Are collection companies harassing you about a bill you supposedly owe?

Don’t just pay it believing that by doing so the problem will simply go away.

Chances are you don’t owe it and their collection attempts may be illegal!

Consumers are finding it increasingly difficult to steer clear of abusive and often illegal collection calls. Frequently debt collectors harass the consumer at work with aggressive threats to contact their employer and/or family members hoping to instill enough fear in them, they will simply give in and pay up –regardless whether or not they actually owe the debt.

Whether the alleged debt is legitimately owed or caused by identity theft, bogus medical bills, accounting errors or fraud –you have rights you should be aware of.

The National Association of Consumer Advocates provides a great way to interpret your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act:

"…Rule of Thumb: If your mother would be upset about you treating other people the way that you were treated by the debt collector, then the conduct probably violates the FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act)

Here's the NACA article in its entirety:

Debt Collection Abuse

In spite of federal and state legislation, debt collectors continue to abuse consumers in order to unfairly pressure them into paying debts. These abuse tactics are often intended to scare or intimidate consumers, sometime with threats of violence or arrest. Other debt collectors will try to pile on illegal interest or fees to make the debt seem larger that it actually is. In some instances, these debts are time-barred, discharged in bankruptcy, or not owed for other reasons.

The Federal Fair Debt Collection Practice Act (FDCPA) bars all forms of unfair, abusive and deceptive collection practices. While the statute provides a laundry list of potential violations, this list is not exclusive. The statute also provides a general prohibition on any form of deception, abuse, or unfair treatment.

Here's a general rule of thumb you can use to interpret this: If your mother would be upset about you treating other people the way that you were treated by the debt collector, then the conduct probably violates the FDCPA.

What Are My Rights?

Federal and state laws give you rights against bill collector harassment. Collection agencies and debt collectors are required to provide you with a notice of your rights within 5 days of the first communication with you. Below are all listed in section 1692c of the FDCPA:

You have the absolute right to demand that a debt collector cease communication. You just have to write a letter setting forth your demand. If you notify the collector that you refuse to pay the debt, that notice also serves as a cease communications notice. In either event, the debt collector may no longer communicate with you except to notify you that he is exercising specific rights.

Debt collectors are prohibited from collecting debts that are not owed. You have the right to demand that the debt collector prove you owe the money. This process is known as "validation" of the debt. Debt collectors must notify you of this right, and if you request validation in writing within 30 days of receiving your notice of rights, the debt collector must either validate the debt to you or cease collection efforts.

What Should I Do?

You should gather and organize all the information you can about the debt, as well as the collection efforts of any past or current collectors who contacted you. The past correspondence provides important information about the kinds of charges and interest that have been added to the debt.

If you have copies of your credit reports, you will need those also. The credit reports also contain historic information about the debt, including the time it was incurred, when it was defaulted, and who may have collected it previously

If you have any notes about the debt or any taped conversations, threatening letters, or any communication whatsoever with the collector, these can be extremely valuable in reconstructing the collection efforts and any abuse. Whenever you are contacted by a collector, you should note the date, time, person you are speaking to and the content of the call including any abusive language or threats. If at all possible, you should keep these notes together in one central spot.

If you have any witnesses who can corroborate that you were abused, you should get a brief statement from that witness in their own words. These statements will help to refresh the witnesses' memories when you get to trial and provide information to your attorney.

Posted by Denise Richardson at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What would you do if a collection company harassed you for a debt you didn’t owe? Many just pay it and that's what collection companies hope for. By paying a debt you don't owe -trying to make it disappear can be harmful to your credit.

Collecting debt is a multi-billion-dollar business. According to a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the country's largest debt-collection agency NCO posted $936 million in revenue in the first nine months of 2007.

Zombie debt can haunt you

MELVILLE, N.Y — After Kim Mullen filed for bankruptcy in 1993, she cut up all her credit cards in her lawyer's office. Since then, the Levittown resident has managed to obtain a good credit rating.

But in December, NCO, a debt collector contacted her, saying she had an unpaid card balance of $5,655 from 1992. With interest, the letter claimed, the debt had grown to $19,400.

As old debt seems to rise from the dead, it's taken on a name — "zombie debt." And in recent years, more and more such debt is coming back to haunt consumers, according to their advocates and lawyers who specialize in debt.

Mullen, 46, says she doesn't remember the debt and has challenged it. Others who have received such notices say the purported old debts are a result of identity theft.

Many credit card companies have started selling delinquent accounts to collectors to boost quarterly earnings, according to a report by Kaulkin Ginsberg, a Rockville, Md.-based adviser on debt collection. MORE

For more stories and video on NCO's practices see:

Woman Gets NCO off her back

What Happens when Collection Companies Haunt you for Debts you Don't owe?

The North Country Gazette is undertaking a special investigation into Correctional Billing Services and NCO Financial Services and invites persons who have had similar experiences to contact NCG with a brief description, name and contact information. NCG is assimilating the complaints and continuing to publicize the issue, seeking to open a federal investigation into the practices of CBS and NCO:

Correctional Billing Services and NCO Engaging in Arbitrary Practices

Woman Tackles NCO Credit Collection Practices

Posted by Denise Richardson at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If you have an e-mail account, chances are you've received many types of phishing e-mails that offer huge amounts of money if you simply respond and give them additional personal or financial information or pay them a small sum of money now -for a promise of riches later. Now there is one claiming to be from a hit-man that is out to get you if you don't pay up!

The content of the emails vary, including the amount of money they demand. The messages often contain spelling and language errors and may include bits of personal information about you designed to grab your attention and instill fear. The hit-man claims that unless he's paid -he will carry out his threats. If you receive such e-mails don't reply. Rather, report them to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, a partnership of the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center. Any e-mails that contain specific and personal information such as names or locations should be reported to local police.

FBI WARNS:
ONLINE EXTORTION: E-Mail Scam Includes Hit-Man Threat

A new scam cropping up in e-mail boxes across the country is preying not on recipients’ greed or good intentions, but on their fears. The scam e-mail, which first appeared in December, threatens to kill recipients if they do not pay thousands of dollars to the sender, who purports to be a hired assassin.

About 115 complaints have been filed with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) since the scam emerged, according to special agent John Hambrick, who heads IC3. He said the extortion scam does not appear to target anyone specifically and that IC3 has not received any reports of money loss or threats carried out.

“This is a hoax, so do yourself a favor and don’t respond,” Hambrick said.

Replying to the e-mails just sends a signal to senders that they’ve reached a live account. It also escalates the intimidation, Hambrick said.

