The loss or theft of personal data such as credit card and Social Security numbers soared to unprecedented levels in 2007, and the trend isn't expected to turn around anytime soon as hackers stay a step ahead of security and laptops disappear with sensitive information.

And while companies, government agencies, schools and other institutions are spending more to protect ever-increasing volumes of data with more sophisticated firewalls and encryption, the investment often is too little too late.

"More of them are experiencing data breaches, and they're responding to them in a reactive way, rather than proactively looking at the company's security and seeing where the holes might be," said Linda Foley, who founded the San Diego-based Identity Theft Resource Center after becoming an identity theft victim herself.

Foley's group lists more than 79 million records reported compromised in the United States through Dec. 18. That's a nearly fourfold increase from the nearly 20 million records reported in all of 2006. MORE

Since our sensitive information is out there -everywhere...the only thing we can to do avoid becoming a victim of fraud is to take steps to prevent it and lessen the impact if/when it happens!

Here are a few links to various services and products that can help you protect your information and prevent loss:

DIFRwear.com: Radio Frequency Identification blocking products, protect your personal information in wallet and passport from being read by criminals with RFID readers
See: RFID Technology...Will it Affect you?

LifeLock.com They will set and renew your fraud alerts, remove you from marketing lists and will replace all contents of your wallet if stolen. They have a $1,000,000.00 guarantee that promises to "fix" any problems and losses incurred, if you become a victim while subscribing to their services. Use the above link for an instant %20 discount -courtesy of LifeLock See: Do you know what steps to take...?

MyLapTopsGPS.com
Another laptop is stolen every 12 seconds. If yours is next, MyLaptopGPS™ first tracks it worldwide via the Internet, then silently removes your important files and returns them to you, all right under the thief's nose. See: Laptop theft on the rise! GPS for laptops...who knew?

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The case concerns an instance of identity theft that severely affected the Sloan's emotional and finacial well being causing great turmoil in her home and work life. Equifax's continued failure to respond to the plaintiff's requests and to follow mandated "reasonable" procedures, are spelled out in the appeals court's opinion.

The Fourth Circuit rejected all of Equifax's arguments on liability and most of their arguments as to emotional distress damages, but did reduce the emotional damages from $245,000 to $150,000. (The jury's $106,000 economic damages award was left in place.)

The opinion points out the significant problems Equifax's refusal to correct her credit reports and remove fraudulent accounts, brought on her family. Her claims paint a clear picture of the real consequences innocent victims face when fraud and identity theft strikes. And clearly shows why it often takes years to "fix" it, and how the credit reporting agencies negligence serves to significantly exacerbate the effects of fraud - with little regard for a consumer's rights (and innocence ) and total disregard for the effects of their actions -or inactions!

Here's a small portion...read the full Opinion here -Well worth reading.

"After Suzanne Sloane discovered that a thief had stolen her identity
and ruined her credit, she notified the police and sought to have Equifax
Information Services, LLC, a credit reporting service, correct the
resulting errors in her credit report. The police promptly arrested and
jailed the thief. But twenty-one months later, Equifax still had not
corrected the errors in Suzanne’s credit report.

On June 25, 2003, Suzanne Sloane entered Prince William Hospital
to deliver a baby. She left the hospital not only a new mother, but also
the victim of identity theft. A recently hired hospital employee named
Shovana Sloan noticed similarity in the women’s names and birth
dates and, in November and December 2003, began using Suzanne’s
social security number to obtain credit cards, loans, cash advances,
and other goods and services totaling more than $30,000.

At the end of January 2004, Suzanne discovered these fraudulent transactions
when Citibank notified her that it had cancelled her credit card and
told her to contact Equifax if she had any concerns.

Unable to reach Equifax by telephone on a Friday evening,
Suzanne went instead to the Equifax website, where she was able to
access her credit report and discovered Shovana Sloan’s name and
evidence of the financial crimes Shovana had committed. Suzanne
promptly notified the police1 and contacted Equifax, which assertedly
placed a fraud alert on her credit file.

Equifax told Suzanne to "roll
up her sleeves" and start calling all of her "20-some" creditors to
notify them of the identity theft. Suzanne took the next two days off
from work to contact each of her creditors, and, at their direction, she
submitted numerous notarized forms to correct her credit history.
Suzanne, however, continued to experience problems with Equifax..."

Remember…sometimes it's the things we don't hear -that tell the real story. Unspoken words speak volumes!

