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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: identity theft

identity theft stories: 45 news summaries

1 - 20 of 45 Stories | 1 2 3 Next >>

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ID-Theft Ring Victimized Bernanke

Thieves used pickpocketed IDs, checkbooks for fraud

Aug 27, 09 2:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - No less a public figure than the chairman of the Federal Reserve was one of 500 individuals victimized by an identity-theft ring that combined technologically sophisticated methods with old-fashioned thievery to bilk $2.1 million from consumers and financial institutions, Newsweek reports. The ringleader of the group, Clyde Austin Gray... More »

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Ben Bernanke • Starbucks • Federal Reserve • identity theft • bank fraud • check fraud • financial data • Anna Bernanke

(Newser) - Federal prosecutors indicted three hackers in Washington today for allegedly snagging more than 130 million credit card numbers from retail and financial organizations, the Wall Street Journal reports. Calling it the greatest US debit- and credit-card data theft ever, feds hit Albert Gonzalez, 28, of Miami, and two accomplices... More »

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hacker • identity theft • credit card • TJX • 7 Eleven • federal indictment • Hannaford • T.J. Maxx • computer crime

 Social Security Numbers 
Guessable From Public Data

Available birth info can ease identity theft

Jul 7, 09 8:03 AM CDT
(Newser) - Social Security numbers can be predicted, making them unfit to be “authentication devices” amid increasing worry over identity theft, researchers warn the Washington Post. Knowing a person’s birthday and birthplace can point the way to the first five digits, a study finds. “If they are predictable... More »

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study • identity theft • Social Security • Social Security number

Surge in Medical Identity Theft Cripples Credit Ratings

Fraud spreading with use of electronic medical records

Jun 13, 09 6:34 AM CDT
(Newser) - Watchdog groups warn that medical identity theft is on the rise with the growing use of electronic records that lack proper safeguards, the New York Times reports. Fraudsters use stolen insurance information or Social Security numbers to get free medical care and the victims are often unaware they have been... More »

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fraud • health insurance • identity theft • medical records

ANALYSIS

 The 10 Riskiest Web Searches 

Hackers target popular search terms

Jun 2, 09 4:13 PM CDT
(Newser) - Internet hackers are like pickpockets: They target crowds, and the best place to find them on the web is through search engines, ABC News reports, so thieves tie malware programs to popular word searches. After analyzing more than 2,600 terms, security firm McAfee found these to be the 10... More »

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identity theft • data theft • search • malware • web services

Inspector Finds IRS Lax in Disposing of Sensitive Docs

Agency vows oversight of waste contractors

May 21, 09 11:03 AM CDT
(Newser) - Sensitive documents that could be used to steal taxpayers’ identities were found in trash bins outside several Internal Revenue Service bureaus visited during a months-long government inspection, Reuters reports. Because of the findings, the IRS has increased oversight of the contractors responsible for its waste. Identity theft is an increasing... More »

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security • taxes • IRS • identity theft • taxpayers

'I'm Only 11 Years Old,
and I Have Bad Credit'

Florida thief uses pre-teen's identity to buy home, cars

Apr 2, 09 8:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - While 11-year-old Jake LeGette was saving the money he earned mowing lawns, a Florida woman was busy using his Social Security number to splurge on a house and nine cars, ABC News reports. Jake and his mother, a Miami-area police officer, discovered the ID theft after trying to open a... More »

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Florida • identity theft • Social Security

(Newser) - A US passport is easy to obtain using fake or fraudulent documents, even with extensive post-9/11 security reforms, the AP reports. At the request of a Senate committee, a government investigator went undercover and quickly obtained multiple passports, using the identities of a dead man, a 5-year-old, and two fictitious... More »

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Senate Judiciary Committee • State Department • Dianne Feinstein • United States • Jon Kyl • identity theft • Government Accountability Office • passport • identification • passport fraud

Credit Card Processor Bares Massive Hacker Breach

Sophisticated hackers nab vast amounts credit card data

Jan 21, 09 3:06 AM CST
(Newser) - A credit card payment processor has disclosed a data breach that experts believe could be the biggest ever and may be putting millions of consumers at risk of ripoffs, the Washington Post reports. Heartland Payment Systems, which handles 100 million transactions from 250,000 businesses every month, believes malicious software... More »

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Internet • online fraud • fraud • identity theft • credit card • malware • online payments • security breach

Virus Helps Violate 500K
Bank, Credit Accounts

Infects computers through 'drive-by downloads"

Oct 31, 08 4:35 PM CDT
(Newser) - A computer virus has stolen log-in information for over 500,000 bank accounts and credit and debit cards. The Sinowal Trojan virus has infected computers around the world through “drive-by downloads” that install it without users' knowledge when they visit Web sites running the virus code. Individuals can best... More »

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identity theft • computer virus • Internet security • phishing • Trojan viruses • malware • banks • Sinowal

High Court to Hear Immigrant ID Theft Case

Could impede Justice tactic of jail time for  illegal immigrants

Oct 20, 08 3:44 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Supreme Court said today it will hear a case pertinent to a recent surge in identity-theft prosecutions against illegal immigrants, the Washington Post reports. Lower courts were split over whether the government must prove that thieves knew they were stealing the identity of an actual person when they use... More »