In one case, a recipient responded that he wanted to be left alone and threatened to call authorities. The scammer, who was demanding an advance payment of $20,000, e-mailed back and reiterated the threat, this time with some personal details about the recipient—his work address, marital status, and daughter’s full name. Then an ultimatum:

“TELL ME NOW ARE YOU READY TO DO WHAT I SAID OR DO YOU WANT ME TO PROCEED WITH MY JOB? ANSWER YES/NO AND DON’T ASK ANY QUESTIONS!!!”

Bill Shore, a special agent who supervises the computer crime squad in the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, said recipients should not be overly spooked when scammers incorporate their intended victims’ personal details in their schemes.

“Personal information is widely available,” he said. “Even if a person does not use the Internet or own a computer, they could still be the victim of a computer crime such as identity theft.”

The extortion scam is a less subtle variation of some other e-mail scams designed to trick recipients into turning over money or personal information. Nigerian Letter schemes, in which recipients are offered the "opportunity" to share in a percentage of millions of dollars if they would first front some of their own money, are among the most prolific, along with phishing scams where recipients are asked in unsolicited e-mails to “update” their personal information.

The new extortion e-mails vary in style and content and generally contain misspellings and some broken English. But the underlying message appears to be the same: pay the sender or risk the alternative. A scam e-mail in December said as much:

“I have followed you closely for one week and three days now … Do not contact the police or F.B.I. or try to send a copy of this to them, because if you do I will know, and might be pushed to do what I have being (sic) paid to do.”

A noted new twist in the scam.

E-mails are surfacing that claim to be from the FBI in London and inform recipients that an arrest was made in the case. The e-mail says the recipient’s information was found on the suspect and that they should reply to help further the investigation. This, too, is a scam. For more: SEE FBI ALERT

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Washington Post: Latest E-Mail Scam Offers Reprieve -- at a Price -- From Killer-for-Hire

Manassas resident Jessica Walker, 28, got one of e-mails at work last week. The message told her that for $15,000, she could have audiotapes of conversations between the hit man and the person who wanted her killed.
Walker, a cash-management specialist at a Fairfax bank, called police, but she said the e-mail gave her pause.
"You sit there and start racking your brain and thinking, 'Who would want to do it?' " Walker said. "Say that e-mail went to 10,000 people. Five percent of people probably responded to it, if for no other reason than to ask what was going on." MORE

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For additional scam alerts: hoaxes and e-mail scams

Posted by Denise Richardson at 09:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Asking patients for photo IDs is one safeguard, but many thefts are also committed by health care employees.

When physicians look to protect their patients from medical identity theft, they may want to start by examining their office staff.

That's because, while patients may try to use another person's identity fraudulently to receive medical care, many thefts happen when a hospital, clinic or practice employee sells patient information to organized crime or gang leaders, experts said. Then the information is used to conduct fake billing or obtain goods such as wheelchairs and prescription drugs to sell on the black market, said Pam Dixon, executive director of the World Privacy Forum, a nonprofit research and consumer education organization.

The forum is conducting its second study of medical identity theft, and the findings will be released later this year. In its first study, issued in 2006, the organization reported that 250,000 to 500,000 people had experienced this form of identity theft.

A 2007 study by the Federal Trade Commission estimated that medical identity theft affected about 250,000 people in 2005.

"We have the anecdotal information that it is increasing," Dixon said, noting that cases involving individuals committing the crime alone are rare. "We do see some of that where someone steals a wallet or they steal someone's name. That does happen. But the preponderance of cases are happening from insider jobs."

Dixon points to a case at the Cleveland Clinic in Weston, Fla., where Isis Machado, a front-desk office coordinator, pled guilty to selling information involving more than 1,000 patients. Although the hospital had browser controls to limit the number of records that employees could view, no one noticed Machado was exceeding that limit regularly, Dixon said. Machado's case resulted in $7 million in Medicare fraud. MORE

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Health Care Providers Not Required To Notify Patients Of Compromised Records

Identity theft is a widespread and well-publicized problem with huge financial repercussions, but a hole in the nation's notification laws could potentially prove lethal. There is no law requiring health care providers to inform patients when they learn that a thief may have accessed their health records.

One such breach was revealed last November when police said a ring of identity thieves had spent more than eight months pilfering patient records at Columbia St. Mary's Ozaukee Hospital.

In that incident, the band of ex-cons depended on a housekeeper at the hospital to provide them with the information they needed to get online loans in patients' names. MORE

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There are two facets to medical identity theft; one is financial and the other involves your health care. Medical identity theft happens when a thief uses your social security number or health insurance to obtain medical services, health benefits –including prescriptions, without your knowledge. Medical identity theft can carry with it damaging, far-reaching effects. Not only is medical id theft hard to detect, it is even more difficult to correct than the more commonly heard of -financial identity theft.

Victims of medical identity theft have found their medical histories contaminated with false diagnosis, billings for surgeries they never had, prescriptions they never received and bogus allergies and blood type notations that are all frighteningly wrong and belong to someone else -the thief!

The World Privacy Forum has informative frequently asked questions and answers on their website –take the time check it out –it’s very informative.

Resources

* If you suspect you have been the victim of Medicare/Medicaid fraud, call 1-800-HHS-TIPS (1-800-447-8477).

* You can also file a medical identity theft complaint at the FTC, and take advantage of their excellent resources on resolving the financial aspects of medical identity theft. .

By phone: call the FTC Identity Theft Toll-Free Hotline at 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338).

* If a health care provider has not allowed you to see your own medical records, file a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights at Health and Human Services at or 1-800-368-1019.

* The Blue Cross/Blue Shield has an excellent page of tips for preventing fraud problems.

Blue Cross/ Blue Shield recommends that you should be cautious of free medical exams, co-payment waivers, or advertisements stating “covered by insurance.” They also recommend that you think of your healthcare card as being as valuable as a credit card. "If lost or stolen, a healthcare card could be used to gain access to drugs and services that may permanently appear on your medical history."

* You can find more information about your health privacy rights at the web site of the Health Privacy Project
* The web site of the Georgetown University Center on Medical Record Rights and Privacy at has information on state laws about access and correction of medical information.

* Many insurers have fraud hotlines. If you suspect medical identity theft, call your insurer and ask for their fraud hotline number.

Posted by Denise Richardson at 07:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Report: Identity theft efforts lacking

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly two years after an embarrassing flap in which veterans' personal information was put at risk of identity theft, federal agencies are still not doing all they can to prevent further lapses, investigators have found.

Most of the two dozen federal agencies examined by the Government Accountability Office, Congress' investigative arm, had not implemented five federal recommendations aimed at protecting personal information. Only two agencies — the Treasury and Transportation departments — met each of those recommendations. Two others — the Small Business Administration and the National Science Foundation — had met none of them, the GAO found.

