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A man has been arrested in New York for allegedly participating in an international telecommunications fraud scheme that used more than 1,000 stolen identities to activate fraudulent mobile phone accounts. He then made telephone calls to fraudulent overseas numbers that charged a premium connection fee.
Click to find out why the “dialing for dollars” scheme could land him in prison for 20 years!
A 29-year-old Florida woman was sentenced to more than five years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, in connection with an identity theft tax-fraud scheme targeting the names and personal data of 44 U.S. Marines.
Convicted of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, prosecutors say Dorothy Boulin expected to be paid 20% of the money obtained from filing phony tax returns. Prosecutors say she had more than 100 photocopies of stolen driver’s license identification cards, Social Security cards, and printouts of more than 200 names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers. Read More
Great new podcast between Identity Theft 911 and Don, a victim of identity theft in Ohio.
The victim, who works as a homebuilder, turned to Identity Theft 911 for help after a fraud ring attempted to steal more than $40,000 from his business accounts. Read More
The Wall Street Journal reports on how banks and large companies are spending large amounts of money to build firewalls — and using complex technology to fortify their systems — but it is often their own employees who are letting identity thieves in the door. The article says the “first line of defense” for large corporations is the customer-service representatives who answer the phones, yet some hackers say they often find these employees easy prey, because of their high turnover, low pay, and a desire to be helpful. Read More
Just how do companies decide when to report privacy breaches — to the government, to its customers, and to YOU? The Wall Street Journal has a lengthy piece on the very first steps companies should take upon learning they’ve been hacked. The article says 46 states have laws that specify when a company has to inform people whose records have been exposed in a data breach, but each state interprets the laws differently. According to the WSJ article:
“Usually, if the data stolen include a name and something like a credit-card or Social Security number, then notification laws are triggered. But sometimes if the data are encrypted or there’s a strong reason to believe that the information won’t be misused, there’s no need to tell anyone. In other cases, credit-card data could be so old that all the cards would have expired. Deciding whether to disclose a breach isn’t just a matter of law. Sometimes companies do it because they’re afraid it will get out or just because they think it’s the right thing to do.”
Should there be a program to help service members who end up trying to deal with identity theft while being deployed? Perhaps that’s not a bad idea, especially when you watch the video and read the article in this link about a 14-year Army veteran who learned last month there was a warrant out for her arrest. While she was deployed, someone had stolen her identity and charged medical bills, opened several credit cards and a vehicle loan, and taken out a mortgage. Read More
On Monday, September 26, residents of downtown Chicago are invited to attend a free summit at Chicago Police headquarters. The meeting — held from 8am-4pm at 3510 S. Michigan Avenue — will highlight the various risks of identity fraud, online safety, and how to avoid becoming a victim of a crime that is costing Americans $37 billion annually. Read More
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Popular Grey’s Anatomy star Sandra Oh has told the Los Angeles police she is the victim of an apparent identity theft. She told the police that someone has fraudulently used her Social Security number in order to get a job at a hotel, causing the Internal Revenue Service to come after Oh for unpaid taxes from 2009. It was not immediately clear how the identity thief accessed the Social Security number, nor was it clear whether Oh’s financial information was also stolen. Read More
Identity thieves are targeting Americans in record numbers. And a growing number of their victims have one thing in common: They’re dead. Find out about the IRS and Social Security system flaws that allow cybercriminals to steal the identity of your loved ones while you’re still mourning their loss. Read More
The injuries suffered by an older person from physical abuse or neglect are tragic, but there is another, less publicized, form of abuse: financial exploitation. Financial abuse or exploitation can rob a senior of self-esteem and trust, as well as of his or her means of subsistence. It is a serious and shameful crime. When a relative, friend or caretaker exploits an older person and manages to drain away savings, assets and good credit that have taken years to accumulate and establish, the result can be devastating. Read More
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