December 7th, 2009
Contrary to popular belief, not all of Santa’s elves are jovial, industrious toymakers; there are also evil elves that take temporary holiday retail jobs to commit ID theft and credit fraud. And, they’ll steal your identity in less time than it takes Santa to slip down the chimney.
Big retail stores hire as many as 50 new employees during the holiday season, and many of them don’t get vetted as thoroughly as year-round workers. Adding to the ID theft risk is the fact that these additional employees aren’t management—they double the number of employees management typically oversees.
So, how can shoppers protect themselves from the evil ID theft elves? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Bad Santa, holiday shopping, ID theft, ID theft prevention, ID theft risk, ID thieves, Identity Theft
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November 29th, 2009
The Minnesota Department of Commerce said you can add ID theft, forgery and theft to the long list or reasons for hating bill collectors. And, if you wondered where all that money went when you closed on your house, it might be that your title company kept the premium.
The Department of Commerce investigated bill collector Lee Hanna and HS and Associates LLC, a collection agency, and alleges that Hanna committed ID theft by using customer information to open a credit card account, forged checks with the same customer’s name and transferred client money from the company’s trust accounts and operating accounts for personal expenses, including bar tabs and rent.
The credit card account opened by ID theft was charged $14,389.91; the two forged checks totaled $6,500 and the client money inappropriately used for personal expenses was in the amount of $19,000, according to the department. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Andrew Morris, bill collector, collection agency, First Financial Services Inc., forgery, HS and Associates, ID theft, Identity Theft, Lee Hanna, Minnesota Department of Commerce, Morris Abstract and Title Inc.
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November 23rd, 2009
Adeniyi Adeyemi, a computer technician at the Bank of New York Mellon, was indicted on 149 counts of grand larceny, ID theft, money laundering, scheme to defraud, computer tampering and unlawful possession of personal identification information.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office accused 27-year-old Adeyemi of committing ID theft against more than 150 of his coworkers at the bank and using their identities to steal more than $1.1 million from charities and non-profit organizations over a period of more than seven years.
The ID theft took place from November 2001 to April 2009. Adeyemi allegedly opened more than 30 accounts with banks and brokerage firms in the names of his co-workers, and deposited stolen funds, according to the DA’s office. He also hijacked their online banking profiles and wired money stolen from their bank accounts into other fraudulently opened bank accounts. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Adeniyi Adeyemi, Bank of New York Mellon, ID theft, Identity Theft
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November 23rd, 2009
I’ve decided to do most of my Christmas shopping from home this year, using only well-known sites to make sure I don’t become an ID theft or credit card fraud victim. The only thing that will get me to the mall or the big box stores is the Black Friday bargains. Other than that, I’m doing the rest of my shopping over the Internet from the comfort of my home office. Unfortunately, while this strategy will get me the best bargains, it also presents ID theft risks.
To get the best deals, shoppers have to get in line for a coupon at 3 A.M., and then wait till 5 A.M. to rush the doors with hundreds of other shoppers. Once they have their loot in their carts, they’ll wait in line again to check out. It’s the perfect opportunity for pickpockets who take advantage of the mayhem to steal wallets for credit card fraud and ID theft. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: ID theft, identity theft prevention, identity theft protection, pickpocketing, pickpockets
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November 17th, 2009
Shopping for the kids on your list is definitely more fun, but you can’t put it off any longer: it’s time to figure out what to buy for all those hard-to-buy-for people on your holiday shopping list. Well, lucky you, I have some tips on what to buy—and perhaps more importantly—what not to buy.
I know that it’s tempting to give up and resort to gag gifts after several years of buying bad gifts despite your good intentions. Resist. Let’s start there with the list of what not to buy for hard-to-buy-for people:
Do not buy
- Wind-up boxing nuns,
- Racing grandma and grandpa,
- Reindeer that poop candy, or
- Singing bass plaque.
- Do not buy gift certificates for elderly relatives; they don’t need anything from the mall, don’t want to go shopping, don’t have anyplace to put it and really shouldn’t be driving anyhow.
The list of what to buy for hard-to-buy-for people is shorter.