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Identity theft scammers unleash widespread attack

LAKEWOOD – Jeffco Credit Union has temporarily restricted online banking because of a wave of phone calls and e-mails trying to con customers into giving up sensitive information.

Candace Mowers of Lakewood is not a Jeffco member, but she received one of the suspicious-sounding automated calls Friday afternoon.

Mowers says she became alarmed when the automated voice asked her to enter her credit card number.

"I thought, 'Wait a minute,'" she said. "A bank wouldn't do this."

The mechanized voice announces it is the "Jeffco Credit Union Security Department." It claims the recipient of the call must verify credit card information to avoid an account suspension due to fraudulent activity.

A similar e-mail, complete with authentic-looking Jeffco logos, is also making the rounds. 9NEWS received several of them. The e-mail links to a website designed to look like Jeffco's online banking system.

Bobby Mathis, manager of the Jeffco branch in Lakewood, says the credit union has been deluged over with reports of the phony calls since Thursday.

On Friday afternoon, Jeffco limited online banking to account viewing only, disabling transfers and withdrawals, in an attempt to prevent losses by customers. MORE

Protect yourself from scammers...watch Video at: 9News

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When the clock strikes midnight on Dec. 31, a new state law will go into affect that will help victims of identity theft fight back in New Hampshire -the Granite State.

Just four days into 2007 House bill 227 was introduced to the Legislative Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, and six months later Governor John Lynch signed HB227 into law.

The bill puts a civil statute on the books, allowing victims of identity theft to seek monetary relief from the criminal offender.

"It will give people a course of action, in that they can recoup from someone who has benefited from their information," said Lauren Noether of the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division.

Noether explained the new state law will allow victims of identity theft to receive some financial recompense for a crime that can prove to be quite costly and harmful to any victim. It will also help to deter this sort of crime from being committed in the first place.

Before the new statute, there was no method for victims to recover their financial losses from the perpetrator of such a crime.

HB227, or RSA 359 as it will become as of Jan. 1, changes that: It states, "in addition to any other remedies provided by law, a victim may bring an action in his or her county of residence or any county which any part of the act took place, regardless of whether the person who committed the violation was ever actually present in that county, against the person who violated this chapter."

This new statute also allows victims to recoup either $5,000 per incident of identity theft or three times the actual damages. The remedy that is allowed to be sought depends on whichever is greater.

There is also a provision to allow for the reimbursement of attorneys fees and court costs.

"People ought to have some way to get something back to do whatever repairs are necessary to their credit and good name," said state Rep. Beth Arsenault, D-Laconia.

According to the United States Postal Inspection Service, the lead federal law enforcement agency fighting this form of crime, identity theft is America's fastest growing crime. MORE

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On The Night Before Xmas, All Through The House... Ooops, We Just Lost The House
By Danny Schechter

T'was the Night Before Christmas, a season of closure. We just lost our house because of foreclosure

Clement Moore, the author of the original poem called, “A Visit From St. Nick,” recited like a mantra at this time of year, once lived down in my Manhattan neighborhood called Chelsea. He lived on a farm then but probably couldn’t afford today’s gentrified rents. He was actually not just a kindly old poet spinning verses for Santa and the reindeers, but a scholar who compiled a two volume Hebrew Dictionary.

Even then, things were not always what they appeared to be.

On WAMU, BoA, Amex and Visa
I can’t find the money that’s needed to please you
We have just lost our home, oops, there goes the car
As prices go up, with the economy down, I’ve moved to a bar

For all the traditional tree trimming and house warming today, there is a growing dread as more and more home-owners default on their homes. The action hammer is now competing with the Christmas carols for our attention as whole neighborhoods pay the price for the subprime scandal that has yet to be ended or prosecuted. As the housing bubble bursts, governments are facing a loss of revenues and will be forced to slash schools and services. MORE

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Happy Holidays!

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The Wrong Suspect-Part 2

A CBS4.com Investigation:
By Jim Defede

In the early afternoon of September 13, 2007, Kevin Wehner was in the front yard of his house in Jacksonville, changing the spark plugs on his car, when his mother-in-law called from New York. "She said, 'Right now I'm looking at your face and your name all over the television,'" Wehner recalled. "`It's on almost every station and they are saying you just killed a cop and you shot three more.'"

Two hours earlier, and more than 350 miles away in Miami, Shawn LaBeet, a violent felon with a penchant for assault weapons, had gunned down four Miami-Dade cops. It was one of the state's worst shooting rampages against police officers in more than two decades. For more than four hours, police believed the gunman was Wehner, a man with no criminal history.

