Archive for September, 2009

Illegal immigrant confesses to ID theft to take advantage of deportation

Monday, September 28th, 2009

Most criminals try to escape justice, but a Framingham, MA resident turned himself in at a local police station last week for an ID theft crime only he knew had been committed. His motive? He’s an illegal immigrant who wants to return to his native Guatemala but can’t afford the airfare. His confession provided him with automatic deportation and a free ride home.

Carlos F. Boc, 29, said he’s been living in the United States illegally since he sneaked in through Mexico 13 years ago. He used to have a roommate from Puerto Rico, but when the man went back two years ago, Boc stole the man’s identity. (more…)

Cloud Computing Security Concerns

Friday, September 25th, 2009

Could cloud computing lead to more data breaches and Identity theft? The growing trend of document being stored and created on provider’s servers to be accessed from anywhere has become a topic of security discussions for some time now. Could this trend drive up the amount of data breaches we see in the media.

For those of you who don’t know, cloud computing refers to the use of web applications and storage. Creating documents on the web is something that has become popular for some time now. With providers like Google Docs and now the New Windows Live Documents providing enticing way to create and share documents with other people with a simple web browser. It’s great for productivity but is it good for security. (more…)

Express Scripts hackers update: 1,700 added to victims list

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

Apparently, hackers stole even more of Express Scripts’ member information than was initially revealed last fall. An additional 1,771 New Hampshire residents are being sent data breach notification letters this week, according to a September 14 letter from Express Scripts.

Express Scripts, one of the world’s largest pharmacy benefits management companies, revealed in November 2008 that hackers demanded ransom in exchange for stolen customer information. Unless the ransom was paid, the hackers threatened to reveal the members’ information.

To strengthen their threat, the hackers sent personal information–including names, birth dates, Social Security numbers and some prescription details–of 75 of the firm’s 50 million customers.

Express Scripts publicly refused to pay the ransom, even after some of their customers received similar letters, extortion attempts and sample employee information. Toyota, government agencies and labor unions were among those contacted by the hackers. (more…)

Man arrested for using DUI records for identity theft

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

Don OShell, York County Clerk of Courts

Don O'Shell, York County Clerk of Courts

A Pennsylvania man has provided an apt example of the identity theft risk inherent in allowing public access to court records.

Donald Stoner, 37, was arrested by federal officers for using court records to commit identity theft. Stoner gathered personally identifying information—names, Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers–from more than 100 DUI defendants and used it to set up fraudulent bank accounts and steal more than $27,000 in payday loans.

Stoner specifically targeted those who paid their court-ordered fines all at once instead of in installments, and who hired private attorneys instead of using the services of public defenders. By doing so, he narrowed the pool to victims he thought were more likely to have good credit. (more…)

BBB warns of phone calls from payday loan scammers

Tuesday, September 8th, 2009

wrongnumberThe Better Business Bureau is alerting consumers about a new scam involving payday loans and phone calls from phony bill collectors.

Scammers presenting themselves as attorneys for the “Financial Accountability Association” or the “Federal Legislation of Unsecured Loans” accuse the call recipients of defaulting on payday loans and threaten them with lawsuits, arrest and extradition to California unless they make an immediate payment via wire or by providing credit card or bank account numbers. (more…)