The other 18 agencies met the recommendations to varying degrees. The recommendations were among those issued by the White House Office of Management and Budget following the 2006 VA incident, when a computer hard drive containing millions of names, Social Security numbers and birth dates was stolen from a VA employee's home in Maryland. The hard drive was later recovered intact.
MORE
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A warning to Floridians -but it can happen anywhere...

TALLAHASSEE, FL - Attorney General Bill McCollum today issued a consumer advisory warning Floridians about the increasing number of credit repair scams and simultaneously announced that his office’s Economic Crimes Division filed two lawsuits today, one against a Broward County attorney and one against a Clay County couple. The lawsuits allege the Broward attorney deceptively marketed misleading debt management services and the Clay County couple charged egregious fees for debt negotiation services that were never provided.

“Consumers who are trying to reduce or eliminate debt are working toward an admirable goal and it is unconscionable to take advantage of these efforts,” said Attorney General McCollum. “Florida citizens should always be wary of companies or individuals who are making unreasonable promises or demands, either to restore credit or reduce debt.”

Laura L. Hess of Coral Springs, her Broward County law firm and two other Florida-based companies she controls are named in the first lawsuit, which states Hess allegedly signed thousands of credit card debtors up for debt management services, claiming the law firm would provide legal services to cancel debts for pennies on the dollar. Representatives of Hess allegedly told consumers that the companies had audited the consumers’ accounts and found numerous violations under the Fair Credit Billing Act, then sent notices to creditors disputing all charges. Consumers were falsely told that once these notices were issued, the consumers did not have to pay creditors and creditors could not sue or otherwise take action against them. The Attorney General’s lawsuit alleges Hess’s deception led to lawsuits and other actions against several debtors.

The second lawsuit, filed today in Clay County Circuit Court, alleges John J. Hacker and Christa L. Caparella, operating as United Debt Solutions, promised consumers that they could reduce their debts by 50 percent or more and demanded fees that greatly exceeded legal limits for debt negotiators. According to the lawsuit, Hacker and Caparella instructed customers to stop paying creditors and instead divert what they would have paid to the couple. Instead of contacting creditors to negotiate debt reductions, the lawsuit alleges the two simply pocketed the money. Requests for refunds were ignored and when their business ran short on funds, Hacker and Caparella debited their customers’ accounts without permission. The Attorney General's Office has received nearly 100 complaints about the pair from all over the United States.

The Attorney General reminds consumers that they are entitled to one free credit report every 12 months, available annualcreditreport.com, and should beware of companies that offer quick solutions for clearing bad credit. Credit repair companies claiming they can remove negative information from a credit report are not being honest. Accurate information within seven years of the reporting period, or 10 years if the information relates to a bankruptcy, cannot be erased from a credit report. The only information that can be changed are items that are actually wrong or are after the reporting date.

Some credit repair schemes offer to “hide” bad credit by helping consumers establish a new credit identity. The company may direct the consumer to apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the Internal Revenue Service, and to use the EIN in place of his or her Social Security number when applying for credit. This practice, known as file segregation, is a federal crime. MORE

Posted by Denise Richardson at 12:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Credit bureau Experian is accusing the identity theft prevention firm LifeLock, of deception and fraud. In the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court on Feb. 13, Experian contends that LifeLock's advertising is misleading and that the firm is breaking federal law in the way it goes about protecting consumers by placing our fraud alerts.

LifeLock CEO Davis, in an interview with MSNBC on Wednesday, called the lawsuit baseless and said that Experian is simply upset that his firm is challenging its business model.

"This lawsuit is not about helping consumers," he said. "They just want to make more money selling their data."
I’m outraged at the lawsuit –but not at LifeLock!

In my opinion...he’s right.

This lawsuit isn’t about helping consumers it's about money. Let's face it, Experian and the other bureaus don’t give the impression they care about consumers and they don't appear to spend money or time creating solutions for us. Rather it’s quite obvious they spend considerable money on advertisements for “free credit reports” that aren’t free! Their radio and television advertisements, as well as an array of websites continue to guide consumers who are seeking their official ‘free” credit report to a site owned by Experian that sells credit monitoring services.

Many consumers have no idea that the free credit report site being frequently advertised on television isn't the official site mandated by the government allowing consumers to obtain an annual cost-free credit report.

How would they know? Have you seen one public service announcement or one commercial giving out the correct website or toll free number?

The official site isn't "freecreditreport" it's –annualcreditreport.com. However, watch your spelling and carefully follow the instructions on the site or you may find you have been whisked away to an impostor site simply by misspelling the URL.

As reported by Privacy Rights Clearing House;

We recommend you order free reports by telephone or mail. A World Privacy Forum report released in July 2005 exposed hundreds of imposter web sites. The FTC filed suit against one imposter site and sent warning letters to many others. Some bogus sites lure you in with “free” offers, but just want to sell you products like credit monitoring services. Others are outright frauds that aim to steal your personal information. To read more about fake sites, see FTC

If you still prefer to order your free reports online, make sure you link to the only official web site. The safest way to do this is through the FTC's web site which includes more information on annual reports.

Never visit a site you find through a search for terms like “free credit reports,” “free credit scores,” or “free credit checks.”

Additionally, experts have warned that the annualcreditreport.com website may not be so consumer friendly as the privacy policy seems to indicate that by using the site you are agreeing they may sell your information to third parties.

What many consumers wouldn’t know is that the FTC had to step in and tell Experian that their advertisements that claimed to offer "free credit reports" were confusing the public. The FTC’s Complaint states in part that Experian doing business as consumerinfo;

“deceptively advertised and promoted its “free reports” at its “freecreditreport.com” Web site, without disclosing that it was not associated with the official annual free credit report program.
“Consumers paid the price for ordering free credit reports from freecreditreport.com,” said Lydia Parnes, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “It’s unfair and deceptive to promise consumers something for free and then trick them into paying for products they didn’t want in the first place.”

It sounds like Experian is being a bit hypocritical.

For Experian to allege that LifeLock's services "constitute misleading advertising" –when we’ve all heard the “I’m dreaming of a number” commercials and little jingles that contain the words “free credit report” it appears phony and disingenuous at best.

I believe the credit bureaus continue to leave consumers out of the equation when it comes to providing solutions to fraud and identity theft. Rather, it appears they continue to be part of the problem. If the cra’s did their job, research wouldn't prove that 1 in 4 credit reports are laced with harmful errors.

Rather than attacking companies trying to solve the problem, maybe they should consider joining those of us who feel more needs to be done to lessen the burden placed on consumers who simply want to maintain an accurate credit report.

