Articles and Ideas January, 2009
On Jan. 27, foxnews.com readers were shocked by a story the accidental sale of identity-revealing files at a routine auction headed by the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem.
According to the report, the recipients of a file cabinet sold by the Consulate reported that a number of military and state department workers’ information--including Social Security numbers--were still stowed in one of the drawers.
Luckily for hundreds of U.S. servicepeople stationed in Jerusalem, a woman identified only as Paula reported the incident. But what if identifying information were to be accidentally given into the hands of the wrong person or organization?
Could data saved ...
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There is one simple thing you can do to stop one form of ID theft, and that is to shred every document that has your name on it before discarding it. A good shredder will reduce even thick files to unrecognizable bits, and allow you the peace of mind you need.
Why Should you Shred?
ID Thieves have dumpster dived for years, finding medical records and patient information outside doctors’ offices and lawyers condominiums. Sometimes the people you entrust with your information are careless. Asking for your records to be returned to you so you can oversee their shredding is not ...
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When was the last time you chatted with Brad Pitt about women or asked Charlize Theron for a baked Alaska recipe?
If you answered “yesterday,” you already know a bit about space faking. The term was coined for individuals assuming someone else’s identity over the internet--typically a well-known character.
Many of us do it on forums or networking sites. When we do, it’s obvious to us that we’re just having a bit of fun, and we make sure others know it, too. But not every space faker you meet on the internet is as obvious…or has motives as innocent.
Warning from Australia has ...
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For thirty years he and a group of highly organized thieves distributed circulars throughout the neighborhood - or did they? Clutching brightly colored pieces of paper in one hand, they nonchalantly opened mailbox after mailbox up and down the streets of Baltimore - but they were taking out mail instead of putting it in.
No Cover of Night for These Thieves
Loquann Johnson, a 53-year-old Baltimore man, led a troop of co-conspirators targeting residents of neighborhoods with outdoor mailboxes. They became skilled at carrying out their thefts in broad daylight, reaching in to grab the mail under the shallow pretense of ...
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Despite compliance with security standards, card processing company Heartland Payment Systems announced a record-breaking security breach in a news story that broke Jan. 21. The company services 175,000 merchants amounting to some 100 million cards, according to company records.
Prior to the breach, the Jefferson, IN-based company had accurately followed Payment Card Industry (PCI) security standards, according to representatives, and had employed strong encryption to thwart potential hackers.
Nevertheless, attackers managed to slip past Heartland’s computer security stops, possibly slipping by before the encryption was put in place, reporters say. (A full story can be found here.)
Breaking Records…the Hard Way
Observers say ...
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Master Splynter
Supervisory Special Agent J. Keith Mularski was a spammer - or at least, that’s what his online pals thought. Under the name of Master Splynter, he didn’t run in the best of company - his associates had handles like Theunknown, Matrix 001, and the Iceman, and hung out at a place called DarkMarket.
DarkMarket was what's known as a "carder" site. Identity thieves could buy and sell stolen credit card numbers, online identities and the tools to make fake credit cards. By late 2006, Mularski had just been made administrator of the site and not only had control over the ...
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When a sex offender moves into town, neighbors (rightfully) want to know. It would also be helpful to have property deeds and transactions accessible. And wouldn't it be comforting to have nearby convicted thieves' or defrauders' information available at a button click?
The truth is that each of these can be a matter of public record in virtually all areas of the U.S. Such data is mean to provide security and legitimate information to a given location's citizens.
But some states are now arguing that public knowledge is expanding too far in the details of people's lives, crossing the line from ...
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It was supposed to be a casual cup of coffee after a business meeting in Annapolis. The victim had just signed a business contract with one Thomas Calvin Eichelberger, and the older man offered to buy him a cappuccino. Dinner and drinking followed, then a sick and queasy feeling, and somehow the victim woke up in Eichelberger’s home, in his bed, unclothed.
Drugged, Stripped and Photographed
A camera found under the bed showed nude photos of the victim, who eventually dressed and went home unsteadily to his wife and mother in law. From there he went to the hospital, where medics found ...
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He lived high on the hog for six years, but never held down a job. He didn’t have a trust fund, or a wealthy lover. He did, however, end up a wanted man. You see, all the credit cards he lived off of weren’t his!
The Hunt for a Con Artist
Jason Brown became known as the kingpin of ID theft, as he slipped from town to town changing his name and searching for new victims. A petty thief turned con man, he racked up at least 13 warrants from six separate agencies, including the New Orleans Police Department, Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s ...
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We know, we know: that stack of bills on your kitchen table can't possibly have a bright side. Right?
Surprise: our experts note that your first rush of credit card statements after the holidays can offer a unique opportunity to catch up with an identity thief in the making.
By giving each transaction from the month or two before Christmas the once-over, you can find suspicious activity before it gets out of hand...and ruins your credit.
Checking Your Receipts
Smart shoppers kept their paper receipts for the 2008 holiday shopping season. If you have some or all of your shopping receipts, organize them now ...
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