November 2010 News Archive

November 30, 2010

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Former youth soccer chief gets 2 years

A former La Quinta youth soccer commissioner pleaded guilty Monday to embezzling more than $100,000 from the organization. ...read full article

New ID theft on rise

As shoppers increasingly favor Internet merchants, new forms of cyber-thievery and ID theft have appeared to exploit unwary buyers, lawmakers warned yesterday. ...read full article

Ransomware Trojan is back and badder than ever

A ransomware Trojan threat is back – in an even more noxious form – two years after it last appeared. ...read full article

Wikileaks hit by second DDoS

Wikileaks was hit by a second denial of service attack on Tuesday. The assault followed attempts to blitz the site off the web on Sunday night in the run-up to the controversial release of hundreds of thousands of US diplomatic cables. ...read full article

Former Louisville mortgage broker pleads guilty to identity theft

Former mortgage broker Brett Howard pleaded guilty Monday to one count of aggravated identify theft and 19 counts of bank fraud for using customers’ stolen credit card numbers on a spending spree that included luxury purchases. ...read full article

Man gets prison in theft of $330,000

He coached little league baseball, served his community as volunteer firefighter and was described in court as a doting father and loving husband. ...read full article

China Blocks Access to WikiLeaks

China has blocked Internet access to WikiLeaks' release of more than 250,000 U.S. Department of State cables, with its Foreign Ministry saying that it does not wish to see any disturbance in China-U.S. relations. ...read full article

George Castro Indicted For $5 Million Theft From Columbia

A Bronx man was indicted Monday after allegedly stealing nearly $5 million from the University over the last two months. ...read full article

Researcher warns of iPhone phishing peril

Apple's iOS is vulnerable to web attacks that allow malicious websites to masquerade as trusted pages maintained by banks, stores, and other sensitive organizations, a researcher said on Monday. ...read full article

Prominent Michigan Attorney's Identity Stolen

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. - A prominent Michigan lawyer has become the victim of identity theft. Richard Bernstein says he is not getting any help from the FBI, and even after alerting stores and credit bureaus accounts are still being opened in his name. ...read full article

Firefox add-on enables identity theft

Stealing someone's virtual identity is now easier than stealing candy from a baby. ...read full article

Courts: Using another's SSN not a crime

Is using a forged Social Security Number -- but your own name -- to obtain employment or buy a car an identity theft crime? Lately, U.S. courts are saying it's not. ...read full article

Iran admits cyberattack hit nuke programme

The Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today seemed to confirm speculation that the Stuxnet worm obstructed his regime's nuclear ambitions. ...read full article

9 Ways to Shop Safely Online

Money was especially tight for many families last holiday season, and yet nearly 100 million Americans took to their keyboards on "Cyber Monday," the Monday after Thanksgiving that marks the kickoff of the online holiday shopping season. ...read full article

U.S. Social Security Administration Selects ID Experts and ID Analytics for Complete Data Breach Analysis and Response Services

PORTLAND, Ore. and SAN DIEGO, Nov. 30, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) has awarded ID Experts and ID Analytics a five-year blanket purchase agreement to help the SSA protect against and respond to breaches of personal information. ID Experts and ID Analytics will provide the SSA a comprehensive suite of services to minimize and protect against data compromises in conformation with SSA and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) compliance requirements. The agreement is the result of an open market competitive procurement. ...read full article

Identity theft: five simple ways to protect yourself

Identity theft has been around forever. Even in ancient times, impersonators would pretend to be someone they were not – a prince, a long-lost heir to a great fortune, a merchant who had died at sea. The Internet has made the theft much easier. ...read full article

November 29, 2010

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Confidential medical records scattered in parking lot

A couple of city parking enforcement officers on routine patrol in downtown St. John’s Friday morning found something more interesting than illegally parked cars. Randy Bragg and Kerwin Thomas discovered a huge mess — hundreds of papers scattered on a parking lot between Duckworth Street and Henry Street. ...read full article

Sagan complains of identity theft, says comments attributed to him were not his words

Slovak rider Peter Sagan has strongly denied comments earlier attributed to him by the Twitter account PeterSaganNews, saying that they are inaccurate and that he doesn’t know who is claiming to be him online. ...read full article

Council lost data on 'vulnerable' children

Sensitive personal information on 40 children in care was lost by Stoke-on-Trent City Council after being recorded on an unencrypted USB memory stick, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has said. ...read full article

Elkhorn man charged with identity theft

ELKHORN — An Elkhorn man is charged with felony identity theft after he tried to convert a $300 personal check from his father-in-law to a $1,300 check, according to officials. ...read full article

