Interesting Articles From This Past Week

Since my last post, I was out of town again with the Crime Victims Coalition. Below are some of the more interesting articles in the world of Id Theft while I was gone. Just click on the title of the article to read the whole story.

Feds nab more members of alleged identity theft gang
Four more U.S. residents accused of using stolen data to take millions from bank accounts

By Jaikumar Vijayan

December 2, 2008 (Computerworld) Federal authorities say they have taken another step toward busting a multinational identity theft ring that is alleged to have used stolen personal data to withdraw millions of dollars from home equity line-of-credit accounts at dozens of financial institutions in the U.S., including some of the country's largest banks.

Four individuals were arrested last week in connection with the alleged scheme, which has resulted in more than $2.5 million being stolen from the affected financial institutions, according to law enforcement officials. Another $4 million worth of attempted withdrawals by the gang were unsuccessful, the U.S. attorney's office in New Jersey said in announcing the arrests last Wednesday (download PDF).

...The identity theft gang operates in the U.S. as well as the U.K., Canada, China, Japan, Vietnam, South Korea and several other countries, the court documents said...

... The documents said that accounts were compromised at Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, Wachovia, Bank of America and "dozens" of other banks and credit unions, including the Navy Federal Credit Union, U.S. Senate Federal Credit Union and State Department Federal Credit Union...

Theft of children's identities often goes unnoticed for years

Social Security numbers can make kids easy targets

By Diane C. Lade |South Florida Sun-Sentinel

December 1, 2008

Randy Waldron Jr. deposited his first paycheck when he was an infant. By the time he was in elementary school, he had bought and sold property, cars and restaurants and racked up tax liens because of financial problems.

He had a felony record at age 7.

At least so said credit reports, property records and court documents. But the true culprit, Waldron said, was his estranged father, Randolph Waldron Sr., of Loxahatchee, who covertly used the boy's Social Security number for 22 years, beginning shortly after his birth.

....The Federal Trade Commission estimates about 500,000 identity theft incidents annually involve children under age 19, with the majority of the thefts occurring between birth and age 5. That's about 5 percent of all suspected ID theft cases. Federal officials said they have seen the numbers rise slightly during the past several years.


'Jackal' jailed for identity theft of dead boy

Published Date: 28 November 2008

AN Edinburgh man who obtained a false passport using the identity of a dead child has been jailed.

Gerald Duffy, 39, used the method outlined in Frederick Forsyth's bestseller The Day of the Jackal to get the document. He applied for the passport using the birth certificate of Andrew Lappin, who died in a road accident in 1972, aged three, and then used it to open a bank account.

Jailing Duffy – who lived in Newbattle Terrace in Morningside – for four years and nine months, judge Lord Turnbull told him: "You opened a bank account in a false name and then used it to pay for flights abroad and overseas hotels where you would have used the false passport. I consider there was a sinister and sophisticated aspect to all of this. The insult to the family of Andrew Lappin and the upset it caused them is obvious."

Man steals toddler's identity

Nov 27, 2008

A man in North Carolina stole the identity of a three-year-old girl to sign up for phone and gas accounts.

When the little girl's grandmother started getting bills in the child's name and a collection agency arrived at their home, she called police.

The services were traced to Michael Maris, who was charged with identity theft.

To learn more about Identity Theft and what to do if you are a victim, visit www.StopIdTheftCrime.com and subscribe to the newsletter to obtain your free 46 page eBook "Fighting Back Against Identity Theft".

Remember, estimates are that every 2-4 seconds an Identity is compromised. Why take chances? Why not protect yourself and your loved ones with the best suite of services provided (including restoration) by the best NYSE company in the field? Educate yourself and visit the shameless plug below or call me at (909) 208-3728!

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Today, I offer you a few good articles.

Stolen Hard Drives Spark Identity Theft Concerns
David Goodhue - AHN ReporterTucson, AZ (AHN) -

Hard drives containing sensitive information regarding 40,000 children in Arizona were stolen from a Phoenix storage unit in mid-October, state officials said this week.

The hard drives were stolen from a storage unit used by the Arizona Department of Economic Security and contain information about children whose families were interested in DES programs. (Full text at allheadlinenews.com)

Nation's first encryption law
Greg Masters

For the first time in the United States, a law specifies that encryption be used for the transmission of any electronic data. Nevada's NRS 597.970, which went into effect on Oct. 1, states: “A business in this State shall not transfer any personal information of a customer through an electronic transmission other than a facsimile to a person outside of the secure system of the business unless the business uses encryption to ensure the security of electronic transmission.”