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illegal immigrant • appeal • identity theft • Immigration and Customs Enforcement • US Supreme Court • identification • appellate court • Ignacio Flores-Figueroa

 Passport Frauds Used   
 Identities of Deceased 

Fake documents used by illegal immigrants, military deserters

Sep 17, 08 3:32 PM CDT
(Newser) - More than 100 people stole the identities of dead people to cover up their immigration status, military desertion or drunken-driving convictions, federal authorities say after an investigation called “Operation Deathmatch.” Some of the accused even hid their true selves from spouses and children, and had been using the... More »

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California • FBI • fraud • illegal immigrant • identity theft • passport fraud

Hacker Cops to Role in $400M
ID-Theft Ring

Stealing data from Barnes & Noble, BJ's could mean 30 years

Sep 12, 08 11:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - A 23-year-old man with an eighth-grade education pleaded guilty yesterday to a role in stealing more than $400 million via identity theft, the Boston Globe reports. Damon Patrick Tooey was part of an 11-man ring, with members from China to the Ukraine, which brought laptops into retail stores like Barnes... More »

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identity theft • guilty plea • hackers • BJ's Wholesale Club • Barnes & Noble

 Consumer
 Data Breaches
 Hit Record

Thefts, losses of confidential info has already topped 2007

Aug 26, 08 9:10 AM CDT
(Newser) - Theft or loss of confidential consumer information from computer databases is at a record high, with more breaches already this year than all of 2007, the Washington Post reports. Records reveal that 449 US businesses, government agencies and universities have reported data breaches this year, compared with 446 breaches involving... More »

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identity theft • TJX • data theft • BJ's Wholesale Club • Barnes & Noble • OfficeMax • Boston Market • credit card accounts • Identity Theft Resource Center • T.J. Maxx • SunGard Higher Education • Mandiant • Sports Authority

Man Steals Identity to Fund Heart Surgery

Mentally-disabled friend billed for buddy's $350,000 operation

Aug 22, 08 11:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - A Chicago man allegedly nicked the identity of a mentally disabled friend to fund a $350,000 heart bypass operation, say police. John Parsons, 57, was sure he would die without the surgery, said a relative; the alleged scam was uncovered after a caregiver began receiving copies of expenses billed... More »

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health care costs • Chicago • identity theft • Medicaid • heart surgery

Patch for Major Security Flaw
Is Ineffective

Widely distributed fix for Internet failing only slows the damage

Aug 9, 08 11:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - A fatal flaw in Internet security has a patch, but it’s a leaky one, the New York Times reports. Yesterday, a Russian scientist demonstrated an attack that secretly redirected web traffic. It took him just hours using standard equipment; before the patch, it would have taken seconds. Thieves... More »

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Internet • domain names • identity theft • software • data theft • online crime • Dan Kaminsky

'Rockefeller' Prints Linked to Calif. Murder Case

Kidnapper dad's connection to decade-old incident unclear, but adds to mystery

Aug 5, 08 1:35 PM CDT
(Newser) - Fingerprints taken from kidnapper dad Clark Rockefeller reveal a connection to a decade-old California murder case, the Boston Globe reports. Prints taken after his arrest Saturday in Baltimore match those on a driver’s license application under another alias—which in turn is on a list of those wanted in... More »

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California • crime • kidnapping • identity theft • imposter • Clark Rockefeller • Reigh Boss • con man

 DMX Charged in Med-Bill Dodge 

Rapper faces third arrest this summer

Jul 20, 08 2:06 PM CDT
(Newser) - Scofflaw rapper DMX was arrested at a Phoenix mall yesterday and charged with giving a false name and Social Security number so he could skirt medical bills, the AP reports—only the third time this summer the rapper has faced charges. The sheriff claims DMX—real name Earl Simmons—visited... More »

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identity theft • celebrity • Phoenix • arrest • DMX • rapper

'Bonnie' Joins 'Clyde' in ID Theft Guilty Plea

High-profile Philly swindler admits to her part of scheme

Jul 14, 08 2:28 PM CDT
(Newser) - Jocelyn Kirsch, half of the Philadelphia couple once dubbed the “Bonnie and Clyde of Identity Theft,” followed her ex-boyfriend’s lead and pleaded guilty today, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The 22-year-old ex-Drexel student faces a mandatory minimum of 2 years in federal prison for her part in the... More »

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identity theft • guilty plea • Jocelyn Kirsch • Edward Anderton

Justice Breyer's Records Leaked in File-Sharing Snafu

Investment firm staffer leaked data with music

Jul 9, 08 10:08 AM CDT
(Newser) - An employee at an investment firm made much more than music available when he used a company computer to access the file-sharing site Limewire, reports the Washington Post. He also made it possible for users to access records of 2,000 of the firm's clients—including Supreme Court Justice Stephen... More »

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Stephen Breyer • identity theft • file sharing • data • data theft • Limewire • peer-to-peer

1 - 20 of 45 Stories | 1 2 3 Next >>


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