| Yuma lawmaker victim of ID theft
State Sen. Amanda Aguirre, who has made identity theft prevention one of her legislative priorities, says she became a victim of the crime earlier this month when a credit card of hers was used fraudulently. "My immediate thought was this couldn't be happening," Aguirre said. "It's a reality check that anyone can be a victim of identity theft." Aguirre said she received a call earlier this month on her cell phone from her credit card company, which wanted to confirm whether she had bought some shoes. The following day, she got another call asking whether she had bought what appeared to be clothing. Both transactions, which were made online, were done using her credit number. In total, the purchases amounted to more than $3,000. The purchases were ordered from stores in North Carolina and California and supposed to be mailed to addresses in those states.
Surfers still too careless with ID, says BT
BT has said UK web surfers are still doing too little to protect themselves against identity theft and has released a web user guide in an attempt to stop the problem escalating even further. The 10-point guide has been put together by BT in association with CPP, LloydsTSB, the Met Police and Yahoo! as well as the Get Safe Online initiative. Ray Stanton, head of security at BT Global Services, said identity theft is still on the rise, dubbing it a "silent part of fraud in the UK". Stanton cited figures from the UK government which suggest fraud accounted for �1.7bn in the UK last year. Although those figures have subsequently been subject to serious doubts, it's undeniable that identity theft is a major problem. BT also claims that eight per cent of UK PC users fall victim to online fraud and said too few are taking even basic steps to protect themselves, such as not handing over credit card numbers to unidentified third parties.
Cyber-crime 'worse than burglary'
Identity theft has become one of the most feared crimes in the UK, according to a study of more than 1,400 regular internet users, outranking burglary, assault and robbery. Around one in three respondents to the survey indicated that they had been the victim of some form of cyber-theft, including phishing emails, credit card fraud and unauthorised bank transfers. The research, commissioned by internet security software maker AVG, revealed that individual financial loss ranged from a few pounds to several thousand pounds. Some 90 per cent of respondents had threat protection software installed on their PCs, but a third remained unconvinced that these were adequate measures to protect them from cyber-crime. Liverpool topped the list of UK cities most afraid of cyber-theft with 93 per cent highlighting their concern.
Credit info breached at Not Your Average Joe's restaurant chain
Someone hacked into the security system of the Not Your Average Joe's restaurant chain and stole credit card information from customers of all 13 of its Massachusetts locations.
The thefts occurred in August or September and were discovered at the Hyannis store, said Diana Pisciotta, spokeswoman for the Dartmouth-based company.
While less than 1 percent of the 350,000 customers during that time period were affected, Pisciotta said, some of the victims ate at the Newburyport, Methuen and Beverly locations.
Pisciotta said customers' names, credit card numbers and expiration dates were taken, but victims were not at risk for identity theft. While purchases can be made with the information, it can't be used to obtain identification or open new accounts.
ID Theft Hit 8 Million Americans in 2005 Federal Trade Commission
Dec 04 2007 : Identity theft affected 8.3 million adults, or 3.7 percent of the adult U.S population, in 2005, according to a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) study. The report is based on 4,917 telephone interviews with a random sample of American adults. For the study, the FTC categorized ID theft victims according to specific Federal U.S. laws. It estimated that 3.3 million American adults, or 1.5 percent of the adult population, experienced the misuse of one or more of their existing non-credit card accounts in 2005. This fraud category included checking, saving or telephone accounts. Based on the study, the FTC also estimated that in 2005 there were 3.2 million fraud victims in the category of �existing credit cards.� In addition, there were 1.8 million victims in the category of �new accounts and other fraud,� where fraudsters opened new accounts in the victims� names, or committed other frauds using their ID.
Consumers warned about holiday ID theft
Attorney General Bill McCollum today advised Floridians to be careful when using credit and debit cards to pay for gifts during this holiday shopping season in order to avoid becoming victims of identity theft. He also cautioned consumers about a "phishing" scam that has surfaced recently, threatening to expose consumers� personal financial information. McCollum noted that occurrences of identity theft often increase during the holiday season and encouraged residents and guests to be extra vigilant to protect themselves. "Identity theft can be devastating any time it occurs, but it is especially destructive during the holiday season when it could threaten personal financial information, travel plans and other seasonal aspects of our consumers� personal lives," said McCollum.
Identity theft common around Holidays
Identity theft crimes hit home for more than eight million adults in the US in 2005, according to a new report from the federal trade commission. In ten percent of cases, victims surveyed said they paid at least $1,200 to settle charges to stolen or fraudulent credit cards or bank accounts. Add to that the hours they spent repairing their credit reports. Nearly 40 percent of victims reported being harassed by debt collectors, denied credit or loans, having utilities cut off -- even getting sued. And more than half of victims said they still don't know how the thieves got a hold of their personal information. Experts at the non-profit identity theft resource center say the holidays are prime time for thieves. They recommend you leave your social security card at home -- don't carry it in your wallet.
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