While 39 states have already passed data protection laws, most requiring disclosure of breaches, and several other states with data laws introduced, Nevada's statute is thought to be the first law requiring encryption of transmitted data. (Full text at SCmagazine.com)

ID Theft Red Flags Rule: FTC Extension is no 'Break'
Enforcement Delayed for FTC-Governed Institutions; Liability is Not
November 12, 2008 - Linda McGlasson, Managing Editor

State-chartered credit unions may think they've at least temporarily dodged the enforcement bullet re: the Identity Theft Red Flags Rule. But just because the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) pushed back the compliance enforcement deadline for these institutions doesn't mean that they can take a break, industry experts say.

In fact, compliance will be a huge challenge for non-banking entities and those state-chartered credit unions, says Debra Geister, Director of Fraud Prevention and Compliance Solutions at Lexis-Nexis, an information services provider. While the bigger, federally-regulated banking institutions have pre-existing programs in place to meet the ID Theft Red Flags Rule under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) requirements -- including a Customer Identification Program -- they are still struggling to meet compliance with the guidance, which had been estimated by federal regulators to take anywhere from 20 to 40 hours of work to be compliant.

.."Many businesses don't realize that point, that even though the FTC isn't enforcing compliance, it doesn't mean those businesses won't be liable if a data breach or loss of information occurs," Geister notes. The key issue is that the law was effective January 1, 2008. It was only the compliance portion that was not being enforced until November 1.

...However, it's much different for non-banking entities,..."If I were a business on the FTC side of enforcement, I would be nervous. At any time it could fall directly into your lap, and at $2500 per infraction.....

..The FTC will look to put some "heads on sticks" when enforcing this regulation, predicts Geister. "They anticipate non-compliance, and when a business is hit with a breach, they will march you out to the center of the square and shoot you publicly." (Full text at www.bankinfosecurity.com)

To read more on the FTC extension and Red Flags Rule from my October 25 post - click here.

To learn more about Identity Theft and what to do if you are a victim, visit www.StopIdTheftCrime.com and subscribe to the newsletter to obtain your free 46 page eBook "Fighting Back Against Identity Theft".

Remember, estimates are that every 2-4 seconds an Identity is compromised. Why take chances? Why not protect yourself and your loved ones with the best suite of services provided (including restoration) by the best NYSE company in the field? Educate yourself and visit the shameless plug below or call me at (909) 208-3728!

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Protecting Your Children From Identity Theft

Protecting Your Children From Identity Theft

NEW YORK (CBS) ― There are a number of school programs teaching children about the importance of money, but consumer advocates say kids need to learn about protecting themselves from the growing crime of identity theft.

Zach Friesen is looking at a promising future that was almost derailed by a crime he didn't commit. His identity was stolen back when he was just 7 and he didn't find out until he applied for a job and college loans.

...Experts say more than 400,000 children have their identities stolen each year. ..

(Full text at wcbstv.com)

Here is a video titled Stolen Futures produced by IRTC.



To learn more about Identity Theft and what to do if you are a victim, visit www.StopIdTheftCrime.com and subscribe to the newsletter to obtain your free 46 page eBook "Fighting Back Against Identity Theft".

Remember, estimates are that every 2-4 seconds an Identity is compromised. Why take chances? Why not protect yourself and your loved ones with the best suite of services provided (including restoration) by the best NYSE company in the field? Educate yourself and visit the shameless plug below or call me at (909) 208-3728!

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Identity theft: Is your child at risk? 5 things you need to know

As you get ready to send your children off to school, you’ve got a lot on your mind. But did you know that in addition to worrying about healthy school lunches, soccer schedules, and back to school supplies, you should be thinking about protecting your child’s identity?

Many parents don't realize just how vulnerable their children are to identity theft. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), as many as 400,000 children may already be victims of identity theft. To make matters worse, the number of complaints has increased by 78 percent over the past several years, making children the fastest growing segment of identity theft victims.

Children and teenagers are prime targets for identity thieves for a number of reasons. They typically have clean credit reports, making it easy for scammers to take out loans in their name. (Full text at www.Education.com)

To learn more about Identity Theft and what to do if you are a victim, visit www.StopIdTheftCrime.com and subscribe to the newsletter to obtain your free 46 page eBook "Fighting Back Against Identity Theft".

Remember, estimates are that every 2-4 seconds an Identity is compromised. Why take chances? Why not protect yourself and your loved ones with the best suite of services provided (including restoration) by the best NYSE company in the field? Educate yourself and visit the shameless plug below or call me at (909) 208-3728!

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the Best Identity Theft Protection available dot com