Tags: bad gift ideas, boxing nuns, Christmas gifts, Christmas gifts for hard to buy for people, gag gifts, gift ideas for hard to buy for people, Hard to buy for, holiday shopping, HoneyBaked Ham, ID theft, Identity Theft, LifeLock, pooping reindeer, singing bass plaque, Williams-Sonoma
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November 10th, 2009
Unemployment topped 10% in October, and the holiday season is upon us. Combine the two and you have a lot of people trying to looking for jobs. Sad to say, there’s also a whole lot of ID theft going on.
Most ID theft scams targeting job seekers fall are either phishing attacks or bogus job listings on legitimate job search websites.
The phishing attempts are emails describing job opportunities with more details or an application available if the recipient will only click on the included link. NEVER CLICK ON THE LINK! Clicking on the link enables the senders to install malware that can steal financial or personal information. In some cases, the linked site looks so legitimate; job seekers will complete an application, thereby voluntarily providing the scammers with all the information they need to commit ID theft. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: ID theft, ID theft scam, Identity Theft, job seekers, scam, scammers
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November 2nd, 2009
It’s time to start your online holiday shopping, and what could be more convenient than sitting in your favorite Wi-Fi coffee shop while you work your way through your gift list? But if you aren’t careful you could end up an online identity theft victim instead of everyone’s favorite Santa.
Fortunately, you can protect yourself from online identity theft with these five simple steps: Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: holiday shopping, ID theft, ID theft protection, ID theft risks, Identity Theft, Internet ID theft, online shopping, Wi-Fi, WiFi hotspots
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October 26th, 2009
Parenthood is rife with worries about school grades, summer camps, chicken pox, college savings and flu vaccines. But even the best parents overlook the threat of child ID theft—and it’s the threat that could have a biggest impact on a child’s future.
At least one child of every 20 has a file with one of the major credit reporting agencies, meaning someone has used that child’s personal information to apply for credit, according to Javelin Strategy and Research. Credit records are established using the first birth date submitted with a credit application, so ID thieves don’t have to worry about being questioned about their ages.
There are a number of reasons it’s easy and profitable to engage in child ID theft: Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: child ID theft, ID theft, Identity Theft
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October 20th, 2009
So far, so good. I’m six months into my new LifeLock membership, and so far everything has gone just like they said it would.
I received my notice that I would no longer receive pre-approved credit offers within a few days. Hallelujah! ID thieves steal mail as one of the most common methods of ID theft, and every time I pulled a credit offer with a check out of my mailbox, I worried about whether there had been others I’d missed.
Because of the work I do, I know that a common ID theft technique is to change the victim’s address to divert mail and obtain personal and financial information. LifeLock’s TrueAddress™ monitors address changes and confirms that if my address is changed, it’s because I changed it.
I received my credit reports within just a couple weeks. We’re all supposed to review our credit reports annually, and with LifeLock, it gets done. Only 36% of Americans actually follow that advice, and it’s a relief to be among the 64% who do. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Boy Scouts, ID theft, ID theft protection, Identity Theft, Life Lock, LifeLock, LifeLock Reviews, Norman Rockwell
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October 12th, 2009
One of the reasons the risk of ID theft is so high has to do with your employer. You don’t have any idea what happens to your personal information after you provide it to an employer. Unless, that is, you work for the staffing agency CLP. If so, there’s a good chance your personal information was in one of the boxes found in a Dumpster out back of a Florida restaurant last week.
A worker at Newport Café discovered everything necessary to commit identity theft in the boxes full of job applications, copies of Social Security cards, driver’s licenses and tax records. The job applications bore the CLP logo.
The restaurant employee contacted the local police, who, in turn, contacted staffing firm’s regional director in Fort Lauderdale. The CLP regional director, Seth Sandler, made a quick trip up to Palm Beach County and “took care of the situation,” said Corp. Michelle Vazquez of the Palm Springs police.
Until last week, CLP had an office next door to the restaurant, but Newport Café employees said they saw people moving out the office furnishings the day before the documents were discovered. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: CLP Skilled Trades Solutions, CPL, Data breach, ID theft, Identity Theft, Newport Cafe, Palm Beach County, Palm Springs
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