Recent headlines about data breaches and losses of personal information have prompted many companies to advertise products or services to help consumers prevent or minimize their risk of identity theft.

The Federal Trade Commission urges consumers to be sure they understand what they’re getting when they sign up for a product to protect their information. Consumers should also be aware of the rights and protections available to them under federal or state laws – these can help protect your identity, as well as help you recover from identity theft at no cost. Knowing your rights can help you determine what commercial product or service may be appropriate for you.

Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, you may be entitled to two kinds of free fraud alerts: initial and extended. An initial alert can be placed if you suspect you are about to become or have become a victim of identity theft. It’s good for 90 days. An extended alert stays on your credit report for seven years. To place it, you will need to have been victimized and provide a police report stating so.

You can also place a credit freeze on your credit report, which will mean potential creditors and others can’t access it unless you lift the freeze either permanently or temporarily. A freeze is different from a fraud alert in that it stops all access to your credit report, while an alert allows creditors to get your report after verifying your identity.

Identity theft protection companies offer a range of products and services. Some of them only offer to lock, flag or freeze your credit report, something you can do yourself.

Other services will monitor your credit report, and notify you of the activity. Again, this is something you can do yourself. Still other services offer to help you rebuild your identity in the event of an identity theft. These require a power of attorney, so that they can act on your behalf when dealing with credit bureaus or creditors.

Many companies offer additional services, including removing your name from mailing lists or pre-screened offers of credit, while others offer reimbursement if you experience a financial loss due to ID theft. There are also those that monitor your personal information online, and notify you if your identity has been exposed to possible theft.

Before you sign up for any of these services, compare what they offer, read the fine print, and determine what will work best for you.

But do something. Statistics show that millions of Americans became victims of identity theft last year, and the numbers are growing. Be a smart consumer and get proactive when it comes to your personal information.

Click Here To Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Father arrested for using dead son’s identity

It goes against the laws of nature for parents to have to bury their children. But, that’s what David Frank Pflegl had to do in 1987 as the survivor of an auto accident that killed his 19-year-old son, David Frank Pflegl II. It is probably one of the hardest most painful things for any parent to do. However, the senior Pflegl, 63, found a way to keep his son’s memory alive: he committed ID theft, forgery and communication fraud using his dead son’s identity, according to his December indictment.

Pflegl was arrested a week ago in Utah on the identity theft and related charges. Pflegl used his son’s identity to obtain a $140,000 mortgage in Lindon, Utah. He also had driver’s licenses in Oregon and Utah. Additionally, he held a passport in his deceased son’s name—a crime that resulted in a federal investigation by the State Department. Oregon investigators and the Utah Department of Public Safety participated in the identity theft investigation.

Pflegl owns a temporary power supply company and committed identity theft to obtain jobs and auto loans.

The identity theft is believed to have begun in 1995, when the father’s Oregon driver’s license was suspended because of all the traffic tickets he had accumulated. It was then that he first used his son’s information to obtain a new driver’s license.

Pflegle and his family moved to Utah in 2005, and Pflegle again committed identity theft, using the stolen information to get a Utah driver’s license. At the same time, he committed identity theft by using his son’s stolen identity to qualify for a $140,000 mortgage to buy a new home for his family because he had such bad credit.

There are active arrest warrants in the son’s name because his father continued to drive recklessly and be ticketed for it.

Officials say they believe there are more fraudulent loans still outstanding in the son’s name.

Click Here To Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Identity theft and tax season

It’s tax season. It’s an annual occurrence, happening at the same time of year, every year. And in observance, here’s our annual phishing, scamming and identity theft warning with tips for avoiding getting taken to the cleaners … by anyone but the IRS.

Your mailbox

• If you don’t already have one, buy a locking mailbox before your W2 is delivered. Just think how easy it is to commit identity theft with just that one piece of stolen mail.
• If you’re going to mail in your tax return, don’t leave it in your mailbox. Instead, mail it from the post office or US Postal Service mailbox.
• Employers are required to send W2s by January 31. If you haven’t received yours within a few days after that date, call your employer to confirm it was mailed. If so, immediately order a credit report to see if you’re already an identity theft victim. Contact the IRS to alert them that your W2 may have been stolen.

Your phone

• The IRS would never call you asking for personal information regarding your taxes – that would be too fast and easy. If someone calls under this pretense, it’s a sure bet they’re vishing and are bent on identity theft.

