Archive for February, 2011

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Protect your business from data breaches

Monday, February 28th, 2011

If you own your own business, you know how tough it can be to keep your day-to-day operation costs down. It seems there’s always something popping up. Those unexpected costs can really eat up your bottom line.

But what if your company experiences a data breach? Now you’ve got legal issues, and the added cost of making sure your customers are protected. How are you going to deal with this added expense?

The answer is to take steps to be sure it never happens in the first place. Whether you are responding to a data breach, or looking to expand your employee benefits offerings or looking for a new revenue stream for your business, it makes sense to sign up for LifeLock® Breach Services. LifeLock® identity theft protection is a great investment for businesses of all sizes, and can help protect your customers and employees.

Not only can you lose money from a data breach, but your business can lose its good reputation in the community. LifeLock® Breach Services can quickly restore public confidence and help you avoid unnecessary costs. When you sign up, you’ll get fast response from LifeLock®, and a dedicated representative to work with you.

You’ll also get communications management, including notifications that are required by state and federal law and relevant banks or credit card issuers. Your affected customers can get a LifeLock® membership to help protect them.

Even after the incident, LifeLock® will provide you with reports and ongoing information about enrollments and fraud incidents, as well as ongoing support to help prevent any future incidents.

Things you can do yourself to help protect yourself include:

• Take inventory and know who has access to personnel and customer information in your system.
• Implement physical and electronic security methods, as well as employee training, to keep data safe.
• Remove peer-to-peer software and deny access to file sharing sites from company computers.
• Use shredders and wipe decommissioned electronic devices.
• Establish an identity theft protection team to help bolster your efforts.

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Posted in Data breach | 1 Comment »

Don’t ‘open your wallet’ to hackers and thieves

Friday, February 25th, 2011

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Posted in Social Media and Identity Theft | No Comments »

Learn what to do to prevent identity theft from happening to you

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011

Identity theft is hard to deal with. It’s like a “kick in the gut” when you find out you’ve become a victim. But there are things you can do to prevent that from happening.

Watch this video to learn some practical steps you can take. http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/video/avoid-identity-theft-video.html

Then call LifeLock. One of the best things you can do is to get proactive. Don’t wait for identity theft to happen to you – go on the defensive and take charge of your personal information. The best offense is a great defense. Calling LifeLock is the first step.

Receive 30 days free and get a 10 percent discount on enrollment with the LifeLock Promo Code “Defense.”

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Gamers beware: Playing can put you in danger of ID theft

Monday, February 21st, 2011

The president of the PC Gaming Alliance was quoted recently saying that game design is reducing piracy, but the instances of online identity theft are increasing.

PCGA President Matt Ployhar said the levels of pirated PC games are on the decline, thanks to new developments in design, but that same design is responsible for new forms of online crime. Ployhar said that MMOs and free-to-play games are much harder to pirate than single-player titles, and many games also offer bonuses that only legitimate owners can get. This is also helping to decrease PC piracy.

“Now what you’re seeing to combat or reduce the chances of piracy are developers implementing achievements, in-game pets, all these things that are tracked and stored in the cloud. So even if you pirate the game, you’re still not getting the bragging rights,” he said.

Ployhar said he believes piracy will never really go away, but publishers can use more than strict DRM schemes to reduce instances. But now that games are making it big in digital space with Steam and download-only titles, the anti-piracy movement has a new disadvantage.

Because the value propositions are altering and changing, Ployhar said, there is an increase in identity theft space. Developers can design out reasons to pirate a game, but consumers are at a greater risk of having their Steam of MMO accounts hacked now that more of them are available.

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Technology brings ID theft to whole new level

Friday, February 18th, 2011

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Legislator fights identity fraud on Facebook

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

Lawmakers in Connecticut are going toe-to-toe with Facebook on how it detects and disables fraudulent accounts as part of a probe into claims that one of the state’s legislators was the victim of identity theft on the social media site.

Rep. Kim Rose said someone created a Facebook page using her name and photograph without her permission, and then requested money from her “friends.” Rose said she tried dozens of times to report the fraud to the company.

Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen said he wrote a letter to the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company, asking how many complaints it has received in the past 18 months about fraudulent or “hacked” accounts, how it respond and what safeguards are in place to detect or disable fake or hacked Facebook accounts. The letter requested that a Facebook representative respond by Feb. 22.

Rose said someone created a page using her name and began “friending” her Facebook friends. The person who created the page told her friends that she included them in a poverty grant and if they sent in $650, it would cover the taxes. One of Rose’s friends fell for the scam.

The legislator said the only way she found to contact Facebook about the fraudulent page and report it was to go to the page itself and post a comment. She is investigating how to make Facebook accountable after the failure to respond to her complaints.

Simon Axten, a Facebook spokesman, said the company takes security seriously and works to protect people from scams. This includes developing technical systems to flag and block suspicious behavior, including the creation of phony accounts. Axten also said the company works to educate people on how to protect themselves, using the Facebook security page.

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Posted in Social Media and Identity Theft | No Comments »

It’s not all hearts and flowers…for thieves

Monday, February 14th, 2011

It may be a day for hearts, flowers and candy, but for many identity thieves, it’s also a day to prey upon unsuspecting victims.

If you’re one of millions in America currently using online dating sites to find your perfect match, beware of scammers looking for the perfect victim. Scammers create fake profiles, scour singles ads and persuade people to meet them or send money.

Be cautious if your match asks you to send money, pay for travel expenses, or urges you to meet sooner than you’re comfortable with. Be cautious about the sites themselves as well, and read the fine print in any terms and conditions agreement. Some of the sites many continue automatic renewal charges after you’ve canceled.

