“PandaLabs issued a release on the proliferation of identity theft malware during times of economic crisis. Our research found that the number of users affected by malware designed for identity theft has increased 600 percent this year compared to the same time in 2008. PandaLabs receives nearly 37,000 samples of new viruses, worms, Trojans and… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: ID Theft
Alleged International Hacker Indicted for Massive Attack on U.S. Retail and Banking Networks
News release: “Albert Gonzalez, 28, of Miami, Fla., was indicted today for conspiring to hack into computer networks supporting major American retail and financial organizations, and stealing data relating to more than 130 million credit and debit cards, announced Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District… Continue Reading
Javelin: U.S. Credit Card Issuers Dramatically Improve Customer Fraud Detection
News release: Javelin Strategy & Research released its Fifth Annual Card Issuers Identity Safety Scorecard, which analyzes the top 25 U.S. card issuers capabilities for protecting customers from identity fraud. To compile the report, Javelin incorporated data from annual household, consumer, and issuer surveys using Javelins Prevention, Detection and Resolution criteria to accurately reflect customer… Continue Reading
FTC Testifies on Efforts to Combat Identity Theft
“The Federal Trade Commission today described its comprehensive efforts to combat identity theft before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The FTC also recommended legislative remedies to enhance the effectiveness of these efforts. The testimony presented by Betsy Broder, Assistant Director of… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports: Broadcasting to Cuba, Polar-Orbiting Satellites, Troubled Asset Relief Program, American Battle Monuments
Broadcasting to Cuba: Observations Regarding TV Marti’s Strategy and Operations, GAO-09-758T, June 17, 2009 Identity Theft: Governments Have Acted to Protect Personally Identifiable Information, but Vulnerabilities Remain, GAO-09-759T, June 17, 2009 Polar-Orbiting Environmental Satellites: With Costs Increasing and Data Continuity at Risk, Improvements Needed in Tri-agency Decision Making, GAO-09-564, June 17, 2009 Polar-Orbiting Satellites: With… Continue Reading
Federal Agencies Issue Frequently Asked Questions on Identity Theft Rules
News release: “Six federal agencies issued a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) today to help financial institutions, creditors, users of consumer reports, and issuers of credit cards and debit cards comply with federal regulations on identity theft and discrepancies in changes of address. The Red Flags and Address Discrepancy Rules, which implement sections of… Continue Reading
FTC Offers 'Red Flags' Web Site To Help Creditors and Financial Institutions Design ID Prevention Programs
“The Federal Trade Commission has launched a Web site to help entities covered by the Red Flags Rule design and implement identity theft prevention programs. The Rule requires creditors and financial institutions to develop written programs to identify the warning signs of ID theft, spot them when they occur, and take appropriate steps to respond… Continue Reading
FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center – 2008 Internet Crime Report
“In December 2003, the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) was renamed the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) to better reflect the broad character of such criminal matters having a cyber (Internet) nexus. The 2008 Internet Crime Report is the eighth annual compilation of information on complaints received and referred by the IC3 to law enforcement… Continue Reading
Phishing Scams, Frivolous Arguments Top the 2008 Dirty Dozen Tax Scams
News release: “The Internal Revenue Service issued its 2008 list of the 12 most egregious tax schemes and scams, highlighted by Internet phishing scams and several frivolous tax arguments. Topping this years list of scams is phishing, which encompasses numerous Internet-based ploys to steal financial information from taxpayers. New to the Dirty Dozen this year… Continue Reading
2009 Identity Theft Resource Center Breach Report
Identity Theft Resource Center, 2009 Breach List, 3/3/2009 – Breaches: 89 Exposed: 1,140,146. Continue Reading
FTC Releases List of Top Consumer Complaints in 2008
“The Federal Trade Commission released the list of top consumer complaints received by the agency in 2008. The list, contained in the publication Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book for January-December 2008, showed that for the ninth year in a row, identity theft was the number one consumer complaint category. Of 1,223,370 complaints received in 2008,… Continue Reading
SBA Warns of Fraudulent Attempts to Obtain Bank Account Information from Small Businesses
News release: “The U.S. Small Business Administration issued a scam alert today to small businesses, warning them not to respond to letters falsely claiming to have been sent by the SBA asking for bank account information in order to qualify them for federal tax rebates. The fraudulent letters were sent out with what appears to… Continue Reading