"Imagine I didn't hear about this manhunt happening," said the 30-year-old Wehner, "and I'd been on the road, maybe even with my children, they would have come and just possibly shot me. When they apprehend someone like this, they come in with guns blazing; they don't really ask questions, they shoot first."

The Miami Dade Police Department's assertion that the killer was Wehner – an assertion that prompted a nationwide manhunt and allowed LaBeet to initially escape the area – seemed, at the time, perfectly reasonable. In 2003, LaBeet had stolen Wehner's identity, obtained a Florida driver's license, and had been openly living in South Florida as Kevin Foston Wehner. Furthermore, LaBeet's girlfriend told police in the moments immediately after the shooting that her boyfriend's name was Kevin Wehner.

"That hampered our investigation," Miami Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez said at the time. The decision by LaBeet's girlfriend, Renee D'Angelo, to withhold LaBeet's true identity has been deemed so serious by police and prosecutors that they have criminally charged the girlfriend as an accessory after the fact to murder. She is facing up to 20 years in prison.
A three-month CBS4 News investigation, however, reveals that long before that fateful September morning, a combination of both poor police work and lack of communication among local, state and federal agencies allowed Shawn LaBeet to remain free.

Among CBS4's findings:

* July 2004, more than three years before the shooting, the State of Florida was contacted by the real Kevin Wehner, who was living in New York at the time. He warned that based upon problems with his credit report, someone had apparently obtained a fraudulent Florida driver's license under his name and was living in South Florida. The state Department of Motor Vehicles took the complaint but did little about it. They did not red flag the Wehner driver's license with FDLE or any of the state databases used by law enforcement.

* Between December 2005 and April 2006, LaBeet, using the fraudulent Florida driver's license, bought a cache of firearms from a pawn shop in Tamarac and a gun shop in Key Largo. Included in these purchases was a Norinco MAK90 assault rifle, the gun used by LaBeet in his shootout with police.

* Thomas Kiffney, the owner of the Key Largo gun shop and a sergeant in the Monroe County Sheriff's Department, told CBS4 News that after the man who identified himself as Wehner made his last gun purchase, he asked about special ordering bullet proof vests and gas masks. Kiffney said he became so concerned by this conversation that on April 7, 2006, he called the Miami field office of the ATF and said they should investigate. "I just wanted to tell [ATF] that there was something suspicious about this guy," Kiffney said. "They seemed interested and I sent them all of the paperwork on the gun purchases. But that was the end of it, we never heard back from them."

* During October 2006, the real Kevin Wehner, who had moved to Jacksonville a few months earlier, called the Jacksonville Sheriff's Department to report that he had received renewal notices for two cars he knew nothing about in Miami-Dade County. A Jacksonville deputy investigated the case and determined that someone had indeed stolen Wehner's identity and had obtained a Florida driver's license. A report from that investigation lists a physical description of the suspect, an address for the suspect in Miami-Dade County, and a description of the suspect's two cars, as well as their license plate numbers. None of this information, however, was shared with other law enforcement agencies or even with the state DMV. "An attempt to contact the customer service line with the Department of Motor Vehicles was unsuccessful," the Jacksonville deputy concluded in his report. He then added: "Patrol efforts suspended."

* On August 17, 2007, one month before the shooting, Kevin Wehner went to the DMV office in Jacksonville to apply for a Florida driver's license. He was denied a license because there already was a Kevin Wehner in the system. Wehner filled out a fraud investigation report, complaining -- for the third time in three years -- that his identity had been stolen and someone was operating under his name in South Florida. The DMV took a picture of Wehner "as part of the fraud investigation," according to Major Ernie Duarte of the Florida Highway Patrol. On the day of the shooting, it was this very picture that Miami-Dade Police released to the media as the man wanted for murdering a police officer.

LaBeet, who had an outstanding warrant for his arrest for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, was stopped by police on traffic violations on at least five separate occasions between 2003 and 2005. Each time he provided officers his false Kevin Wehner driver's license. Since neither the license nor the license plates were flagged in the system, LaBeet was merely issued a citation and allowed to leave.

"This is what the 9/11 Report complained about," noted Wayne Black,
a private security specialist who works with the Department of Homeland Security. "Agencies have got to talk to each other. Somebody has to do something. It's actually depressing the amount of red flags in this chain of events going back to 2003." READ MORE...

Click here to watch: Wrong Suspect Part II Video

If you missed CBS4's Part 1: Wrong Suspect
See my initial blog: Identity theft Victim Mistaken for Deadly Cop Killer -and follow links.

