Identity Theft News That Keeps You From Becoming a Victim Yourself

Business Registration Woes, Free Shredding, Bulgarian Charged, Facebook ID, Phoenix ID Theft, Local Residents Watch

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You don’t have to depend on someone else to keep your credit protected. You can take steps, and probably more accurately, by watching your own credit report, and following a few simple steps to keep it accurate.

You don’t want to wait until you NEED credit to learn there’s a few hiccup’s on your credit report. Knowing that it takes a while to get errors cleared off, you want to take action now to correct them.

Follow our simple steps in either of our ebooks to take direct action. Each book it to the point, no fluff. Simple straight forward steps to help solve issues many American’s are facing more and more. We know you have questions. What do I do first, second…. Whats the most important step?

You don’t have to wade through a thick book to know what to do, we give it to you immediately, then the next step. Get your book Today, instant download to either book. Steps Before and After Identity Theft, it’s that simple.

Businesses registered with Sec. State targeted for ID theft

www.9news.com

If you’ve ever had a business registered with the Colorado Secretary of State, you could be a victim of fraud.

The online registry has no security protection, so thieves have been targeting businesses on the site.

“It’s basically a free for all honey pot out there to business identity thieves,” Greg Glazner, a former business owner, said.

Glazner owned a business in the 1980s. He dissolved it in 2009, or so he thought. Then a large retailer called him asking questions.

“Gee, did you try to open up a credit account with us? And when did you move your business?” Glazner said. “First of all, the business is closed and I didn’t try to open anything with you. It turned out somebody had gone into the Colorado Secretary of State’s website, reinstated the business then opened it up in another state, listing me as an officer of the company and proceeded to try to open credit accounts.”

The Colorado Secretary of State’s website lists the company’s registered agents and offices. The information is available just by logging on to the website.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation says criminals are hijacking the companies and later using them to obtain large credit lines. The CBI says, so far, more than 60 Colorado companies have been victimized and the list is growing.

“With that line of credit they’re [thieves] then able to obtain and purchase a myriad of products, such as gift cards and items that are easily sold for cash,” said Ralph Gagliardi, the agent in charge with the CBI Identity Theft and Financial Fraud Unit. “It’s done in a way that is hard to trace, because they layer themselves.”…more…

Cintas to Provide Free Shredding Services During Protect Your Identity Week …

www.marketwatch.com

October 17-23

The Federal Trade Commission estimates that as many as 10 million Americans have their identities stolen each year. To help consumers fight against identity theft, Cintas Corporation has teamed up with the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) and the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) as the national document management partner for the third annual Protect Your Identity Week.

Beginning on Sunday, October 17, the week will consist of more than 175 identity theft education and protection events across the nation with free shredding services powered by Cintas at participating locations. For a list of all locations, please visit the map at www.ProtectYourIDNow.org…more…

Bulgarian charged with identity theft in US pleads innocent

www.sofiaecho.com

A Bulgarian citizen living in Oregon, United States, identified as Doichin Krustev has pleaded not guilty to identity theft, the private Bulgarian television channel bTV reported on October 13 2010.

US authorities accused Krustev, a former Oregon liquor control commission inspector, of stealing the identity of Jason Robert Evers, who was kidnapped and killed in Cincinnati in 1982 at the age of three, reports said.

At the time, the Bulgaria was himself a child and lived in Bulgaria. He eventually went to the US to study but then assumed the identity of the killed child…more…

State Police Seek Man In Identity Theft, Check Forging

www.thepittsburghchannel.com

Pennsylvania State Police are asking for the public’s help in tracking down a man they said is behind an elaborate identity theft scam.

Police said the man was caught on surveillance video at the First Commonwealth Bank in Jennerstown, Somerset County, cashing bogus checks.

Police said he stole the information and used a computer to make fake checks totaling $1,600…more…

Keeping your identity on Facebook

www.technicianonline.com

When they developed Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg and his fellow developers could not have imagined the impact the social networking site has had on the world’s ability to connect with people.  Today, Facebook boasts over 500 million users, which is more than the population of the U.S., however the site also provides another avenue for security risks that make college students more accessible for identity theft.

Few N.C. State students can say they don’t log on Facebook every day. They post notes and photos, tag and poke, all the while exposing themselves to other Facebook users, friends or otherwise. According to Facebook, about 70 percent of Facebook users are outside the U.S., where 34.6 percent of fraud perpetrators are reported to be by the Internet Crime Complaint Center. Students need to be aware of what they post on their Facebook, not just because employers and administrators can see, but because millions of other people whose purposes could be to steal your identity can look you up…more…

Identity Theft 911 Showcases LifeStages Identity Protection and Data Breach …

www.prweb.com

Identity Theft 911 will participate in the 2010 Bank Administration Institute (BAI) Retail Delivery conference, demonstrating its commitment to enhancing the reputation of banks and credit unions with premier identity protection, identity theft resolution, and data breach services.

We’re proud to offer industry-proven best practices, tools and expert support on identity theft and data breach issues for banks and financial services,” said Identity Theft CEO Matt Cullina. “We’re confident we offer the highest personal touch service and we look forward to meeting BAI attendees – businesses with high standards, high service levels and strong performance.”

