id theft fraud prevention

Dr. Mark Clayson asked:




Over 1300 workers have been detained and arrested by police in the US over identity crime. Charges have been brought against 150 illegal immigrants who have been accused of stealing the identities of US citizens. The purpose of this crime was to gain legal employment. Other defendants will face the charge of illegal re-entry document fraud, social security fraud and identity theft. Additional charges are being brought against almost 100 other defendants.

The identification of these illegal criminals was the result of an organised attack. Operation Wagon Train was a joint effort by related departments in the US. The arrests and undercover operation shows that the United States takes identity theft very seriously. These illegal immigrants were trying to get legal jobs by illegal means. The message being sent out by the authorities is that nobody can gain lawful employment with a stolen identity. The stealing of these identities include the improper use of stolen Social Security numbers and other documents in order to get a job.

Many of the victims of this identity theft had already alerted the authorities to the nature of their stolen personal data. Some of the victims first knew about their stolen identity when the Internal Revenue Service began demanding taxes for unreported income. This income had, of course, come about by the illegal employment of the aliens who had stolen the original identity.

Government officials are increasing their efforts in order to support the crime of identity theft. Last year (2006) almost twice the number of prosecutions took place compared to the year before.

Frank

Eric Paton asked:




Identity fraud is the fastest growing white-collar crime in America. For the purposes of this article I will concentrate on Financial Identity Fraud. This is when a criminal assumes your identity in order to obtain credit, get loans, write bad checks, rent or buy property, buy vehicles and more.

When you are taken advantage of in this way it can harm many aspects of your life: reputation, credit history, bank account and so on. It takes a significant amount of time, effort and expense to get those items back in order after having been a victim.

Some facts about identity fraud:

1 million plus Americans will be a victim this year 1 out of 20 Americans has already been a victim It takes on average 175 hours and 2 years to clear name Identity theft is #1 consumer complaint filed with the FTC
How can you prevent Identity fraud?


Take time to shred your bills after paying them. Subscribe to a credit reporting service that sends you alerts about your credit If you can, pay your bills online using an encrypted website (most bank sites are already encrypted) Have your bills delivered to you via email and not paper mail Sign the back of your credit cards with the phrase “Please ask for Picture Identification” Be sure to shred all documents that have identifying information on them before throwing them out. Buy a cross-cut shredder (a bit obvious by now!) When out of town for extended periods of time, have the post office hold your mail! (especially if you get mail at your doorstep and not at a community collection box)

Taking the time to keep track of your identity can save you vast amounts of time, energy and money in the long run. Don’t be 1 in a million this year. Protect yourself.

Christina

rescuepc asked:

A RESCUECOM franchise operator offers computer advice to protect computer users from identity theft through their internet connection. Learn more about RESCUECOM at www.rescuecom.com

Sally

Steve Cabouli asked:




Credit card identity theft is simply a category of ID theft, for which your credit card is used as a means for illicit purposes. Usually, CCs are used to perform fraudulent activities such as to withdraw funds from your account without your authorization, purchase goods in your name, and to obtain bank loans and open another CC account, thereby leaving all debts and credits for you to clear. According to several studies, about ten million people are affected as a result of CC identity theft per year. In fact, credit card ID theft or CC fraud has now become one of the serious problems confronted by the US Law agencies.

The technological advancement has brought about revolutionary changes in almost every field. Hence, there is no exception in the case of credit card identity theft. In other words, thieves adopt most advanced options and tools to retrieve your CC details. For instance, scammers use a pocket-sized tool attached with a slot that could easily scan and copy information from your credit card’s magnetic tape, which even includes the security holograms markings. Here starts the plight of poor CC holders, as thieves use this cloned information for unscrupulous purposes. Lost or stolen wallets and purses is perhaps the most common way through which CC identity theft could occur. As per the studies revealed by CC companies, about 50% of ID theft is obtained via stolen wallets.

Aside these, thieves also depend on conventional options to retrieve your credit card information. For instance, CC identity theft may also happen through phone. So if you receive a phone call requesting for your social security card number and credit card number and expiry date, be careful as it may be the first step adopted by thieves to retrieve your sensitive information. A legitimate credit card company never gives you a phone call out of the blue to request for your CC information. Another common way through which your CC information could be stolen is via raiding your mailbox by criminals. In some instance, thieves even search trash to gain your CC and other important information. Hence, check several times before disposing a document or bill into the trash.

Many people become victims of CC ID theft via online, as scammers use high tech viruses as well as Trojans to track and record your critical information. In short, you are at risk to become a victim of ID theft at any moment. Hence, being careful is one of the best ways to reduce the chances of CC identity theft. The installation of the latest anti virus software and the usage of sophisticated wallets like iWallet can help you to prevent identity theft to an extent.