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Last night Jim Defede and CBS4 News out of Miami aired an exclusive interview with Kevin Wehner the victim of an identity theft whose picture was mistakenly released to the national news in search of a cop killer. The Suspect had gone on a shooting rampage that in the end left one dead and three other officers wounded.

Those of us in South Florida, vividly remember the events of that horrific day. Though the news was national, locally our schools, streets and neighborhoods were on lock-down while hundreds of enforcement agencies frantically combed neighborhoods from the air and ground searching for Kevin Wehner, the person who police were told was responsible for the deadly shooting. Police and the rest of the nation would soon learn that Kevin Wehner was more than 350 miles away from the crime -but not before losing precious time in looking for the real perpetrator. When Kevin's name and picture were released to the media -the media began looking into Kevin's criminal history. They were surprised to see -there was none.

At that moment, my gut churned as I began wondering...no criminal history...yet he gunned down three police officers -could it be possible they were searching for the wrong guy? Could this guy, whose picture was all over the news, be a victim of identity theft? I soon found out that my gnawing gut feeling was right -he was.

Suddenly -the picture of the killer they were looking for -the one that was mistakenly plastered and frozen on every local, and soon national, TV channel -was replaced with a new picture -one that had a new name and description of the killer police were searching for.

As things were happening so quickly, there continued to be some confusion as to why the police suddenly released a completely different description and picture of the real killer... and soon we were informed why. Ultimately, the police had been intentionally misled by the girlfriend of the "real" killer. She gave them the name and fake drivers license of Kevin Wehner...an innocent identity theft victim.

At that point, I couldn't help but fear for the real Kevin Wehner -knowing that this man had been labeled a vicious cop killer that had just gone on a wild shooting rampage. Seeing his name frozen on the TV screen had a particular chilling effect on me -personally. The name -Wehner, though not a common name to most - was very familiar to me. Wehner is my family name -one I grew up with for many years.

I began worrying about what could happen to Kevin if he was seen simply walking down the street and unaware that in every corner of the State, in the air and on the ground, devastated police officers were on the hunt for a cop killer?

As it turns out, Kevin was over 350 miles away in Jacksonville. He found out about the dragnet and the horrific events unfolding in South Florida as friends and family began calling him. The most difficult call for Kevin was the one from his Mom calling from as far away as New York. Her voice was shaking and in tears - she relayed that his picture was plastered all over the news ...and he was being called a Cop Killer.

Kevin knew that months earlier he was a victim of identity theft. He had been struggling to clear his credit identity and had filed various police reports and requests for investigation with the Department of Motor Vehicles. He knew his credit had been ruined -but now he was being called a killer. He feared for his life and the lives of his family. He decided to contact the Jacksonville police right away. He told him he was aware of what was happening in South Florida and relayed he was in Jacksonville and informed them he was a victim of identity theft and had filed numerous reports with their department. They quickly descended on his house with guns drawn, placed him in the cruiser and took him away -while his family watched in horror.

Hear in Kevin's own words how this tragic chain of events has changed his life forever.

Watch the CBS 4 video here

Part II airs tonight.

Tips to keep your identity safe

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By Byron Acohido and Jon Swartz, USA TODAY
SEATTLE — Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras says her agency has done a credible job regulating the Big Three credit bureaus.

But the boom — and now bust — of subprime mortgages is fueling criticism that the FTC under Platt Majoras has given Experian, Equifax and TransUnion too much latitude to profit from the sale of credit data to lenders and consumers.

"Federal agencies that are supposed to be looking out for the consumer are really protecting the companies that do bad things the agencies were set up to prevent," says political commentator Robert Kuttner, author of The Squandering of America: How the Failure of Our Politics Undermines Our Prosperity.

In February, the National Association of Mortgage Brokers lambasted the FTC for giving the credit bureaus tacit approval to keep selling listings — called "trigger lists" — containing personal and financial data of prospective borrowers. Some unscrupulous lenders used trigger lists to contact people who recently filled out a loan application, and then pitched them subprime mortgages, higher-priced loans aimed at people with spotty credit histories but also marketed to borrowers with good credit.

Most applicants never knew the bureaus were placing them on trigger lists and were surprised to be deluged by phone calls and e-mails for subprime loans. These too-good-to-be-true offers came from brokers who skirted rules requiring traditional lenders to make firm offers only in writing. See more

...A USA TODAY story last month revealed how a marketing free-for-all awaits anyone who ventures online to buy credit data.