Doesn't it make you wonder if it might have been LifeLock’s recent petition drive and campaign to defeat identity theft that sparked this lawsuit?

There are many lawsuits filed by consumers against Experian as well as against the other two credit bureaus. It would seem that their money would be better spent fixing their systemic problems so companies such as LifeLock were not needed.

More from the FTC website:

Marketer of “Free Credit Reports” Settles FTC Charges

According to the FTC complaint, the defendant drove consumers to their www.freecreditreport.com and www.consumerinfo.com Web sites with radio, television, e-mail and Internet ads that promised free credit reports and a bonus – free trials of a credit-monitoring service. Ads made claims such as:
FREE! FREE! FREE! Get Your FREE Credit Report Online in Seconds!!!!
Click here to get a FREE copy of your online Credit Report Instantly!
And that’s not all. . . along with your INSTANT credit report, we’ll give
you 30 FREE days of the Credit Check Monitoring Service at no obligation. MORE
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2005/08/consumerinfo.shtm

If we didn’t have to file lawsuits or spend years fighting to correct inaccurate information contained in our credit reports –LifeLock’s services would not be of value. Experian continues to make us feel as though we work for free as a type of “quality control inspector”… monitoring, disputing and correcting our own information-for their profits. Correcting inaccurate information is a task that is frustrating, costly and can continue for a lifetime, especially if hit with an identity theft. The cra's product (our personal information) is sold over and over with very little, (if any) value placed on whether or not their product is deemed defective.

What usually happens when a product deemed defective continues to be sold to the public?

Any other product that was found to be harmful to consumers would be pulled from the market. The corporations involved would be held accountable and the product would be unavailable-at least until scrutinized and determined the product was no longer defective. The CRA’s should be held up to the same standard as any other for profit Company.

Regardless how they rule our lives, they are not God -therefore, they should not be above the same laws we hold others accountable to. It’s time the cra’s step up to the plate and become part of the solution and not the problem! Selling us credit monitoring services is just another way for them to profit from something many of us believe should have been provided to us for free!

Experian's lawsuit appears to be not only disingenuous but entirely self-serving and destructive. If they win –we all lose.

Posted by Denise Richardson at 12:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Computer security is not only important while your browsing the internet …security must be a top consideration when opting to buy a new computer and deciding how to discard your old one. Sensitive data such as banking account information, credit card numbers and passwords are often contained on the hard drive –whether or not you hit “delete”. If you dispose of your computer (or cell phones & pda’s) without first destroying or erasing the hard drive, you may be putting yourself, and others, at risk of identity theft or fraud.

If you file taxes, do banking, pay bills or shop online , you have accumulated sensitive identifying information that is stored on your hard drive. Once your computer leaves your control it can easily land in the hands of a criminal whose job it is to pilfer that information and use it (or sell it to others) to commit fraud or identity theft. Consider removing the hard drive and destroying it before throwing your computer in the garbage.

Other options to ensure your hard drive data is destroyed properly:

*Purchase software, which if used properly, will completely write over your information and clean the hard drive;
*Hire a trusted company to clean your hard drive for you

For more tips and information on how to safely dispose of old computers see: Computer Disposal and Security

and

Computer Identity Theft: Video & Report

Posted by Denise Richardson at 12:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A few YouTube Videos designed to raise awareness to the technology used by criminals "skimming" your information at ATM's -without your knowledge.

A few tips how to keep your information safe while using an ATM...

An even more sophisticated way thieves steal your information at ATM's:

In less then a minute...this video shows how easy it is for criminals to attach a device to an ATM

Posted by Denise Richardson at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

We could stop some foreclosures, but it would take an Act of Congress!

We know the importance of reviewing our credit reports on a regular basis, but what is often overlooked is the importance of reviewing our monthly loan statements.

In a nutshell, if you are paying a mortgage, student or auto loan without the benefit of a monthly statement, you could be headed for trouble without knowing it. It's important to understand what can happen when payments are made without verifying how, or if they are being applied correctly. Without the aid of a monthly statement, borrowers are essentially operating on blind faith and trusting that accounting errors, or even fraud, won’t happen to them.

Could some foreclosures be averted if the homeowner had a simple tool?

Yes.

That simple tool is a monthly statement that tracks your payments. The statement includes a breakdown of principal, interest, escrow payments or any additional principal payments, and alerts the borrower if any funds have been misapplied before they run into trouble.

Robert J. Wright founder of msfraud.org agrees, “many foreclosures could have been avoided had borrowers been aware of accounting errors and fraud going on with their loan servicing.” Wright is one of countless consumers who claim he was falsely accused of being in arrears on his mortgage, and then unlawfully foreclosed on.

According to Wright, “Homeowners have been forced into bankruptcy or Forbearance Agreements and even lost their homes simply because they were unaware of fraudulent manipulation of their payments, or unaware their payments were not accounted for properly by their mortgage servicing company.”More

Proposals are good first step
By Jack Guttentag
The Mortgage Professor

Two previous articles examined the Federal Reserve Board's proposals for tightening mortgage underwriting requirements and for limiting broker charges to borrowers. These are longstanding areas of board concern. In contrast, servicing abuses seem to have been discovered by the board only recently. The proposals are weak, but they are a good first step.

Proposal No. 1 would require that servicers credit payments on the day a payment is received. Proposal No. 2 would require servicers to provide accurate payoff statements within a reasonable time to borrowers who intend to pay off their loan. Both are fair, clear and not onerous for the lender.

Proposal No. 3 would prohibit servicers from imposing late fees or delinquency charges when the scheduled payment is received on time but does not include prior late charges. This rule would eliminate the practice of "pyramiding late fees," where the servicer continues to charge late fees until all prior late fees have been paid.

But this proposal does not cover an even worse type of pyramiding. When the scheduled payment is received on time but the escrow payment is short, the practice is to place the entire payment in a suspense account, to charge the borrower a late fee, and to send a delinquency notice to the credit bureaus.

If the servicer does not send out monthly statements (which many do not, see below), the borrower will be in the dark. The next month's regular mortgage payment will also be deposited into the suspense account, and the borrower incurs a second late charge and a second 30-day delinquency report. At this point, the account may go to collections, and the borrower will suddenly find himself dunned for a laundry list of fees, with failure to pay possibly resulting in foreclosure.

The board's proposed rule against pyramiding late fees should be broadened to require that monthly payments received on time be credited when only the escrow portion is deficient.

The board's fourth proposal "would require a servicer to provide to a consumer upon request a schedule of all specific fees and charges that may be imposed in connection with the servicing of the consumer's account ... and an explanation of each. ..." The fees and charges covered include those of third parties that are passed on to consumers.

