborah Platt Majoras, Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. We were ushered into a private, closed room where the Chairman and several of her team members were. Linda, to her credit, made some great points and managed to keep the Chairman talking for quite some time. Clearly the Chairman makes this a top priority.
Chairman Majoras just cracked up the entire room when she made a joke about her credit card getting stolen when DSW shoe warehouse had a data breach…something to do with her shopping at a discount show store getting out in the public news…FTC is releasing a new kit with education on identity theft soon.
More to come later…
Update: LA County DA Steve Cooley is talking now. He’s mentioning Choicepoint also (ouch)…LAPD according to Cooley, doesn’t even report ID theft crimes out separately so they can’t accurately track these crimes! …He credits cross juristictional cooperation, especially with the Federal authorities to closing the Choicepoint case successfully.DA Cooley has made the point that ID theft and criminals today are very similar to the bank robbers of the 1930’s.
Filed under: Identity Theft, Truston
Comments
Post a Comment