Every year millions of tons of discarded government, business and personally owned computers end up in one of the sprawling, smoldering e-waste dumps in developing countries. Your wedding photos may be in Ghana, resting against multi-million dollar defense contracts. Your financial records may be in India, buried beneath Homeland Security white papers. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve seen stories of client information left completely unsecured, unprotected and easily accessible after the closing of a doctor’s office, a car dealership, a real estate agency and a fitness center.

In some cases the customer files were dumped into open trash bins, in others the files were simply left in abandoned offices or in boxes at the curb.

Now, with last week’s failure of Clear, the program that assured travelers’ hasty passage through airport security, the extensive information of 260,000 former customers is at risk. Read the rest of this entry »

The most important time to check out a company on the Better Business Bureau’s website might be when you’re shopping for an ID theft protection service. After all, whichever company you choose, you’re going to have to give them a whole lot of personal and financial information. Unfortunately, there are a whole lot of ID theft companies out there. But, you’ve come to the right place, because I’ve made your life a lot easier by doing a quick BBB check on the 12 most prominent ID theft service companies as identified by the Consumer Federation of America.

Here’s what I found: LifeLock is the only of the 12 companies to receive an A+ ranking by the Better Business Bureau. Read the rest of this entry »

Watch for the new yellow bracelets that say “LAID OFF NEED YOUR NAME, SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, DATE OF BIRTH.”

Stephanie R. Aucoin joined the ranks of millions of other unemployed Americans last September when she was fired from her job at an accounting firm last September. But, with the help of friends, by April, she was selling thousands of yellow bracelets imprinted with the words “LAID OFF NEED A JOB.”

After her arrest by Sarasota police, maybe she needs new bracelets that say “ARRESTED NEED BAIL MONEY.” Read the rest of this entry »

LifeLock was the first identity theft protection service to recognize the necessity of protecting children from ID theft, and to provide the services to do so. Now they’re stepping up once again to protect children through their partnership with a national mentoring advocacy program.

LifeLock is underwriting MENTOR’s congressionally established SafetyNET Program, which provides nationwide FBI background checks on volunteers who work with children—the segment of our population most vulnerable to crimes, including identity theft. Read the rest of this entry »

Imagine you receive a collections notice from a hospital 1,000 miles away … in a city you’ve never visited … for a surgery you’ve never had … for a health problem you don’t have … and the notice says you owe more money than your house is worth.

You have to take immediate action, but be warned: Whoever had the surgery might be recovering better than you will. Read the rest of this entry »

Eight people have pleaded guilty to using skimmers to steal more than $736,000 from customers at Washington, D.C.’s M&S Grill, Clyde’s Restaurant and 701 Restaurant, according to federal prosecutors. Read the rest of this entry »

If you needed further evidence that our institutions of higher learning are failing to secure personally identifying information, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) brought new supporting evidence this week. Read the rest of this entry »

You’ve probably seen these LifeLock ads: “Hi. I’m Todd Davis, and this is my real Social Security number.” If you’ve thought about enrolling in their identity theft protection program, but heard people complain about paying someone else to do what you can do for free, ask yourself these questions: Read the rest of this entry »

You’ve been waiting for it all year: surreptitiously checking airfare at work; grilling friends about the best hotels and restaurants; cruising cruise schedules.

Obviously you’ve given a lot of thought to your vacation, but did you ever think someone could steal your identity while you travel?

We got ya covered with a five-minute solution. Read the rest of this entry »