Archive for April, 2009

New Orleans school employees’ records left in ruins of Katrina-devestated warehouse

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

We’d all like to think we can trust our employers to protect our personal and financial information, but if New Orleans public school employees every believed it, they’ve had a rude awakening.

The massive warehouse used to store employee records was badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina, but apparently it contents have been ignored or forgotten since. Last week a local reporter found the gate to the warehouse yard standing open, the overhead door raised and any pretense of security absent. Within he found a mountain of personnel records. (more…)

LifeLock review: Second data breach puts 500,000 Oklahomans at risk

Monday, April 27th, 2009

Officials with the Oklahoma State Department of Human Services describe their second data breach of 2009 as an isolated incident. They say the thief was motivated by nothing more than the street value of the laptop computer. But, whether that’s true or not, the thief now holds the lives of 500,000 Oklahomans in his hands. (more…)

Child identity theft strikes 57 Wichita Falls teenagers

Monday, April 20th, 2009

It’s not easy for high school kids to earn $700 in a single weekend, so when 57 Hirschi High School students were invited to help out at a Wichita Falls, Texas convention for the National Association of the Deaf, they signed on immediately. (more…)

Medical ID Theft and Data Breaches

Thursday, April 16th, 2009

Within the past week, health care providers from Tennessee, Maryland and Georgia have reported data breaches affecting more than 100,000 patients.

Two of the data breaches were caused by stolen computers; the third was caused by the theft of computer back-up tapes. All of the compromised patient information included Social Security numbers, which are frequently referred to as the keys to the castle; none of stolen information was encrypted. (more…)

LifeLock review: Texas school distict data breach results in dozens of ID theft victims

Wednesday, April 15th, 2009

Dozens of Irving Independent School District (Texas) employees have become identity theft victims after a benefits report containing 3,400 employees’ names and Social Security numbers was casually discarded as trash. (more…)

Celebrity Apprentice Sweepstakes winner part of biggest ID theft in history

Friday, April 10th, 2009

Even if you never entered, you might be the winner of LifeLock’s Celebrity Apprentice Sweepstakes that millions of people have entered. Unfortunately, the fierce competition has resulted in what The Global Tribune says might be the biggest, most widespread identity theft incident in history. Read the full story here to see if you’re the winner and victim. http://budurl.com/lajn (more…)

LifeLock review: Two accused of stealing identities to collect life insurance

Thursday, April 9th, 2009

Two women in Los Angeles have been arrested and charged with engaging in “Arsenic and Old Lace”-like crimes. Well maybe that’s a stretch, considering these women might not have killed actual people, and the dotty old aunts in the movie weren’t collecting on fraudulent insurance policies. (more…)

LifeLock review: Unisys survey reveals highest-ever identity theft fears

Tuesday, April 7th, 2009

The global financial crisis has given people plenty to worry about: diminished retirement accounts, decreased job security, upside down mortgages and failing businesses to name a few of the common concerns. But even greater than all these is the worry about identity theft and credit card fraud, according to a recent Unisys Security Index report. (more…)

LifeLock review: No rules for discarded medical records

Friday, April 3rd, 2009

Imagine your doctor becomes ill and is no longer able to practice medicine. Imagine he succumbs to dementia or has a stroke. Do you know what happens to your medical records?

If you live in Massachusetts, no one knows the answer because there are no laws governing the disposition of medical records when a medical practice goes under—for whatever reason. (more…)