"Credit scores are vital in determining if you can even afford to refinance your problem loan, yet there's tremendous confusion out there," says privacy advocate Evan Hendricks, author of Credit Scores and Credit Reports: How the System Really Works, What You Can Do.

Platt Majoras left her partnership at law firm Jones Day in 2004 to head the FTC. Experian, the largest of the Big Three bureaus, is one of Jones Day's corporate clients. Its annual revenue tops $3 billion.
'Scrupulous' about ethics

Platt Majoras rebuts consumer advocates and other critics who say she has been soft on Experian, Equifax and TransUnion during a period when the bureaus helped lenders flush out prospects for subprime loans and moved aggressively into selling credit data to consumers over the Internet.

"We've been tough on the industry and strong in standing up for consumers," she says.

Platt Majoras says she is "intensely scrupulous" about ethics. continue

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Port Richey, Florida - Barbara Smith says it's very scary to think of losing your home when all you want to do is make your payments.

But that became a reality for Smith, after Litton Mortgage Servicing took over her mortgage and her payments went from $963 a month to $1,412. She says the company added insurance to the mortgage, although she already had her own.

"I've been trying to get that rectified and trying to get it settled with the company to no avail," she says.
Nadine Knowles was in the same boat with her home. She had paperwork showing she paid the original loan amount, but the company tried to charge her extra for taxes and insurance she'd already taken care of.
She refused to pay, and last week her home was sold at auction. See More

For many more articles on mortgage servicing issues see msfraud.org

And...

Helen has a mortgage mess -can anyone help her?

What if we could stop some foreclosure nightmares? We could -but it would take an Act of Congress!

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Since it is peak season for cyber criminals, scammers and identity thieves here are some good tips to keep in mind when shopping online this holiday season.

• Check out the website /seller you are buying from. Call its phone number. If you can't find a working phone number, on the site, you may want to take your business elsewhere. Type the site's name into a search engine: If you find unfavorable reviews posted, you may be better off doing business elsewhere.

• Don't trust unsolicited e-mail or pop-ups. Legitimate companies don't send unsolicited e-mail messages asking for your password, login name or financial information. Scammers do. In fact, crooks often send e-mails that look just like they're from legitimate companies but direct you to click on a link, where they ask for your personal information. Delete these e-mails. Never call the 800 number often included in e-mail. Always confirm through documents or looking up in your browser that the number is legitimate.

• Look for signs a site is safe, such as a closed padlock on the browser's status bar. When you're asked for payment information, the beginning of the site's URL address should change from "http" to "shttp" or "https," indicating that the purchase is encrypted or secure.

• Pay with credit cards (not debit cards) because credit card companies will help you get a refund is necessary if the product isn't delivered, is defective or isn't what you expected.

• Don't click on a link in an e-mail notifying you of a holiday card or gift card without first checking and confirming that the person it claims to come from, actually sent it to you! That's especially true if the link in the email doesn't match or contain the name of a greeting card company.

• Never click on links sent in unsolicited e-mails. Instead, type in a Web address you know or look up yourself.

• Make sure your virus protection is up to date, firewalls are working and scans are done looking for spyware frequently.

Sources: McAfee, U.S. Federal Trade Commission

Watch out for fraud
...And new this year, just in time for the holidays, is malicious software disguised as electronic greeting cards.

``It looks just like a holiday card, but it basically allows the hacker to take control of your computer,'' said Brian Tombley, product manager at McAfee.

Typically, Tombley said, victims receive a holiday greeting e-card - possibly from a familiar e-mail address or name such as ``Mom'' - that asks them to open an attachment or click on a link to view the card. When users take that step, they unknowingly allow hackers to install a Trojan horse program that lets an outsider watch the victims' keystrokes for e-mail, online banking or other passwords, send pop-up ads to the computers or even use the victims' computers to send other spam or phishing messages from the victims' addresses. More

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News From Around the Country

Identity theft is on the rise.

More than 162 million records have been reported lost or stolen in 2007. That's three times more than the more than 49 million that went missing last year. It's happened in Austin, too. The personal information, including the social security numbers of 22 students, was posted on a University of Texas Web site. At Seton, a man stole a laptop computer from an office, which potentially put more than 7,000 people at risk. See more

Identity Theft Ring in DeSoto County

Police say dozens of bank accounts in North Mississippi are being cleaned out by identity thieves. Federal agents have joined the DeSoto County Sheriff's Office and Hernando Police in their investigation.

Police say the thieves are using stolen credit card numbers to buy a variety of items such as jet skis, cars, and gas.

ID theft victim Buddy Murdock says about $400 was taken from his account.