Scammers also send phishing e-cards, directing you to fake greeting card Web sites. You’re prompted to download flash players to view cards and, once clicked, viruses are downloaded, exposing you and your contacts to identity theft. Other scams may instruct you to provide credit card or other personal information to read e-cards.

You should only open e-mails, attachments and links from familiar people. Be sure your computer is updated with the latest anti-virus and firewall software.

If you are ordering flowers for your sweetie, be cautious about the florist you select. Shady florists deliver the wrong flowers or nothing at all. In some cases, scammers who pose as florists may send e-mails informing you the flowers you ordered won’t be delivered unless you log in and re-enter your credit card information. If you do so, you could be giving your information directly to a thief. If you receive such an e-mail, contact the florist directly to verify your order.

Today is a day of romance and love. Don’t get your heart broken by scammers. Be overly-cautious if necessary…but be cautious.

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Posted in Identity Theft | No Comments »

Hackers now selling kit to create FB malware

Wednesday, February 9th, 2011

Malicious hackers have expanded their “enterprise” and are now offering a $25 toolkit to anyone interested in creating and distributing dangerous Facebook applications.

The toolkit offers a template for spreading malware, directing users to click-fraud accounts and for pushing Facebook users to bogus surveys to hijack personal information.

The fact that criminals are now selling this toolkit is just more confirmation that social networks are “the” place for cyber-criminals seeking to hijack personal data for use in identity theft attacks.

The ease of use of the toolkit is the most frightening aspect. The buyer doesn’t have to have development experience with Facebook, he just needs to follow the kit’s instructions and he’ll wind up with a working viral Facebook application.

The toolkit, called Tinie App, has been linked to the “Profile Creeper” and “Creeper Tracker” applications that appear on Facebook.

“This phenomenon of template Facebook applications like Tinie App shows how the spamming culture is consolidating more and more around Facebook, adapting to the platform and increasing what we call Web spam,” one expert said.

How can consumers protect themselves? First of all, if you are a Facebook user, don’t use the “creeper” applications. In fact, you’d be much better off not using any of the applications on Facebook. In doing so, you give the application – and whoever is behind it – full access to all of your personal information.

Second of all, check your credit report to be sure there are no questionable or fraudulent entries. You should also keep a close eye on your bank and credit card statements.

And last, consider signing up for a proactive identity theft protection service. The only proactive service in the industry currently is LifeLock. LifeLock will not only monitor your credit, but it will also conduct surveillance on the Internet, checking for any threats to your personal information. If any threats are found, you’ll be notified immediately, before the damage can be done.

Call LifeLock today. Receive 30 days free and get a 10 percent discount on enrollment with the LifeLock Promo Code “Defense.”

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Valentine’s Day can be fraught with danger of identity theft

Monday, February 7th, 2011

Valentine’s Day is just a week away and scammers are already scrambling to take advantage of people looking for love. The Better Business Bureau is warning people to beware of scams on free online dating sites.

According to Match.com, one in five single adults have dated someone from an online dating Web site. Forrester Research estimates that with those numbers growing daily, about 10 percent of users on free online dating sites could be fraudsters. The three most popular scams are as follows:

• Scammers pose as attractive singles, build relationships, and then share sob stories about some emergency and ask for money to be wired.

• Prowlers scan these sites looking for personal information in order to commit identity theft.

• Unscrupulous companies and matchmakers that cheat singles out of thousands of dollars and never deliver on their services.

These scam dating sites look legitimate, but you should always check the URL – if you don’t see “https,” it’s not a secured site.

Be choosy, do your research, and make sure it’s a legitimate site. Free Web sites can be dicey. Don’t release your personal information and be careful not to release too much. Never wire money to a potential love interest. If the person on the other end asks for money, it’s a huge red flag.

Law enforcement officials say these scammers are tough to catch. All too often, they operate the sites from overseas, or the sites are set up so that they can be quickly shut down and moved.

If you do meet someone on one of these sites, be cautious. Only meet them face to face in a public place, with friends or on a double date.

And if you do sign a contract with an online dating Web site, check the fine print to be sure you know what’s in your membership, as well as when and what type of fees may be tacked on.

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ID theft ring that operated nationwide busted

Friday, February 4th, 2011

The district attorney in Manhattan indicted 27 people for running a crime ring out of Brooklyn, N.Y. which bought Apple products with stolen credit card information and then resold them at a profit.

The credit card forgery and identity theft ring, known as “S3,” purchased and resold Apple products all over the country, beginning in June 2008. The group purchased the credit information from online data traffickers, including names and credit card account numbers. With a shared e-mail account, they used the information to create counterfeit credit cards, which were used to buy merchandise at Apple retail stores.

Items purchased included iPods, MacBooks, iPads and gift cards. The items were purchased in Apple store locations in New York, Florida, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Connecticut, Alabama, Oregon, Indiana, Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

The products were sold for cash at below-retail prices to people in Brooklyn known as “fences,” who then resold the goods for a profit.

The group’s leader was Shaheed Bilal, who was serving time in Rikers Island on unrelated charges. Despite being incarcerated, he continued to lead S3 with the assistance of his girlfriend, Ophelia Alleyne. He was released from prison in December 2010, and continued to purchase, receive and share stolen credit card information.

Bilal’s brothers, Ali and Rahim, are accused of recruiting shoppers to buy the products at the stores.

Charges against all those involved include grand larceny, conspiracy and criminal possession of a forged instrument. Investigators seized $300,000 in cash and bank holdings from the ring at the time of arrest.

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Posted in Credit card fraud | No Comments »

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