Because servicing does not involve third-party fees until a loan goes into collection, this proposal is relevant mainly to borrowers who get behind in their payments and are referred to the servicer's collections department. At that point, the borrower will be billed for a broker's price opinion, property inspection, legal services and more.

Borrowers in trouble do need protection, but requiring that the servicer provide them with a list of charges, when there is no standard that such charges must meet, is not going to help. What could help is mandatory disclosure combined with a rule that servicers cannot mark up the prices charged by third parties or profit from them in any other way.

Conspicuous by omission from this proposal is the provision of information to all borrowers, so they can keep themselves out of trouble. The single most important step that the board could take to curb servicing abuses is to mandate the provision of monthly statements that show everything that has transpired during the month -- and that is comprehensible as well as comprehensive. MORE

Posted by Denise Richardson at 07:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"Smishing" is derived from the familiar "phishing." The "sm" comes from SMS, the protocol used to transmit text messages via cellular devices.

Smishing victims receive SMS messages along these lines: "We’re confirming you've signed up for our dating service. You will be charged $2/day unless you cancel your order visit URL: www.*******.com.
When visiting the URL, victims are prompted to download a program which turns out to be a Trojan horse.

Some of the new smishing techniques include mobile spyware that once downloaded to a phone, can eavesdrop on conversations. Security experts expect hackers and other criminals to increasingly turn to this type of available technology.

Check your text messages carefully. ...

The Kansas City Star

There’s a chance your cell phone was tagged Friday in a sophisticated banking scam.

The message targeted customers of Central Bank of Kansas City but may have reached anyone served by Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint Nextel. Scammers hoped to trick bank customers into revealing personal account codes at a bogus Web site.

“We’ve probably gotten a thousand phone calls today (at) our tiny little bank, people just reporting, Good Samaritans,” William Dana, president of the bank, said Friday.

Dana said the bank was able to shut down the bogus Web site. Central Bank also posted a warning on its real Web site.

The scam likely used equipment to send the message broadly to cell phone prefixes issued in the Kansas City area. The scammers hoped some of the text messages would reach cell phones of Central Bank customers.

The practice is called “smishing.” It’s a text messaging version of similar e-mail scams known as “phishing,” in which the scammer blindly sends the fake message not knowing customers’ e-mail addresses.

Another practice, called “vishing,” uses automatic dialers to send out recorded phone messages in hopes of hitting the targeted bank’s customers. The phone message directs customers to the bogus Web site or asks them to key in account information to confirm their identity. MORE

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Tenet warns South Floridians of stolen patient information

Tenet Healthcare Corp. is asking patients nationwide — including some at all its South Florida hospitals — to watch for credit fraud since police arrested an employee for stealing patient information.

The employee, who was fired, worked in Tenet's billing office in Frisco, Texas, where he had access to 40,000 of the office's 4 million accounts. Terrance Brooks, 30, of Fort Worth, was arrested Nov. 25 when he tried to open a Costco credit card using a state ID with fraudulent information, police said.

Brooks had information from 90 patients in his possession, which violates company policy against removing billing files from the office, said company spokesman Steven Campanini. Those patients were contacted by phone first. MORE

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* Read the FTC's Consumer Fraud and Identity Theft Complaint Data for 2007 (PDF).

Between January and December 2007, Consumer Sentinel, the complaint database developed and maintained by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), received over 800,000 consumer fraud and identity theft complaints.

Consumers reported losses from fraud of more than $1.2 billion...and that number only counts those who actually reported losses.

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FBI Warning: Valentine 'e-Cards' Could Spread Computer Virus
First Coast News

...The FBI is warning to ignore any e-cards you might get -- even if it appears to be from a friend or loved one.

The FBI believes computer hackers will be sending the 'Storm Worm' Virus over the internet disguised as Valentine 'e-cards.'

Robert Olson, a security specialist and head of Future Computer Systems told First Coast News that the 'Storm Worm' Virus is actually malware.

"A virus is usually sent to destroy (a computer), compared to malware and spyware that's sent to get data back and transmit data," said Olson.

Without you knowing it, these so-called 'Bot-Net' programs can send all of your personal information from your computer out to thieves and cyber criminals anywhere in the world.

The FBI warning says simply clicking on an infected or bogus Valentine 'e-card' can open the door to your computer.

"It can be used for identity theft. Second, it can be used for SPAM," said Olson.

"That's why files like this are so dangerous!"

Olson recommends running spyware and malware detection programs which are available free on the internet at least once or preferably twice a week.

Not running such cleaning programs is a recipe for disaster.

"A month. Two months. Three months without running spyware/malware and your whole computer will be destroyed. It's going to get slower and slower and slower!"

Companies and computer experts like those at Future Computer Systems can often undo the damage, for a price.

"We're able to log in remotely for you, fix it, and also we're able to come on site and fix it for you there," said Olson.

But Olson and the FBI share the same opinion about a much simpler solution: Prevention.

"Don't open up emails from people you don't know!"

The FBI has issued a press release about this computer warning. Here is the content of that message found at:

http://www.fbi.gov/cyberinvest/escams.htm

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STORM WORM VIRUS
02/11/08 - With the Valentine's Day holiday approaching, be on the lookout for spam e-mails spreading the Storm Worm malicious software (malware). The e-mail directs the recipient to click on a link to retrieve the electronic greeting card (e-card). Once the user clicks on the link, malware is downloaded to the Internet-connected device and causes it to become infected and part of the Storm Worm botnet. A botnet is a network of compromised machines under the control of a single user. Botnets are typically set up to facilitate criminal activity such as spam e-mail, identity theft, denial of service attacks, and spreading malware to other machines on the Internet.

The Storm Worm virus has capitalized on various holidays in the last year by sending millions of e-mails advertising an e-card link within the text of the spam e-mail. Valentine's Day has been identified as the next target.

Be wary of any e-mail received from an unknown sender. Do not open any unsolicited e-mail and do not click on any links provided.

If you have received this, or a similar e-mail, please file a complaint at www.ic3.gov.

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A widely spread phone solicitation scam has been targeting unsuspecting seniors. The scammers claim to be a representative from Medicare and assert that they have designed a new Medicare card that would allow seniors to pay a one time fee of $389.00 rather than their higher monthly Part B premium. But –in order for the senior to receive this savings they must provide the caller with their Social Security Number and bank account information.

Medicare does not initiate calls or solicitations and insist that seniors never give out personal information. These telephone calls are just another way that thieves have found to steal an identity and money from bank accounts.
According to the better business bureau, this is not the first time scammers have used these tactics, but some senior citizens are still unaware and vulnerable. Medicare never conducts business over the phone.