FTC Warns Consumers About Online Dating Scams

The Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency, warns that scammers sometimes use online dating and social networking sites to try to convince people to send money in the name of love. In a typical scenario, the scam artist creates a fake profile, gains the trust of an online love interest, and then asks that person to wire money—usually to a location outside the United States. ...read full article

Four arrests over fake sportswear

Four men have been arrested after police stopped two vans that were carrying fake designer goods with a street value of about £90,000. ...read full article

Chinese government hacked Google, claims Wikileaks leaked US diplomatic cables

The Chinese government ordered the Google hack nearly a year ago, according to the New York Times. ...read full article

Woman charged in West Vancouver mail theft

A 31-year-old woman has been arrested and charged in connection with multiple mailbox thefts and with stealing the alleged victims' identities. ...read full article

UT Medical Centers alerts patients about possible security incident

Close to 8,000 patients at UT Medical Center will recieve letters notifying them of a privacy incident concerning their patient information. ...read full article

Holiday advice: Safeguard against scams

Even the financially savvy can become victims of identity theft. ...read full article

Hilfiger SoHo credit scam

Joseph Diaz was doing a lot more than checking out clothes as a cashier at the trendy Tommy Hilfiger store in SoHo. ...read full article

ID theft bonanza left unsecured at state building

TACOMA, Wash. -- When we handed Lyle Lippel a set of documents that could have been used to steal his identity and cause financial ruin he said it was crazy and scary that the papers were so easy to find. ...read full article

Identity theft, counterfeit ring busted by Upper Darby cops

UPPER DARBY — A chance arrest for the alleged use of a bogus credit card led police to a major nationwide identity theft and counterfeiting ring, officials said. ...read full article

Lone hacker theory in Wikileaks DDoS attack

A denial of service attack against Wikileaks that brought the whistleblower site to its knees on Sunday night, in the run up to its publication of classified State Department documents, may turn out to be the work of a lone hacker. ...read full article

Insurance Glitch Affects AARP Customers

BALTIMORE -- A Glen Burnie man helped uncover an error in the AARP insurance program that sent life insurance reviews to the wrong customers, compromising their identities. ...read full article

November 23, 2010

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Newark man sentenced to 12 years for operating identity theft-credit card fraud scheme

Wilmington U.S. District Court Judge Gregory Sleet, sentenced Joseph Aughenbaugh, 42 to more than 12 years in prison for operating an identity theft scheme that led to nearly $1 million in losses at local lending institutions. ...read full article

Two former University of Central Missouri students charged with hacking, identity theft

Two former University of Central Missouri students have been charged in federal court with computer hacking and identity theft. ...read full article

Belleville woman gets 2 years for identity theft

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) - A southwestern Illinois woman has been ordered to spend two years in federal prison and pay back more than $9,400 she spent on credit cards she obtained with an acquaintance's identity. ...read full article

Chester County lawyer pleads guilty to identity theft in Upper Saucon Township

A lawyer who used an Upper Saucon Township client’s personal information to apply for credit cards has pleaded guilty to three counts of identity theft. ...read full article

Front-room computer hacker jailed

A computer hacker from Banffshire who accessed highly personal data and photographs in a sophisticated email scam from his mother's front room has been jailed for 18 months. ...read full article

Scottish botnet master jailed for 18 months

A Scottish botnet master was this morning jailed for 18 months and ordered to pay £5,000 costs for hijacking many thousands of computers from his mum's front room. ...read full article

Woman sentenced to 3 years for Katrina fraud

A 38-year-old Georgia woman was sentenced to three years and three months in prison on charges of credit card fraud and identity theft stemming from false claims that she was left homeless by Hurricane Katrina. ...read full article

Port Allen woman arrested in ID theft

PORT ALLEN, La. (AP) - Port Allen Police Chief Fred Smith says a 21-year-old woman has been arrested for allegedly stealing the personal information of more than 20 people in a scheme to secure payday loans for herself. ...read full article

November 22, 2010

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How to avoid identity theft while shopping online on Cyber Monday

ORLANDO -- Retail stores and shopping malls will be packed with customers later this week looking to take advantage of Black Friday and after-Thanksgiving sales. ...read full article

Bieber boner scam prongs Facebook

Spam messages purporting to show tiresome teen warbler Justin Bieber with a woody are actually a lure for a new survey scam on Facebook. ...read full article

Jail escapee and accomplice found in South Carolina

A Monroe County inmate who disappeared from the jail last Friday has been located in South Carolina with his girlfriend. ...read full article

Corporate laptops unprotected against theft or data loss

Over half of UK public and private sector organizations are at risk of data breaches, losses and leaks from portable PCs and devices, according to Check Point. A total of 52% of respondents said they do not use data or device encryption to secure their business laptops, and a further 8% admitted they didn’t know if encryption was in use. ...read full article