Keith

ScamBusterUSA asked:

scamalertusa.blogspot.com Never ever use Western Union or Money Gram* – That’s right — never! Anyone who tells you to use them are scammers*. If it seems too good to be true, it probably a scam. If it’s unsolicited, it’s a scam!! *only exception friends/family. privacy surveillance cameras tracking technology internet scams, internet fraud, nigerian internet dating scams, reporting internet scams, internet money scams, russian internet dating scams, avoid internet investment scams, work at home internet jobs no scams, internet loan scams, internet love scams, internet business scams, current internet scams id theft report, id theft protection, id theft affidavit, id theft prevention, social security id theft, id theft keylogger, id theft insurance, federal trade commission id theft, how do i know if id theft, id theft victim

Fernando

222TIPSCommunity asked:

Crime Stoppers / Internet talk with focus on ID Theft Prevention, Saturday Feb 28/09 at the Rexdale Staples/Business Depot store, 180 Queen’s Plate Drive, Toronto Thank you to Irene.. the store manager for organizing and promoting the event. Store tel# 416-749-9932 E-Mail: s012mgr@busdep.com “Trust and Text” Help PREVENT and solve crime together 3 ways to submit an anonymous tip to help police prevent or solve a crime anonymously: Talk: 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) Type: 222tips.com Text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637) Appeals for information to solve cases: YouTube.com Youth Engagement YouTube.com YouTube.com Gang Prevention/Intervention Info: NoToGangs.org http

Lester

S. Michael Windsor asked:




Identity theft affects over 9 million Americans alone each year. As the degree of damage varies from individual to individual, the lasting effects are nearly the same. ID theft ultimately affects your credit score. And in many cases ID theft can cause major damage without the victim even realizing it at first. Identity theft can occur simply by a ID thief obtaining a person’s identifying information such as their name, Social Security numbers, credit care and other account numbers and more.

There are many ways thief can use a person’s identity and not just so they can steal money and buy home theater systems or take lavish vacations, like the recent college-aged thieves caught after years of stealing credit to finance expensive vacations, but many will even steal such information for paying their own rent, telephone bill or even checking out books at the public library.

There are many ways in which an identity thief can obtain your information. Many of the methods used more frequently include going through your trash, going through your mail and stealing a credit card statement in order to obtain your credit card number, email scams, stealing purses and wallets, and even an employee at a restaurant or store jotting down your credit card number as they are running your card.

These events and more can really damage a person’s credit report and overall score which could take a while just to get back in order.

So how can a person protect themselves from identity theft? The most effective way to combat identity theft is to check your billing statements regularly as well as monitor your credit report regularly. Monitoring ones credit does not have to occur daily. But, if done on a monthly basis, one can see any discrepancies on their credit report soon after a potential identity theft occurrence appears on their credit report or billing statement.

Despite the fact that the ID theft occurrence may not be entirely the credit holder’s fault, the lasting effects become that victim’s responsibility to discover and fix. However, there are now services that provide identity theft protection which can be found in more detail at our site. These services can help you keep a close eye on your credit and all identifying information and help prevent identity theft overall.

Erica

J. M. Smith asked:




The fact about identity theft is that it doesn’t matter what you do to protect yourself against it, you will not keep the identity thieves from getting your personal information. You can shred every single piece of paper that enters your home, have government software protection on your computer, never use a credit card, never carry your social security card around, never give out your social security number to anyone, never have a bank account or library card, never apply for a job, never purchase a car or home, never rent a home or apartment and the list goes on and you can still be a victim of identity theft. Why? because it’s too late and you have already given this information out.

Realistically, who can live like this? Face it, you have a social number and birth certificate, you have rented or own a home and the vast majority own credit cards.

The media and the so called experts want to have you believe you can keep yourself from becoming a victim and if you can’t there are services that can. Here’s the question to ask yourself. Can the so called top three protection services keep major corporations or even the Government from having their clients or citizens information compromised?

How about these startling facts of stolen victims information from the Privacy Rights Clearing House.

US Dept. of Veterans Affairs on May 3rd 2006, veterans who were discharged since 1975 including names Social numbers, dates of births and in many cases phone numbers and addresses. Theft of a laptop 26.5 million veterans. I know I received my letter from the V.A.

May 2, 2006, Time Warner 600,00 lost backup tapes. Ameritrade, 200,000 lost backup tapes. Cal Poly-Pomona, Univ. of Colorado, Sonoma State Univ., Univ of Utah, Univ of North Texas, Calif. State Univ., all hacking and thousands of victims.