Any senior receiving a phone call from someone claiming to be a Medicare representative requesting personal information, should immediately hang up! The Better Business Bureau suggests reporting the incident to your local police department , your Medicare provider and your state Attorney General’.

I called my Mom to warn her about this latest con which turned out to be a good thing…two days later she received a call from a fake Medicare representative and before he finished his sentence –she hung up. Take a few minutes to pass this on or make a quick phone call to warn your parents and other seniors who may not be aware of this scam –it just may save them from losing their savings and their identity.

Posted by Denise Richardson at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Attacks on Adobe Intensify

Flaws in Adobe Reader and Acrobat are being used to exploit computersAdobe urges customers to install the patch.

The flaws disclosed last week in Adobe System's Reader and Acrobat programs have been used to exploit computers since at least January via malicious banner advertisements, security analysts are reporting.
Adobe issued patches last Wednesday for Reader and Acrobat, but the company did not detail the flaws.

Problems with Adobe's software can potentially affect millions of PC users, since the company's software is widely used to read PDF (Portable Document Format) files. Most people regard PDFs as harmless.
"From our standpoint, it appears that this PDF-based attack has been quite successful, affecting many thousands of users throughout the world," wrote Hon Lau on Symantec's Security Response Weblog. MORE

To fix undisclosed vulnerabilities Adobe urges users to download Adobe version 8.1.2

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There's now one more reason to be security-conscious while using MySpace.com: fake Microsoft updates.

Using a hacked MySpace profile, online criminals are trying to trick victims into downloading a malicious Trojan Horse program by disguising it as a Microsoft update, according to researchers at security vendor McAfee.
The attack is certainly not widespread -- McAfee has seen it used on only one MySpace profile -- but it does show how sites such as MySpace can be abused by criminals.

Web surfers are presented with what appears to be a pop-up window advising them to download the latest version of Microsoft's Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool, which was just released this Tuesday. This software is distributed by Microsoft to help Windows users rid their systems of malware.

In reality, the pop-up window is just part of a larger image that takes up most of the computer screen. If the user clicks anywhere on this image, his computer will then begin to download the Trojan horse program. MORE

For more social networking safety tips see prior blog:

Students Beware! Identity thieves are studying you!

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I've certainly had my share of difficulties with NCO's collection practices –In fact; they (along with the credit bureaus) share the honor of actually naming my book (Give Me Back My Credit!) -A title born out of overall frustration and pure passion to stop the insanity of inaccurate credit reporting and abusive debt collectors who consumed my life for all too many years as they continued to report, and attempt collection, of non-existent debts and/or debts that were not owed -or mine!

It appears that NCO and their continued practice of demanding payment for long-ago paid debts, debts that don’t exist, and/or debts that belong to an identity thief, ultimately continue to be a frequent complaint and hardship faced by many consumers who turn to the courts for help.

Here’s yet another recent story involving NCO and their collection practices. Paying a debt collector for a debt you don’t owe, in hopes it will get rid of them, can actually have the opposite effect. Paying the debt is viewed as though you acknowledge you owe it and can damage your credit rating. The collection account may then remain on your credit report for seven long years from the date you pay off the debt –a debt you didn’t owe.

Zombie debt': When collectors haunt you

After Kim Mullen filed for bankruptcy in 1993, she cut up all her credit cards in her lawyer's office. Since then, the Levittown resident has managed to obtain a good credit rating.

But in December, a debt collector contacted her, saying she had an unpaid card balance of $5,655 from 1992. With interest, the letter claimed, the debt had grown to $19,400.

As old debt seems to rise from the dead, it's taken on a name -- "zombie debt." And in recent years, more and more such debt is coming back to haunt consumers, according to their advocates and lawyers who specialize in debt.

Mullen, 46, says she doesn't remember the debt and has challenged it. Others who have received such notices say the purported old debts are a result of identity theft.

Many credit card companies have started selling delinquent accounts to collectors to boost quarterly earnings, according to a report by Kaulkin Ginsberg, a Rockville, Md.-based adviser on debt collection.

The collectors then resell some of that debt to other collection agencies, accounting for $100 billion in credit card debt sold annually, according to the March 2006 report.

"Zombie debt is definitely an issue on Long Island," said Joseph Mauro, a West Islip consumer lawyer specializing in debt-collection issues

Nassau-Suffolk Law Services, a nonprofit civil legal services program for the poor, launched a clinic in December to help military personnel and low-income consumers facing debt-collection lawsuits, many of which involve old debt, said Mauro, who obtained a private donation for the project.

He said some victims of identity theft in the 1990s face calls from collection agents for credit cards they never used.

Mullen said the letter from NCO Financial Systems, based in Horsham, Pa., transported her to her long-ago financial troubles. Now "I take sleeping pills, which I never did," she said. "When I do get sleep, I wake up wide awake, like I jump up." READ TWO PAGE STORY at Newsday.com

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Another story...
Woman gets NCO off her Back...

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Watch for "Verified by Visa" Scam
Identity thieves are constantly looking for ways to make scam emails more plausible, so they are now attempting to add creditability to such emails by including a “Verified by Visa” scheme.

The wording may be something like this: “Your credit card (specified) has been automatically enrolled in the Verified by Visa program. To ensure your card’s security, it is important that you protect your card online with a personal password. Please take a moment to activate Verified by Visa now.”

According to Bill Moak, President/CEO of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Mississippi, “Verified by Visa is a legitimate service that adds an additional layer of security to online credit card transactions. It is unfortunate that it has begun to appear as a topic of phishing emails.”

These scam emails contain links to bogus sites, under the control of the hackers that prompt consumers to enter their credit card information. The messages usually end with a threat that failure to respond may temporarily disable the credit card in question. “Such threats should be a dead giveaway that the emails are scams,” Moak continued.
“Consumers should always be on guard when sharing their personal information in any way.”
More

Department of Justice Warns of Scam using their Logo

Spammers have incorporated the Justice Department's logo and Web site banner into an ongoing e-mail hoax.

The hoax e-mail claims that the recipients have been mentioned in a complaint filed by an individual named Carl Williams.

"A complaint has been filed against the company you are affiliated to [Company Name] in regards to the domain of business activity," it says. "The complaint was filed by Mr. Carl Williams on 01/20/2008 and has been forwarded to us and the IRS."

The message refers to users listed in an attachment to the e-mail that purports to be a copy of the complaint and contain contact information for Carl Williams.

The hoax e-mail using the Justice Department's logo from its Internet page asks recipients to open the attached files and print them.

DO NO OPEN!

This triggers the virus or worm, which then perpetuates the spread of the hoax e-mails.

On its web site, the Department has published a warning about the hoax, warning users not to respond and not to open any of its attachments.

