| 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.
Russian hacker network goes underground
An online conduit accused of spreading vast amounts of malicious and criminal content has closed down its base in St Petersburg sparking fears that the operation will surface elsewhere. Security firm Trend Micro said that Russian Business Network (RBN) dropped off the internet last Tuesday, and has predicted its emergence in a newly reinvigorated form somewhere in Asia. Run by a shadowy figure known only as 'Flyman', RBN has been associated with a number of high-profile online crimes committed in the UK. Security firms have linked RBN to child pornography, corporate blackmail, spam attacks and online identity theft, according to a report in Times Online. "The UK has been a focus for this group and its criminal clients, and things are set to get worse," said David Perry, an analyst for Trend Micro.
Identity theft targets kids, and relatives often the perpetrator
While only a small percentage of identity-theft victims are children, the number is growing, and the impact on the victim's credit, confidence and relationships could be devastating. The crime can go undetected for years and is most commonly committed by a family member, according to a report released this week by the Identity Theft Resource Center, a San Diego nonprofit organization. Fortunately, simple precautions, such as keeping your child's Social Security number secret, can prevent some of the abuse. For instance, you can check your children's credit reports at credit bureaus to nip identity theft in the bud. .
Cyber-crime unit 'urgent'
A petition has been launched calling for the Prime Minister to set up a national e-crime reporting unit as soon as possible. There are proposals outlined in this year's Comprehensive Spending Review for a new National Fraud Reporting Centre to be set up in 2010-11. The aim of the centre will be to provide a link between local forces, the public and other law enforcement agencies. But following the case of lost data discs at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the petitioner, security analyst Neil Stinchcombe, said 2010 was too long to wait and is using the petition to highlight the need for the centre to be set up as soon as possible. Mr Stinchcombe told Computeractive: "The consequences of, and reactions to, the loss of records by HMRC, make the creation of a well-resourced operation to address computer-assisted crime, including information and identity theft from data and call centres… a matter of great urgency." The problems the public and regional police forces have with reporting and handling individual incidents of cyber-crime is well documented.
Identity theft lands wrong man in Albuquerque jail for six days
• Get yourself fingerprinted so that your prints are on file for comparison. Contact your local law enforcement agency. • Ask arresting agency to amend all criminal complaints that wrongly name you. • Ask the appropriate courts to provide you with official documentation showing that your identity was wrongly used in a criminal case, then carry those documents with you at all times. • Keep the phone number of a good attorney handy. • Investigate your own background to check for identity theft by accessing various online information broker services such as mybackgroundcheck.com. Locally, check Metro Court records under your name at www.metrocourt.state.nm.us or state district courts at nmcourts.com. • Report your identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission at consumer.gov/idtheft, so it can more accurately monitor such crimes.
Opinion: Is cybercrime unstoppable?
Online crime is growing at breakneck speed while law enforcement, try as they might, have a hard time keeping up. Simon Moores reports on the state of cybercrime - and why it's so difficult to fight. The quiet bombshell dropped by Alan Jebson, chief operating officer at HSBC Bank, appeared to go unnoticed by journalists at last week's e-Crime Congress in London. In his keynote speech to 500 law enforcement, government and business leaders from around the world, Jebson suggested it would be reasonable to expect banks to provide online banking services only to those customers with a minimum standard of security, given many users' apparent unwillingness to take proper precautions against identity theft and other forms of online compromise. Last week's survey figures released by the UK National Hi-tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) revealed that net crime cost businesses �2.45bn in the last 12 months.
Be crime-savvy when you shop
Editor's note: This week's shooting at the Westroads Mall in Omaha, Neb., underscores the public safety issues that large gathering places like shopping centers face. Today, the Sunday Record explores crime trends at our regional shopping malls. What we found is that larcencies, such as shoplifting and car break-ins and thefts, far outnumber crimes against individuals. While our region did have a mall shooting in Kingston in February 2005, incidents involving guns or assaults at Hudson Valley shopping centers were rare, according to police reports from January 2006 through July 2007.
In many localities, they are the center of weekend social life, where people converge to shop, play or just be seen. But they are also the sites of fights, identity theft and millions of dollars worth of shoplifting each year.
A lot more to do
There will be those who point to the "Bad Brown" aspects of this announcement, and ask why it came from the prime minister rather than Douglas Alexander, who is meant to be in charge of international development. What may cause most unease among development veterans, however, is the government's enthusiasm for involving multinational companies. In Africa and elsewhere, private-sector companies have not usually been the engines of development. Indeed, in the tug of interests between poor state and rich multinational, the powerless side often loses. Where corporates can come in handy is as an employer or trader in a country that is already industrialising. All those technology firms would not flock to Bangalore, say, if a highly educated, highly motivated Indian workforce was not already there.
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