"We have no idea how they got our card number and it blows my mind how they can use it... but I've been told they make a card and use it as a credit card," said Murdock.

Murdock is one of the dozens of victims in the Hernando area. According to police, card numbers stolen from local victims are being used across the country. Police say the numbers are mostly being used in Texas and Florida; police are trying to figure out how the crooks got the card information.

Sheriff's department detectives say they have interviewed an employee from a gas station and employees from stores in a Hernando shopping center. Detectives believe the people stealing the card numbers may be connected to a south Florida identity theft ring. See More

Tis the season –for ID theft.

City men who recently hacked into bank computer networks across the United States to steal credit card numbers are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to identity theft in Edmonton, say police.
In fact, during the busiest shopping season of the year, they're warning consumers to avoid using credit and debit when possible and keep their personal information tightly guarded.
For every pair police catch, they figure there are dozens of criminals out there in the City of Champions, where debit and credit fraud is rapidly becoming popular among all kinds of criminal.
"It's so easy for them," said Det. Bob Gauthier of the Edmonton Police Service. "That's just one of the many scams out there these days. It's just rampant."
The pair in question targeted small banks in smaller communities, said Gauthier, until they found those with poor network protection. See More

Crook trying to steal credit card info by impersonating police officer

NAPLES: Police say someone is trying to steal credit card information from restaurants and other businesses by impersonating officers.Investigators at the Naples Police Department say someone claiming to be an detective recently called Vergina's, a restaurant on Fifth Avenue. The caller said that the department was investigating a credit card scheme and needed the business to hand over credit card numbers and receipts from the night before.
Managers were suspicious, so instead of turning over the information they called police and the investigation began.
See More

Carmichael Man Pleads Guilty to Identity Theft

A Carmichael man pleaded guilty on Monday to conspiracy, bank fraud, aggravated identity theft and possession of stolen mail in a conspiracy with more than 50 victims. See More

Spartanburg Woman Charged With Identity Theft

A federal grand jury indicted a Spartanburg woman on identity theft charges. April Nicole Garrett, 34, of Spartanburg, is charged in a four-count indictment with credit card fraud, aggravated identity theft, and purposefully misdirecting the mail.

The indictment alleges that Garrett stole the identity of another person in order to obtain and use credit cards. Investigators said Garrett forged a postal form so that she could redirect the victim’s mail.

If found guilty, Garrett could face a fine of $1 million and a prison sentence of up to 19 years.

The investigation was conducted by the Office of the United States Postal Inspector. See More

Former postal worker sentenced in identity theft case

READING, Pa. - A former Berks County postal worker is heading to prison for participating in an identity theft scheme.

Officials from the District Attorney's office say William Butler was sentenced this week to 6 to 23 months in prison.

Police say Butler and his former girlfriend, passport clerk Kim McKnight Jimenez, of Exeter Township, used their positions at the Gus Yatron General Mail Facility to steal information from at least 19 passport applicants and obtain medical-benefit and credit cards in their own names. See More

Green Bay man charged here with identity theft, forgery

A 19-year-old Green Bay man is facing four felony charges in Sheboygan County after allegedly using his brother's identity to get a driver's license and forge three checks, according to a criminal complaint released Wednesday.
Nicholas A. Doran was charged Tuesday with identity theft and three counts of forgery, totaling up to 12 years in prison if convicted. According to the complaint: Doran used his brother's name, birth date and Social Security number to obtain a driver's license in Green Bay. That ID card was then used in February to cash three checks totaling $4,251 at Kohler Credit Union locations in Sheboygan and Howards Grove. Doran's brother, Joshua, was in prison at the time the checks were cashed. The checks were written on the account of an Appleton business and made out to Joshua Doran. Nicholas Doran told police he got the checks from a friend in Green Bay.
He told police he got the driver's license in his brother's name two years ago in order to get an apartment. See More

Identity theft lands wrong man in Albuquerque jail for six days November 07

Erik Lea found himself in a world of trouble, only it wasn't Erik Lea who got himself there.
Not entirely, at least.

On Sept. 23, the 28-year-old Albuquerque man was arrested after having a heated argument with his girlfriend over his coming home late. No one was physically harmed, but it was a troubling scene nevertheless.
That's bad enough. But days after he was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center, a routine records check uncovered an outstanding warrant for his arrest on 2005 narcotics charges on which he had skipped out. As a result of the warrant, his bail shot from $5,000 to $20,000 cash only, a guarantee that he wouldn't be free anytime soon.

