identity theft

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Facebook Virus Gang Living in Luxury

Koobface Gang not bothering to hide their identities, location

(Newser) - You might think a cabal of cyber criminals who'd ripped off 400,000 to 800,000 Facebook users would be on the run and living deep underground. You'd be wrong. The so-called "Koobface Gang," makers of a Facebook worm that's done just that, is living...

New Virus Hacks Your Bank Account, Covers Tracks

'SpyEye Trojan' helps thieves go undetected

(Newser) - For years, checking your bank account balance regularly online has been a pretty good way to guard against fraud—until now. An Israeli security firm has identified a new virus that not only steals the info fraudsters need to drain your bank account, it ensures you don't see those...

Hacker Steals $500K From NYC Socialite

Cyber-thief got into her email, impersonated her

(Newser) - A billionaire Manhattan socialite got swindled out of about $550,000 last week after a hacker broke into her email account, reports the New York Post . The online bandit got access to personal information about Candia Fisher, a member of the Fisher Brothers real estate clan, and used it to...

Bride Goes to Jail on Wedding Day

Tammy Hinton busted on two-year-old arrest warrant

(Newser) - Most brides pose for pictures between their wedding ceremony and reception ... but not like this. A Michigan woman’s day of wedded bliss was interrupted by a brief stint in the county jail, after police got a tip that the bride would be traveling back to the state for her...

Hackers Grabbed Data on 360K Citibank Customers

Citi originally said 1% of 21M customers were affected

(Newser) - Citibank has finally 'fessed up that hackers managed to grab account data on a whopping 360,083 US credit card customers. That's nearly double what the company initially revealed when it said 1% were affected, which equals about 210,000 customers based on its 2010 annual report, reports...

Hackers Had Little Trouble in Citigroup Breach

And things are probably only going to get worse

(Newser) - News that hackers busted through Citigroup's online defenses and stole information on 200,000 customers is bad enough. The New York Times makes it worse with two additional points: The hack itself was relatively easy, and we should expect a lot more similar attacks in the near future. “...

IRS Boss: Sorry About My Rude Employees

Douglas Shulman offers public apology

(Newser) - Ever had a run-in with a rude IRS agent? Well, Douglas Shulman’s sorry about that. The IRS commissioner offered a rare apology today to three identity theft victims who said they’d been mistreated by his employees, the AP reports. “We need to walk in each taxpayer’s...

Android Phones Have Security Flaw: Report

Google has fixed the problem, but most people haven't downloaded patch

(Newser) - A group of university researchers has found a major security flaw that makes more than 99% of Android phones vulnerable to attacks from identity thieves. If users jump onto an unsecured public WiFi network, would-be thieves can swipe the authentication tokens used by Google Calendars and Contacts, the Register explains....

Miss Wisconsin Resigns After ID Theft Charges

Shaletta Porterfield pleads not guilty, but still has to give up her crown

(Newser) - A Wisconsin beauty pageant winner's quest to become Miss USA has been derailed now that she's been charged with three counts of identity theft, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . When working for a marketing company last summer, Shaletta Porterfield allegedly faked the signatures of three business owners on...

Hackers Plan to Attack Sony This Weekend

Sony CEO apologizes; firm to offer free ID-theft monitoring

(Newser) - Sony’s CEO has finally broken his silence on the PlayStation network break-ins—but his comments come just as hackers, angry at Sony’s handling of the situation, announced plans to attack the company this weekend, in what would be the third such attack against Sony. These hackers say they...

Fake Soldiers Scam Facebook Users
Fake Soldiers Scam Facebook Users
Feb 28, 2011 2:02 PM CST

Fake Soldiers Scam Facebook Users

Military warns women to beware of impersonators looking for love

(Newser) - Facebook users need to watch out for a shameful scam that appears to be becoming more widespread, military officials warn. Con artists have been using the photos and details of real soldiers to strike up romances with women on the social networking site, the AP reports. The phony soldiers declare...

How a 'Slimy' Facebook Prank Took Over My Life
How a 'Slimy' Facebook Prank Took Over My Life
OPINION
Feb 5, 2011 12:00 PM CST

How a 'Slimy' Facebook Prank Took Over My Life

Susan Arnout Smith couldn't get 'disgusting' profile removed

(Newser) - Susan Arnout Smith is a writer of thrillers, plays, TV movies, and NPR essays. But for a long time, if you looked her up on Facebook, you would find not the respectable website of a published author, but an obscene, pornographic site of a fake persona “trolling for sex,...

US Troops Have Another Battle: Identity Theft

Pentagon too casual with Social Security numbers, says report

(Newser) - Military service members—particularly those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan—are vulnerable to identity theft because the Pentagon tosses around their Social Security numbers too casually, says a study written by a West Point professor and highlighted in the New York Times . Though the culture is changing, service members have...

New Zealand Lawmaker Stole Dead Baby's Identity

David Garrett resigns from party in disgrace

(Newser) - New Zealand lawmaker David Garrett resigned from his party today, two days after revealing that he’d once used a dead baby’s identity to obtain a passport. Garrett pulled off the scam in 1984, after reading how in a thriller novel. He trolled a graveyard looking for someone with...

Three in 4 Americans Hit By Cyber Crime

According to Norton study, two-thirds of all web surfers are victims

(Newser) - A whopping 65% of all web surfers and 73% of Americans have been the victim of online crime, according to a new survey from Symantec—the company behind Norton Anti-Virus. That makes the US the fourth-most victimized country in the world, behind China (83%) and India and Brazil (each 76%),...

Identify Theft Cases Spike, but Hackers Aren't to Blame

Private data lying around in plain view on Internet

(Newser) - Last year the number of identity theft victims in the US jumped 12%, while the number of Internet-related fraud cases went up 23%. But the problem isn't just hackers, say experts: In many cases, we're exposing our private data to anyone and everyone who knows where to look. Atlanta officials...

Harvard Student Busted for Stealing Grants

He faked life story, prosecutors say

(Newser) - A former Harvard senior is facing 20 criminal charges for allegedly faking a life story to win admission to the university and then plagiarizing work to steal $45,000 in scholarship and grant money. Adam Wheeler's alleged deception was uncovered when a professor who suspected him of plagiarism went through...

Credit Card Scammer Hits Ben Stiller, Other Stars

Not-so-bright suspect used same address for them all

(Newser) - Note to budding identity thieves: To avoid drawing attention, it's probably not wise to ask the bank to keep sending credit cards in the names of high-profile Hollywood stars to your small apartment. Chicago authorities busted a Nigerian man who allegedly stole personal information on the likes of Ben Stiller,...

Palin Hacker Found Guilty on 2 Counts

David Kernell convicted of obstruction of justice, unlawful email access

(Newser) - A federal jury has convicted a 22-year-old former University of Tennessee student of hacking Sarah Palin's Yahoo email account during the 2008 campaign. David Kernell was acquitted of wire fraud but convicted of a felony, obstruction of justice, and a misdemeanor, unlawful computer access. The jury failed to reach a...

Credit Card Hacker Gets 20 Years in Prison

Albert Gonzalez stole 90 million credit, debit numbers

(Newser) - Albert Gonzalez, the man who stole more than 90 million credit and debit card numbers from American retail giant TJX, was sentenced to 20 years in prison yesterday. It is the longest-ever sentence for a computer crime in America. Prosecutors hope the sentence will serve as a deterrent. “What...

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