The list goes on from school districts, Major Banking Institutions, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Hospitals, CPA’s, States, Townships, Medical facilities, AFLAC, Dept of Education, Census Bureau and I think you get the picture.

So lets see how these services could have helped me from being a victim when a laptop was stolen and I became part of 26.5 million veterans who also had their information compromised.

The fact is they can’t and could not have kept any of the above victims from being victimized. Identity Guard Total Protection, Life Lock, Trusted ID and Identity Guard offer prevention services but the theme of their services is financial prevention and is only 1/3 rd of the problem and they do not help you with any legal services to give you the complete restoration service you need.

Ask this question to them. If I was arrested at 2am in the morning because there were warrants for my arrest because I was a victim of criminal identity theft, what phone number could I call at 2am and how will you help me? Or what if social services were at my door threatening to take my children because they said I had a drug baby 3 weeks ago and left it at the hospital and I haven’t had a child in 4 years and I am a victim of medical ID theft. What if I’m a teacher accused of being a prostitute when in fact it was one of my previous students.

You see credit monitoring, resolution services, Id theft prevention services are all good and better than nothing but they do not cover you in these examples when you need real help.

It’s like the fire department saying they will monitor your house for you and call you if you have a fire. A great service but what about putting out the fire? What if the fire department then sent out a fire truck but you still had to put the fire out using the truck and the tools. A great service but how do I use the equipment? What if the fire department said not only will we monitor your home every day and call you if there is a fire, we will also send out a truck with the professionals to put it out for you and not only that, we will rebuild the section of your home that was damaged back to its condition before the fire took place.

I think the answer is clear on the so called top three ID theft prevention services. They say prevent but they can’t. They may slow it down but they are unable to prevent you from being a victim. Prevention is better than nothing but if it was your spouse or child in jail how could they help you?

The complete wall of protection is Monitor, Restore and Legal. Having access to a system that in the event you were arrested or your spouse or child, you would want to talk to an attorney now! Whether it was 2am or Christmas morning, you want an expert to begin the researching for all the applicable data bases out there to return your good name and keep monitoring them for you.

There is only one company that can do that. Do you think if you were like the woman that had 81 people in over 17 states using her social number for jobs and having the IRS asking for 1 million dollars in unclaimed taxes you might want an attorney. Most attorneys only practice in the State they are licensed in. Do you think she would need an attorney in those 17 States? There is only one company in the US to offer the services that woman would need. The service is Pre-Paid Legal Services and the Identity Theft Shield. They are the only company to offer the type of services to give you a whole wall or complete wall of protection.

Vanessa

Daryl Campbell asked:




When you hear about some fairly new identity theft scam like the pay at the pump con or the parking violation scam that was unveiled in Iowa not too long ago, other forms of theft like phishing seem almost ancient in comparison.

But it still works. How effectively? In the two years this specific international scam was unveiled identity thieves have stolen close to two million dollars from Wells Fargo and Bank Of America customers.

That came to an end recently when a joint sting operation code name Phish Phry carried out by the FBI and Egyptian law enforcement officials nabbed one hundred suspects fifty three of them in the United States.

Phishing occurs when a scammer sets up a dummy website meant to look like the genuine article. They then spam out urgent emails telling the intended victim that something is wrong with their account and the only way to fix it is by clicking the link contained within the email. Once someone does they are taken to the fake site and asked to provide the “right” information. After the victim does just that they get cleaned out money wise by the thieves. It is phishing in the sense the identity thieves are not looking for a specific target. They continuously spam out thousands of emails hoping that some one will take the bait.

And someone always does because they do have an account at that financial institution and the email is written in such away that it gets their emotions (normally fear) racing before they fully comprehend what is happening. It is also understandable that since the internet has become such an integral part of our lives that it would stand the reason your bank would contact you that way.

They won’t but phishers are gambling that you will not know that. This particular con was no different in that aspect.

However the expertise level these folks are operating on is something to be concerned about. Keith Bolcar is Acting Assistant FBI Director in Los Angeles, “The sophistication with which Phish Phry defendants operated represents an evolving and troubling paradigm in the way identity theft is now committed. Criminally savvy groups recruit here and abroad to pool tactics and skills necessary to commit organized theft.”

That means they are getting smarter and smarter about what they are doing. That’s not hard to figure since there are a number of things working to their advantage. Things such as there are no full proof ways to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft and of course all the new technology available to make the scam more successful.

The good news it appears law enforcement is also getting smarter and smarter in the way it combats identity theft. No doubt they have some catching up to do but it’s nice to see a victory like this from time to time.

Billy

dishvsdirect asked:

harryssmartdeals.com Learn how to get a 10% discount on identity theft protection services from LifeLock — which comes with a $1 million guarantee. harryssmartdeals.com

Victor