More than 11 million identity theft cases were reported in 2009, according to the Javelin Identity Fraud Survey Report. That’s four percent of the U.S. population, with a new theft committed every three seconds. PrivacyRights.org cites over 510 million sensitive records compromised in data breaches from 2005 to mid- August, 2010.…more…

Consumer Information Regarding Identity Theft Prevention …

www.hypercup.org

When someone hears the term identity theft, they get scared by this term. Others just simply shrug it off. Maybe it’s because they don’t understand much about it and you might be one of those people who shrug it off. If this is you, there are some things that you should know about identity theft prevention, for it is an important one.

Every day, someone has their identity stolen. There are a number of ways that this can happen and many think they are exempt from this. It can happen to anyone. There have been some who have been young when this happened and have later found in life that their identity has been stolen. That’s how scary it can be…more…

Beyond the Check-in: How Location Services Can Now Fight Identity Theft

www.readwriteweb.com

Today, the two companies officially announced the launch of Finsphere’s PinPoint identity validation product, which helps to fight identity theft and validate a user’s identity with the use of Location Labs’ Universal Location Service.

The concept behind the service is simple: PinPoint tracks the location of a credit card transaction and matches it to the location of the end user’s cell phone. If the two are far apart, it raises an alert.

The end user will then be sent a text message or email to verify whether or not the transaction was legitimate. Think of it as sort of a “first responder” to the possibility of a stolen wallet, stolen credit card or any other financially-bound identity theft.

Forget Apps, Just Sign Up Online
Because Location Labs already has relationships with all major U.S. carriers and can locate over 250 million mobile phones, it’s now possible for the service to locate just about any mobile phone in the country, whether smartphone or feature phone – and without the need of an app download…more…

Deputies detain 14 in identity theft raid at west Phoenix meat packing plant

www.canadianbusiness.com

Maricopa County Sheriff’s deputies have made 14 arrests during a raid at a west Phoenix business where workers were suspected of identity theft.

Sheriff’s spokesman Deputy Aaron Douglas says investigators received information that a meat packing plant was hiring illegal immigrants using fake identities to get jobs. Douglas says the raid targeted 15 suspects.

The sheriff’s office frequently raids workplaces in the greater Phoenix area looking for people in the U.S. illegally. They target workers who use false IDs to obtain work…more…

Identity theft suspects target area residents, two in custody

www.hcnonline.com

Police urge Kingwood area residents to check their credit reports to ensure they didn’t fall victim to an identity theft ring authorities broke up at a Kingwood residence Oct. 8.

The Houston Police Department Special Operations Division, assisted by HPD Kingwood Division tactical officers, seized hundreds of government documents such as driver’s licenses at a home in the 2300 block of Friarwood Friday.

“We took two suspects into custody. They were in possession of the personal information of hundreds of people,” said Sgt. Kevin McDaniel of the HPD Special Operations Division. “They were using the information to open accounts at Kingwood area department and retail stores. So far we have identified more than a dozen Kingwood and Humble residents whose information was compromised.”

McDaniel said he believes the arrests came quickly enough to prevent the suspects, identified as 45-year-old Richard Conaster and 32-year-old Geoffrey Wentzel, from working their way through their entire list of victims.

“In the Kingwood area, they only did it for a short amount of time,” McDaniel said. “One of the suspects told us they’d start on a new victim every three to four days. But they also spanned other regions in Texas. They moved around from region to region, including Corpus Christi and San Antonio, and now they were working the Kingwood area.”…more…

Prescription for fraud

www.nationalpost.com

Magnolia Soria could hardly believe what the insurance auditor was telling her. The company had received several claims for health services supposedly provided by the Toronto-area occupational therapist, even though Ms. Soria had never met the patients, did not perform the work and had nothing to do with the invoices.

In fact, one of the forms bearing her name and professional registration number was for an appointment that purportedly took place on a day she was in hospital, giving birth to her daughter.

Ms. Soria had been victimized by a brazen scheme that insurance investigators and professional regulators say is becoming increasingly common in Canada’s health-care system: the theft of medical professionals’ identity to obtain insurance payments for services that are either never rendered, or carried out by unqualified personnel…more…

Lose Your Wallet? Better Act Fast

www.foxbusiness.com

Reaching into your pant’s pocket or purse to find your wallet missing is enough to make anybody’s heart skip a few beats and panic spread throughout your body.

Misplacing your wallet can lead to losing your identity, according to the experts.

While online transactions have gained popularity and increased sensitivity to sharing personal information, there is a greater chance of identity theft through a lost or stolen wallet than through Internet information robbery, according to John Sileo, author of Privacy Means Profit: Prevent Identity Theft.

“Preventative steps are the most important,” says Sileo of how to keep your identity secure.

He recommends keeping as little information in your purse or wallet as possible;  remove items you don’t use every day like personal checks, Social Security cards and some credit cards.

Don’t carry your Social Security card or number in your wallet at any time,” advises Jay Foley, executive director of the Identity Theft Resource Center. “Meanwhile, beware of where the number is located. It could be on your student ID or health insurance card as well.”

If you do find your wallet MIA, experts say to take the following actions quickly:…more…