Only the warrant wasn't his.

The trouble, it turns out, began not at the point of Lea's arrest but in 2002 when he left his wallet in a phone booth. Lea believes someone took his Social Security card from the wallet and used it to claim Lea's information as his own — a handy thing when committing traffic citations and criminal charges.
Identity theft of this kind ruins not just a good credit rating but forces otherwise law-abiding citizens to helplessly suffer the criminal consequences of those who do wrong in their name. See More

Here are a few scams to watch out for -and tips to keep your identity safe.

Listen to Podcast that highlights the threat of identity theft, how businesses can be held accountable, and what they can do to prevent it from occurring.

Don't let the identity thief grinch steal you -or your happiness this holiday season!

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Identity theft sucks!

And it will suck your time, money, business and energy right out from under you if you are not on guard and aware of the various forms of fraud that one can all too easily fall victim to. The holiday season is peak season for crime and most especially -identity theft.

USA Today reports today...Theft of personal data more than triples this year

Thieves are systematically pilfering sensitive personal data from companies, government agencies, colleges and hospitals like never before. More than 162 million records have been reported lost or stolen in 2007, triple the 49.7 million that went missing in 2006, according to USA TODAY's analysis of data losses reported over the past two years. See More

What is identity theft?

Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personally identifying information, like your name, Social Security number, or credit card number, without your permission, to commit fraud or other crimes.

The FTC estimates that as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year. In fact, you or someone you know may have experienced some form of identity theft.

The crime takes many forms. Identity thieves may rent an apartment, obtain a credit card, or establish a telephone account in your name. You may not find out about the theft until you review your credit report or a credit card statement and notice charges you didn’t make—or until you’re contacted by a debt collector.

Identity theft is serious. While some identity theft victims can resolve their problems quickly, others spend hundreds of dollars and many months or years repairing damage to their good name and credit record. Some consumers victimized by identity theft may lose out on job opportunities, or be denied loans for education, housing or cars and pay higher interest rates and insurance premiums because of negative information on their credit reports. They may even be arrested for crimes they did not commit.

How do thieves steal an identity?

Identity theft starts with the misuse of your personally identifying information such as your name and Social Security number, credit card numbers, or other financial account information. For identity thieves, this information is as good as gold.

Skilled identity thieves may use a variety of methods to get hold of your information, including:

1. Dumpster Diving. They rummage through trash looking for bills or other paper with your personal information on it.
2. Skimming. They steal credit/debit card numbers by using a special storage device when processing your card.
3. Phishing. They pretend to be financial institutions or companies and send spam or pop-up messages to get you to reveal your personal information.
4. Changing Your Address. They divert your billing statements to another location by completing a change of address form.
5. Old-Fashioned Stealing. They steal wallets and purses; mail, including bank and credit card statements; pre-approved credit offers; and new checks or tax information. They steal personnel records, or bribe employees who have access.
6. Pretexting. They use false pretenses to obtain your personal information from financial institutions, telephone companies, and other sources.

What do thieves do with a stolen identity? They often sell it to mulitple thieves.

Once they have your personal information, identity thieves use it in a variety of ways.

Credit card fraud:
•They may open new credit card accounts in your name. When they use the cards and don't pay the bills, the delinquent accounts appear on your credit report.
•They may change the billing address on your credit card so that you no longer receive bills, and then run up charges on your account. Because your bills are now sent to a different address, it may be some time before you realize there's a problem.
Phone or utilities fraud:
•They may open a new phone or wireless account in your name, or run up charges on your existing account.
•They may use your name to get utility services like electricity, heating, or cable TV.
•They may create counterfeit checks using your name or account number.
•They may open a bank account in your name and write bad checks.
•They may clone your ATM or debit card and make electronic withdrawals your name, draining your accounts.
•They may take out a loan in your name.

Government documents fraud:
•They may get a driver's license or official ID card issued in your name but with their picture.
•They may use your name and Social Security number to get government benefits.
•They may file a fraudulent tax return using your information.

Other fraud:
•They may get a job using your Social Security number.
•They may rent a house or get medical services using your name.
•They may give your personal information to police during an arrest. If they don't show up for their court date, a warrant for arrest is issued in your name.

What can you do to help fight identity theft?

A great deal.

Awareness is an effective weapon against many forms identity theft. Be aware of how information is stolen and what you can do to protect yours, monitor your personal information to uncover any problems quickly, and know what to do when you suspect your identity has been stolen. Your time, energy and name are valuable to you -and thieves. Armed with the knowledge of how to protect yourself and take action, you can make identity thieves' jobs much more difficult! Knowledge is power.