Your computer

• Most people files their taxes over the Internet, leaving millions of people vulnerable to phishing scams. Just like the IRS would never contact you by phone requesting your personal or financial information, it would never email you asking for it either.
• Scammers often include a “click here” link within their emails. Never click on it. If you do you’ll likely be led to a website that will deliver spyware to your computer to commit identity theft.
• Using file-sharing software leaves your computer and all the information on it wide open to identity theft. If you share your computer with other people, make sure they know not to install file-sharing software for music or movie downloads.

Click Here To Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Health Net data breach prompts attorney general’s “historic lawsuit”

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said last November that he was “outraged and appalled” upon learning of Health Net’s massive data breach and their keeping it hush-hush for six months. He acted on those feelings this week by filing suit against the insurer and its new owners, United Health Group and Oxford Health Plans.

The data breach occurred May 2009 when a hard drive containing the information of 1.5 million customers went missing. Records were for the period 2002 through 2009. Roughly 446,000 of the members are from Connecticut.

Blumenthal’s lawsuit asserts Health Net gave its employees inadequate supervision and training on appropriate maintenance, use and disclosure of protected health information.

The company explained the six-month lag time between their awareness of the breach and their notifying state officials by saying the time was necessary to complete a “detailed forensic review.” Kroll, a computer forensic consulting firm hired to complete the investigation determined the information wasn’t encrypted or protected in any way from access or viewing.

The unsecured data included a total of 27.7 million scanned pages of 20 types of documents such as insurance claims forms and medical records. Members’ Social Security numbers, names, birth dates, prescription information, credit card numbers and bank account numbers were exposed.

Blumenthal also alleges Health Net violated the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) by not encrypting medical information stored on a portable electronic device.

“Sadly, this lawsuit is historic—involving an unparalleled health care privacy breach and an unprecedented state enforcement of HIPAA,” Blumenthal said in a statement.

Regarding the lawsuit, a Health Net spokesman said only that they’ve received a copy of the lawsuit and are reviewing it, and that they “will continue to work cooperatively with the Connecticut Attorney General on this matter.”

The company issued a statement in November when they notified the public of the data breach. In it they said, “Protecting the privacy of our members is extremely important to us. We apologize for any inconvenience or concern this may cause our members.”

Click Here To Bookmark It

Hide Sites

It’s impossible to write about the Red Flag Rules without an apologetic “stop me if you’ve heard this one before” preface. So don’t shoot the messenger, but the deadline for the Feds’ identity-protecting Red Flag Rules has been delayed. The newest deadline—the fifth—replaces the January 1 deadline with one of June 1, 2010.

Congress created the program in 2003 in an attempt to stem the tide of identity theft by forcing creditors to use a common sense approach to identity theft prevention. It was originally slated to take effect in November 2008.

From its inception the rules have met with formidable pushback from the American Medical Association, the American Bar Association and the nation’s bankers, each group taking exception to the FTC’s interpretation of “creditor.”

According to the FTC, anyone who provides goods or services but allows for later payment is a creditor, but the FTC website explains the delays are because of an “ongoing debate about whether Congress wrote this provision too broadly.”

Ironically, the Red Flag Rules aren’t particularly onerous; they require only that businesses have written policies for recognizing signs of identity theft, training programs for their employees and response plans. In most cases, the entire process can be contained in a one-inch binder at the front desk or presented to employees within five minutes.

Perhaps the real contention is that powerful lobbies represent the doctors, attorneys and bankers that refuse to be regulated. Perhaps they don’t particularly care that the identity theft of millions of Americans could have been prevented since 2003 if only creditors were willing to take common sense steps to protect them.

Anybody want to place money on whether the Red Flag Rules take effect June 1?

Click Here To Bookmark It

Hide Sites

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?

• Shop with cash. ID theft elves can only do their mischief with the information you give them.
• If you pay with checks, don’t have your phone number, birth date, Social Security number or driver’s license number printed on them.
• If you shop with a bank card/debit card, use it as a credit card; credit card companies will cover the expense of goods purchased fraudulently by ID theft, or charge you a maximum of $50. You’re betting on the bank or credit union’s benevolence when you use the debit side of the account.
• Don’t leave your wallet on the counter while waiting for your card or driver’s license to be returned. And thief can pick it up while you’re distracted. Instead, return it to your purse or wallet, and then pull it out again.
• Never let your card or driver’s license out of your sight. Clerks you claim they have to go to another register to check out your purchases could be creating an opportunity to write down your personally identifying information to commit ID theft later.
• Always check the credit card reader before swiping your card. “Credit card skimmers” can be inserted into the legitimate model, where they can record—and in some cases, transmit—the account information contained on the magnetic strip. Never use a credit card reader if the card slot seems wiggly.