Ford Motor Company warns of email hoax

Ford Motor Company is warning consumers of a recent hoax email circulating that consumers may believe comes from Ford. It is a scam. Currently it may arrive in your e-mail box with an id of: fordpromo55@comcast.net or something similar.

The communication states it is part of the Ford Car International Promotion Program 2008 and announces the recipient has won a brand new Ford SUV.

Addressed from a Mr. Harry Raymond, the email requests numerous personal details from the "winner".

A Ford representative says…"This is not a legitimate Ford promotion and we recommend that people do not respond to this email. It is not our policy or practice to ask members of the public to provide personal details and we strongly advise that anyone who receives this email does not provide any information”.

IRS warns of email & Telephone Scam

It’s tax return time and the IRS is not the only one after your money.
The IRS is warning taxpayers to beware of several email and telephone scams that use the IRS name as a lure, said William E. Bunson, the IRS Media Relations spokesman in Phoenix.

The scam involves a proposed advanced payment check.

Although the government has not yet enacted an economic stimulus package in which the IRS would provide the advance, these types of scams are all ready cropping up, Bunson said. The goal of the scam is to trick people into revealing personal and financial information, such as Social Security, bank account or credit card numbers, which the scammer can use to commit theft.

Another form of scam involves a supposed “rebate.” In this type of scam the consumer receives a phone call from someone identifying himself or herself as an IRS employee. The caller tells the victim that he is eligible for a sizable rebate for filing his taxes early.

The caller then asks the victim for a bank account number for the direct deposit of the rebate. If the target refuses, he is told he cannot receive the rebate. According to Bunson, the IRS cannot force taxpayers to use direct deposit. Those that opt for direct deposit do so by completing the appropriate section of their tax return, with bank routing information, when they file. The IRS does not gather the information over the phone.

Scammers also use email to bring in their targets. The email notifies the recipient that his or her tax return is being audited. In many cases the salutation in the body address refers to the victim by name, Bunson said.
The email instructs the recipient to click on links to complete forms with personal and account information, which the scammers use to commit identity theft. Bunson said the IRS does not send unsolicited account emails to taxpayers. Those that have received questionable email claiming to come from the IRS can forward it to a mailbox the IRS has established to received such emails: phising@irs.gov. MORE

Nigerian' money scam: What happens when you reply?

Ever wonder what would happen if you responded any variety of the infamous Nigerian money scam? Silicon.com did a special report a few years back –but it’s worth reading. E-mails continue to phish in unwary consumers...

Anybody who has ever received the notorious Nigerian Money Scam will probably have asked themselves the same question - what would happen if I replied?

For those of you unfamiliar with this email scam, the basic idea is simple. Somebody purporting to be a Nigerian banker contacts you, offering a chance to earn some serious money. Often his bank will be looking after the considerable fortune of a deceased millionaire - from shipping magnate to former president. He says he needs a foreign bank account through which to launder the money - and in return for sending him your bank details for this purpose, he will give you a share of the spoils.

Of course those who fall for this scam never see these promised millions. Instead their bank accounts are often cleaned out once they have handed over all their details - which include bank account numbers, copies of their passport and drivers license and phone and fax numbers - it is a simple identity theft, dressed up with a tempting lure for the gullible. Read Transcript

Another recent email Hoax: Cell Phones Going Public: NOT!

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For the eighth straight year, the Federal Trade Commission has labeled identity theft as the fastest growing crime in the United States. That is eight years too long! With millions of new victims each year, thieves have made statistics out of children, the elderly, the rich and the poor.

Since 2005 more than 230 million Americans (80,000 people a day) have received notice their personal information has gone missing, causing panic, frustration and stress to those affected.

Recently, Congress has taken steps to provide consumers with basic safeguards to protect personal information and prevent identity theft, however much more needs to be done. As consumers we need to be united in urging Congress to provide the following:

•Establish stronger penalties for third party agencies that lose consumers personal information

•Request stronger penalties that will prosecute identity thieves

•Assign more funding to law enforcement to fight this crime

•Enact laws to prevent agencies from selling personal information

•Demand that the Social Security Administration create a checks-and-balances system for the correct use of Social Security Numbers.

If you agree that it is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid becoming an identity theft victim, and want to support the ongoing campaign and efforts to defeat it...

Sign the Petition: Strike Back! Defeat Identity Theft Petition Here

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Congress is Back!

Tell them to get off the dime and eliminate costly credit card "gotchas" NOW!

Each year credit card companies sap billions of dollars from consumers' wallets in excessive fees, unexpected rate hikes and other unfair practices. It’s time for Congress to Act! AFFIL is partnering with Consumers Union in urging our members to send a "Valentine's Day" postcard to Congress telling them to kiss credit card abuses goodbye by enacting meaningful credit card reform.

Please take a moment to tell Congress to protect you, not the big credit card companies! Just visit Credit Card Reform and with one click you’ll send a real post card to each of your representatives this Valentine's Day.

After you take action at Credit Card Reform, Consumers Union will hand deliver postcards in your name to your Representative and Senators on February 14th!

It’s time for real reform: send your valentine message to Congress now!

Tips from Consumers Union's Experts:

What you don't know can cost you!

* Pay more than the minimum payment; otherwise you will be paying off your debt for a very long time.
* Review your bill statement carefully. Be sure you know what you’re paying for.
* Read the fine print. Your interest rate and fees can change after you get the card.
* Don’t use cash advances you’ll pay a fee of 3% of the amount you borrow, plus interest on the balance.
* Don’t use convenience checks. The bank may charge you a fee, averaging $31 per check, if it decides not to honor the check after you write it.
* Write to your bank and ask it to stop sending you credit card convenience checks. These are an easy way for an identity thief to access your account.
* Get a credit card with no annual fee. Three quarters of cards no longer have annual fees. You can find “rewards” cards without fees.
* Watch out for “default interest.” Your interest rate can go up if you miss payments, go over the credit limit or bounce a check to the credit card bank. The average “default interest” rate in 2005 was 27.3%.
* Avoid credit cards with “double cycle” billing. Under this method, if you pay nearly all of the bill for one month, you may be hit with an interest charge the next month for all of the purchases in the prior month, even though you’ve already paid for most of them. Three of the six largest credit card issuers use this method.

Consumers will continue to be bombarded with complex and unfair credit card practices during the holidays and into the New Year. We have identified these ten tricks credit card companies have created that trap consumers into undesirable terms and overwhelming penalties and fees. These tactics will continue until Congress requires credit card companies to stop these unfair practices.

Tell Congress to pass real and meaningful credit card reform!

See Details about top 10 "gotchas": Can it happen to you?

