Yahoo News Search Results “Robert Siciliano”

This is seriously braggadocios.  But it’s a nice way to end 2010 on a highnote.

2010 was a great year. 2011 will be great-er. Thanks to all.

Thank you McAfee, ADT, Gemalto, Intelius, Knowem, RSA, and all my dynamite clients!

Happy New Year!

Identity Theft is Down in Yakima County, Washington??

It’s not very often that you see a story about identity theft incidents actually decreasing. In fact, it seems like never. But, once in a while a shining light comes through, and this is exactly what is happening in Yakima County in Washington state. The local CBS affiliate in Yakima County did an analysis of identity theft incidents and found that it has actually decreased by one third since 2008.

Local law enforcement credits increased monitoring of known identity thieves. Locally, the most common type of identity theft involves stolen credit cards and checks. And, according to the police, those thieves keep their crimes close to home.

First off, congratulations to law enforcement in Yakima County for reversing a trend (the increase in identity theft) that’s been going strong for many years now. As such, you all have officially been named the “Best People” of the week by the ITAC blog. Congrat

Full Post…

Lost and Stolen Wallets Lead To Identity Theft

Anyway, she was freaked out and wanted to know what to do. There are certain things you can do now, before your wallet is lost or stolen, to mitigate future damage, and other things that should be done once a wallet is missing.

While you still have your wallet, thin it out as much as possible. If you have multiple credit cards, store cards, Social Security cards, insurance cards, and more, then, “Houston, we have a problem.” All these ancillary cards serve no purpose other than putting you at risk for new account fraud or account takeover.

Remove unnecessary cards and put them in a safe, or cut them up and cancel the accounts. I have a MasterCard and an American Express, and if everyone took American Express I’d only have one card. I also carry a Costco card, driver’s license, and a debit card to make deposits and get cash. That’s it.

Beyond that, no other card is needed, including insurance cards. Insurance cards only need to be carried the day of an appointment. They are Full Post…

11.7 Million Persons Reported Identity Theft Victimization in 2008

An estimated 11.7 million persons, representing five percent of all persons age 16 or older in the United States, were victims of identity theft during the two years prior to being surveyed in 2008, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced yesterday. The financial losses due to the identity theft totaled more than $17 billion.

Identity theft was defined in the survey as the attempted or successful misuse of an existing account, such as a debit or credit account, misuse of personal information to open a new account, or misuse of personal information for other fraudulent purposes, such as obtaining government benefits.

Approximately 6.2 million victims (three percent of all persons age 16 or older) experienced the unauthorized use or attempted use of an existing credit card account, the most prevalent type of identity theft.

Full Post…

Ohio State Computer Containing 760,000 Individuals Personal Information Breached

Ohio State University says unauthorized individuals accessed a computer server containing personal information for approximately 760,000 individuals, including current and former faculty, staff, and students, as well as applicants and other individuals affiliated with the university such as consultants and contractors.

The university discovered the breach in late October and said there is no indication information was taken and it does not believe there is a risk of identity theft.  The server includes names, Social Security numbers, birth dates and addresses.

Experts did find evidence that the purpose of the unauthorized access was to launch cyber attacks.  All individuals whose information was in the system have been offered 12 months of free credit protection to help safeguard against harm from misuse of personal information

“We are committed to maintaining the privacy of sensitive information and continually work to enhance our systems and practices to reduce the likelihood of such events occurring,” said Joseph A. Alutt

Full Post…