Click Here To Bookmark It

Hide Sites

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.

In an unrelated investigation, First Financial Services Inc., another collection agency, was found to have duped a bank into issuing a $40,000 check to the collection agency from the accounts of two consumers First Financial had repeatedly contacted in reference to purported debts.

The company is accused of ID theft, forgery and providing false information to the Minnesota Department of Commerce.

Finally, Andrew Morris and Morris Abstract and Title Inc. are accused of forging property owners’ signatures on bank documents, failing to record mortgages and failing to issue title insurance despite collecting insurance premiums and other fees at closings. When the department inspected Morris’ home, Morris allegedly said he had kept the fees and premiums from roughly 100 closings without issuing insurance policies.

Click Here To Bookmark It

Hide Sites

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.

He did the same with the charities’ and non-profit organizations’ accounts, including those of Goodwill Industries, Iris Ministries, the Kalgidhar Trust, the Sudanese American Community Development Organization, Ravi Zacharia International Ministries, AFK Foundation, the American Community School at Beirut, the Jacksonville Humane Society, American Friends of Birdlife International, the International Association of Women Judges, the Space Generation Advisory Council, and the American Association for Clinical Chemistry.

The defendant came under suspicion by the New York/New Jersey Electronic Crimes Task Force of the United State Secret Service when Internet activity was tracked back to his Brooklyn apartment building. Mail related to the ID theft and the fraudulent accounts was delivered to several mailboxes in the building.

The DA said credit reports for dozens of the ID theft victims and other personally identifying information were found in the defendant’s apartment, along with $30,000 cash.

Law enforcement also found a storage locker Adeyemi rented, which contained notebooks with hundreds of names, Social Security numbers, account number and credit cards in the bank employees’ names.

Click Here To Bookmark It

Hide Sites

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.

Every year pickpockets work their way through the crowds searching for unzipped purses or those slung over the backs of chairs in the food court. In the crush of shoppers, it’s easy for pickpockets to melt into the throng, and work their way through the mall harvesting one set of identification after another. Once they have it, they can max out existing credit card accounts and commit ID theft to open new ones within minutes.

These tips can protect you from ID theft during the holiday season:

• Don’t take your purse. Instead slip a mall wallet into your front pocket. You only need to carry your driver’s license and a bankcard or credit card.
• If you plan to use checks for your purchases, leave your checkbook at home and carry only one or two checks with you.
• If you’re determined to carry a purse, carry it diagonally across your body and hanging in front. Never drape it over the back of your chair. Instead, sit with it in your lap or hanging from your knee.
• Men should empty as much as possible from their wallets and carry them in a front pocket.

Nothing could ruin your holiday season faster than ID theft; imagine the shock of reaching the cash register only to reach into your purse and find your wallet missing.

Click Here To Bookmark It

Hide Sites

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.

• Send all or part of a holiday meal. There are dozens of stores that deliver wonderful hams, turkeys or smoked fish. (I love the oven-roasted turkey breast from HoneyBaked Ham™ and the smoked salmon from Williams-Sonoma™.) If your particular hard-to-buy-for gift recipients are elderly, they’ll appreciate not having to do so much holiday cooking, or being able to contribute something special to a holiday meal at someone else’s house. Even if they’re younger, your gift will take off some of the pressure.
• Buy them an ID theft service. It’s another one of those things that makes life a little easier for the hard-to-buy-for people. For instance, everyone knows they should check their credit reports for fraudulent activity and errors at least annually, but only 1 in 3 actually does it. LifeLock, for instance, contacts the credit bureaus for them and requests the reports are sent to their members.

In 2008, nearly 10 million Americans were ID theft victims and roughly 285 million records were exposed in data breaches, so it’s not like it’s a gift that nobody needs.

And, maybe best of all, you don’t have to fight shopping crowds to get it and you don’t have to wrap it or ship it.

Click Here To Bookmark It

Hide Sites