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Minnosota Company Reports Data Breach Affecting 226,000 Clients

Despite the company efforts to secure their stored data and hiring an IT security company to assess and secure any found risks and vulnerabilities, the Davidson Companies reported this week that a database containing personal information of 226,000 current and past clients, including names and social security numbers, appears to have been hacked "by a third party through a sophisticated network intrusion."

"Despite our efforts to safeguard client information, a computer hacker using sophisticated techniques illegally accessed a database and obtained access to confidential client information," said William A. Johnstone, Davidson Companies president and CEO, in a statement. "All of us at Davidson are acutely aware of the uncertainty, stress and inconvenience associated with the potential compromise of personal information. We are fully committed to helping our clients deal with this unfortunate event as quickly as possible and are adopting measures to further enhance our network security."

Davidson Companies is a financial services holding company based in Montana. It includes D.A. Davidson & Co., an investment firm; Davidson Investment Advisors, a money management firm; Davidson Trust Co., a wealth management and trust company; Davidson Fixed Income Management, an investment and money management services firm; and Davidson Travel, a travel agency.

Company spokesperson Jacquie Burchard claims "We are in the process of notifying our clients and assisting them through the process of identity theft prevention. That is our key concern at this time." To assist those affected, the company plans to pay for a year of credit monitoring service.

A free credit monitoring service seems to be the common solution offered by many companies who have suffered at the hands of data thieves or hackers. Sounds good –but is it?

Doesn't that sound a bit like closing the window after a storm strikes?

Too many people have a false sense of security when it comes to credit monitoring services. In reality, creditors don’t report activity to the bureaus on a daily basis –nor do the credit bureaus update credit reports on a daily basis. Additionally, credit monitoring can’t detect and then alert you if someone is obtaining medical services, employment, housing or committing crimes in your name. And more importantly, most credit monitoring services do not include restoration services or include reimbursement for any loss of time or money incurred.

If more creditors, businesses and universities offered identity theft prevention and restoration services before any data was compromised, wouldn't it significantly reduce the exposure, expense and damage caused to all affected by a breach? Offering credit monitoring services after the breach occurs just isn't enough...it's simply a little too little... and a little too late.

Posted by Denise Richardson at 01:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Yet another laptop stolen...

Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield is warning more than 300,000 members that some of their personal information was on a laptop computer that was stolen.

The Laptop contained names, Social Security numbers and other personal information for about 10 percent of the insurer’s 3.3 million customers in New Jersey.

Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield says the risk of identity theft is small because the data was protected by password. Also, the computer that was stolen on January 5th, was programmed to automatically destroy the information on Jan. 23rd.

The laptop contained names, Social Security numbers and other personal information (no medical information) for about 10 percent of the insurer's 3.3 million customers in New Jersey.

Company spokesman Daniel Emmer said, the computer was stolen on Jan. 5 while it was being taken home by an employee. According to their spokesperson, customers whose names were on the computer are being offered a year of free credit monitoring.

Over the last year, many of the data breaches that have occurred have happened through the theft of laptops. In fact, various manufacturers of GPS tracking software for laptops point to research gathered from the FBI and large laptop insurers that claim that one laptop is stolen every twelve seconds. And some say that number is conservative, since not all laptop thefts are reported and much of the data used in the research is outdated as laptop usage continues to skyrocket. Laptops are a growing target of thieves and the data stored on them is viewed as a hot commodity worth more than its weight in gold!

With news of daily (or hourly) data breaches, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to control whether or not our personal information is safe and secure in the hands of other people who are in charge of guarding our data.

The good news is, you can take command of your peace of mind-but only if you take the preventative steps required to protect yourself before your information has been reported stolen. Don’t become one of the millions this year who will learn their information has been stolen, compromised or at risk. It’s much easier and more cost effective to take action now -and enjoy peace of mind later.

Top 5 tips for protecting your credit identity

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Data Thieves Hit Georgetown University Students, FacultyStolen hard drive contains data on 38,000 individuals

An external hard drive containing the Social Security numbers of 38,000 Georgetown University students, faculty, and staff was stolen from the university's Office of Student Affairs, according to The Hoya, the university's student newspaper.

The hard drive contained billing information for student services, and included data on 7,700 current students -- over half the current student body -- as well as information on alumni from 1998 to 2006 and many faculty members.

The hard drive, which turned up missing Jan. 3, was kept in the office of Lynn Hirschfield, senior business manager for student affairs, The Hoya said. It said the hard drive was not encrypted.

David Lambert, the university's vice-president and chief information officer for its Information Services department, said that he could not confirm if the drive had been password protected as well. More

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Fending off Digital Thieves

Within 10 hours on Jan. 9 -- midnight to 10 a.m. -- computer hackers lurking in cyberspace scanned Virginia Tech's computer networks 15,000 times, looking for a way to reach information, such as credit card or Social Security numbers, contained in some of the cabinet's drawers.

That keeps people such as Randy Marchany busy, competing a fast- paced race colleges run with hackers -- some tied to organized crime -- to safeguard information.

Many are falling behind.

As director of Tech's information security Relevant Products/Services lab, Marchany spends his time monitoring the university's vast computer networks, hunting for potential break-ins, updating software, patching system holes and educating people about the best ways to protect their information online.

"Every time somebody comes up with a new hole and you find a fix for the attack, somebody comes up with a countermeasure," Marchany said. "It's always very fluid."

And some protective steps, such as cutting off the university community's access to certain Web sites or computer programs, aren't acceptable solutions.

"Because we're a university, and you're maybe doing research, I'm not going to get in the way of you doing your job," Marchany said. "In a university environment, we have to be open."

But that doesn't mean information isn't protected.

Tech -- and most schools -- use tools such as firewalls and encryption Relevant Products/Services to keep unwanted people from viewing their data.

An Appealing Target

Because of the intricate web of information stored in computers across college campuses, they are increasingly becoming targets for hackers, said Walter Conway, a private consultant with Walter Conway Associates who works with colleges to help protect their payment systems.

College campuses offer multiple wireless access points and each department typically has its own information technology department that handles data differently, things that make the system as a whole vulnerable.

In 2007, the nation's schools, including Virginia Tech, put 1.2 million sensitive records at risk, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center.

Stolen, leaked or publicly accessible Social Security numbers, credit card digits and student and staff addresses are the kind of data that can lead to identify theft in the wrong hands.

The ITRC tracked 111 of 448 security breaches in 2007 to schools. In September, a dozen or more of those documents that contained students' Social Security numbers or partial numbers came from Blacksburg computer systems. But no evidence exists that anyone's identity was stolen, according to the center. (continued...)
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Here are some tips (and warnings) to keep in mind...
Students Beware: Identity thieves are studying you!

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