Test your IQ on Identity theft

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Angela P. Williams says she got nothing but a runaround from Equifax as she tried for more than a decade to clear up an identity mix-up that ruined her credit. Now she's hitting the credit-reporting giant where it hurts: on the bottom line.

An Orlando jury awarded Williams a multimillion-dollar verdict against Equifax for years of failing to correct dramatic errors in Williams' credit report that led to her credit score being trashed.

Atlanta-based Equifax must pay the medical-transcription worker $219,000 in actual damages and $2.7 million in punitive damages for negligent violation of federal credit-reporting laws, according to the verdict Friday in state Circuit Court in Orlando.

It is the largest punitive-damages award ever against Equifax, which would not comment on the case. An appeal is expected.

Williams, who recently moved from Brevard County to the Jacksonville area, said she was surprised but gratified by the decision.

"This has been a nightmare," she said Monday. "It's not so much about the money, but about the punishment. I know I'm not the only one that has gone through this. But people need to know their rights. They need to check their credit report and try to be in charge of their credit history."

The verdict was a big vote of confidence for people who wrestle with a flawed credit-reporting system and take on big corporations that refuse to acknowledge mistakes, said Steven Fahlgren, a Florida-based consumer lawyer who represents Williams. See entire article

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In my opinion...This case proves what many of us have been claiming for years…the credit bureaus do not have proper procedures in place to maintain our data, correct erroneous accounts, handle disputes correctly, and remove fraudulent accounts promptly. Consumers are charged with the task of monitoring and repairing "their" product -yet it seems no matter how many days, months or years we struggle to make sure the errors are corrected, and fraudulent data isn't contaminating our credit reports -they continue to sell and disseminate our information with very little regard for the accuracy or the ramifications this defective product can cause.

My battle with Equifax, and other credit reporting agencies, consumed my life for more than a decade as well. Yet, throughout all the court filings, depositions, and government inquiries relating to Equifax's procedures, (and the other bureaus) they continued to insist they had the necessary and proper procedures in place to meet their obligations that would ensure consumer disputes were handled properly and within the time limits mandated by law.
In my case, as well as countless other consumer cases of past, present and future, those claims continue to appear false and damaging to innocent consumers. Bravo to the jury for coming back with a proper verdict! And to Ms. Williams for fighting the fight to hold them accountable!

Posted by Denise Richardson at 07:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Credit Card Practices Denounced

WASHINGTON (AP) - Congress is renewing its scrutiny of the credit card industry, as some lawmakers denounce the practice of raising customers' interest rates when their credit scores decline, even if they make their card payments on time.

Industry critics say it's another example of abusive, confusing credit card practices that can push consumers deeper into debt.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee, is holding out the club of possible legislation to spur voluntary changes by the industry.

"Working people are being squeezed," Levin told reporters Monday. In a call for "good, strong legislation" to be enacted next year, Levin said that "these abuses need to be remedied. more

Congress to ask US banks to explain credit card 'abuses'

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A US congressional panel Tuesday will ask some of America's largest financial institutions to explain how they set interest rates on credit cards after hundreds of consumers complained to Congress.

The Senate subcommittee on investigations has scheduled a hearing at which consumers are expected to relate how they were subjected to sharp rate hikes on their credit card bills despite paying the bills on time.

The panel, headed by Democratic Senator Carl Levin, held an initial hearing on credit card practices in March, but the lawmaker told reporters Monday that "abuses" were still occurring.

"People who have paid their bills on time, have paid the amount that they are required to pay, nonetheless may face these unilaterally gouging interest rate increases," Levin said. more

Congress Vs. Credit Cards

Ho ho ho. Just in time for the holiday spending season, members of Congress are skewering credit card companies for pushing allegedly abusive business practices on unwitting customers.

Tuesday, a panel led by Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., will haul in executives from Discover, Bank of America (nyse: BAC - news - people ) and Capital One Financial (nyse: COF - news - people ). The lawmakers want to know why they raise customers' interest rates when those customers have a solid payment history.

The spotlight on the industry comes as Congress and the Bush administration consider regulatory fixes for the easy lending of the subprime mortgage industry. Levin says lawmakers have a "regulatory responsibility" to "end some abuses where they exist in the free market." more

Senators probe surprise credit card rate rises

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As consumers whip out their credit cards for another holiday shopping binge, a U.S. Senate panel on Tuesday will examine surprise interest rate increases, even for cardholders who scrupulously make payments on time. more

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