Credit Monitoring Articles
How much does it cost a thief to steal your identity and thousands, tens of thousands or more of your personal assets?
Less than $200, according to a San Francisco-based security expert.
News site KTVU.com interviewed eBay security professional Chris Paget for the chilling low-down on how your passport could potentially lead a victim to your information…and your credit cards.
A Passport to Identity Theft
It sounds like something straight out of science fiction, but Paget told KTVU it’s all true: an individual with the correct (and legally purchased) equipment can drive by and “clone” passport information from unsuspecting individuals.
According to Paget, RFI (radio ...
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Health care is supposed to help, not hurt.
That's why reports of fraud originating with medical records are, even in this age of increasing identity theft, all the more shocking.
Perhaps the worst aspect of medical identity theft is that the victims are often (up to 80% of the time, according to some reports) unaware of any misdeed until it's too late. Receiving a collections phone call or worse, approached by law enforcement officials, these individuals are alerted of crimes committed in their name...but by a total stranger.
The Heart of the Matter
One ...
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That e-mail is tempting: you have been chosen as a "final candidate" for a high-paying, lucrative position. All that's required of you now is to reply with some information, and you'll be "on the list."
You're already signed up with several employment seeking lists. In your excitement, you're not certain which of these the e-mail may have come from (or how the company got your private e-mail address).
But it can't hurt to click on the link they've provided just to find out a bit more about the job, can it?
Identity theft experts say it can. New programs from the hacker underworld ...
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Police scanners are a valuable resource to law enforcement officials, EMS (emergency medical service) personnel and others who work in helping and protection capacities.
They also have a subsegment following of non-officials who listen in to see what's going on in their town and county. Interestingly, it's a fairly common hobby, according to reports, and only seems to be growing as it becomes easier and easier to obtain high-quality scanners.
Unfortunately, this availability has a downside: criminals, too, invest in police scanners, but not to keep tabs on society or to offer to lend a hand. Rather, thieves are wise to the ...
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Forget “You may have already won!” Today's criminals are putting on a professional (and much more believable) face to nab personal information and dupe their victims.
Everyone knows to steer clear of e-mails titled “Urgent Message from Nigerian Account” or “You may have already won!”.
Nor are many people likely to fall for “Your credit card is ready” scams.
But what about when a defrauder poses as your very own bank? Perhaps the e-mail includes information that you would think only a legitimate source could have. Or the message is so serious—or even threatening—you just can't help but open it.
You think you can ...
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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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When 23-year-old Zal Chapgar of Bluebell, PA passed away, his family was understandably devastated.
But their grieving period was interrupted by a sudden slew of mysterious and confusing phone calls from banks and national stores.
Though the Chapgars didn't know it yet, Zal’s identity had been stolen...after he'd already passed away.
A Shocking Discovery
The family was alerted to the misdeed when they began receiving phone calls from credit card companies, including financial giants Amex and Citibank, and from businesses.
The Chapgars “thought it was a freak thing,” according to Zal’s mother, Kerban, in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer.
But when the unwanted solicitations ...
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Chris Wolf dislikes people taking his name in vain. He believes that many companies notify victims TOO SOON after a breach of security. Of course, he’s an attorney and head of the Proskauer Rose (Washington, D.C.) law firm’s privacy and security group, so he might have a little different take than the average Joe.
‘Never Cry Wolf’, Says Wolf!
In a recent interview with Wolf, he stated that breach notifications should be delayed until all the facts are in about what was lost and who was affected. The basic topic of discussion was the potential for a U.S. Federal breach notification law ...
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Health club patrons in the Pacific Northwest had no idea that while they were toning and shaping their looks, their features were being altered even more.
Crime on the Go
Members of an ID theft ring headed by one Gabriel Jung were filching credit cards from gym lockers and skipping merrily out to a mobile lab in the back seat of a vehicle outside. Using photos of ring members, false ID cards were manufactured with the help of a computer and printer in the back seat and matched to each card.
The group apparently used their forged identities and the credit cards to ...
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Last October, Portia Rankin of Louisville, KY got a big surprise when she discovered she had bought a house--but didn’t own it.
Ms. Rankin was forced to appear in court when “her” home on Highland Avenue became entangled in foreclosure and legal issues. It was the first she’d ever heard of the property; in fact, she’d never even seen the house.
So what happened? According to Ms. Rankin’s attorney, mortgage defrauders used Rankin’s stolen identity to obtain a loan for the property on Highland Avenue--and then took off with the money. Left in the middle was Rankin, who according to the deed ...
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