County hospital fined $310,000 for privacy breaches

Taxpayer-funded Kern Medical Center has been fined $310,000 by California health officials after the state determined information about patients was improperly accessed or stolen. ...read full article

Foreign cyber spies target British defence official

Foreign spies targeted a senior British defence official in a sophisticated spear phishing operation that aimed to steal military secrets. ...read full article

Nearly One Million Consumers Getting Refunds From LifeLock

LifeLock, an identity theft security firm, has begun mailing checks to customers nationwide, part of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 34 states. ...read full article

10 tips for securely managing e-mail

“As an IT manager, looking after your company email can be a major headache. Being one of the primary portals for security threats and other IT issues, it is vital that email is properly managed to protect assets and ensure employees remain productive,” says Leon Rishniw, senior vice president of engineering, Cloudmark. ...read full article

November 19, 2010

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Ponzi Empire on the Internet?

LOS ANGELES (CN) - Bankcard Empire, a telemarketer, and a slew of affiliates are accused of running "a modern version of a Ponzi scheme, centering around false advertising and claims of major investment return in Internet advertising and marketing campaigns." A Ventura couple claim Bankcard stole $50,000 from them by charging it to their credit cards without permission, after drawing them into "a sham business opportunity that involves the leasing of merchant credit card processing machines." ...read full article

Facebook message security risks 'open door to Web 2.0 botnet'

Security watchers have already begun fretting about the security implications of Facebook's new messaging system, warning that compromised accounts might be used to create potent Web 2.0 botnets. ...read full article

Explaining driver's license identity theft

TYLER (KYTX) -- CBS 19's Hayley Wielgus brings you the details on driver's license identity theft. There are a few ways -- people create fake documents, like Social Security cards or birth certificates, and try to get a driver's license with those documents, or they can steal someone else's legitimate documents and apply for a license in that person's name. ...read full article

Almost a half million people have been victims of data breaches in Hawaii

Since 2005, at least 479 000 personal records have been breached in the state of Hawaii – records on one out of every three residents – according to a report by the Liberty Coalition. ...read full article

Florida hospital admits to data breach affecting 1500 patients

A data breach at Holy Cross Hospital in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., resulted in the theft of sensitive information concerning 1500 patients who visited the hospital’s emergency room. ...read full article

Debt collectors utilize Facebook to embarrass those who owe

Tampa, Florida -- Debt collectors can be relentless and downright rude on the phone, but now a St. Petersburg woman is filing suit alleging the company that financed her car loan began harassing family members over the social networking website Facebook. ...read full article

Unencrypted thumb drive causes breach at VA

Two recent privacy breaches at the Veterans Affairs Department involved employees who disregarded information security protocols they were trained to follow, said Roger Baker, assistant secretary for information and technology at VA. ...read full article

Holiday Season Phishing Scams and Malware Campaigns

In the past, US-CERT has received reports of an increased number of phishing scams and malware campaigns that take advantage of the winter holiday and holiday shopping season. US-CERT reminds users to remain cautious when receiving unsolicited email messages that could be part of a potential phishing scam or malware campaign. ...read full article

HITECH Required Breach Notification of Theft of Protected Health Information

A laptop containing patient information from Robert Wheatley, DDS, P.C. was stolen from a locked vehicle during the overnight hours of October 16-17, 2010, in Florissant, MO. Dr. Wheatley is in the process of alerting approximately 1400 patients seen in his St. Charles office that their protected health information is vulnerable to access as a result of the incident. ...read full article

German hacker uses rented computing to crack hashing algorithm

A German security enthusiast has used rented computing resources to crack a secure hashing algorithm (SHA-1) password. ...read full article

Florida man charged with identity theft; held on $100,000 bond

EAST WINDSOR — A Florida man was arrested at the Big Y World Class Market on Wednesday and was charged with a laundry list of charges, including identity theft, police said. ...read full article

Hacker Breaks into Federal Reserve: Feds

A Malaysian man hacked his way into the Federal Reserve Bank's computers in Cleveland and also separately had more than 400,000 stolen credit card numbers when Secret Service agents finally caught up with him, federal prosecutors said. ...read full article

'Friendly fraud' a hassle for you, too

The next time you call your bank to dispute a fraudulent credit card charge, get ready for some extra hassle. And you might already have noticed that more shippers are requiring signatures for delivery of merchandise, a major headache for those who aren’t home during the daytime as the holiday shopping season arrives. ...read full article

McAfee CEO: Get ready for tidal wave of mobile attacks

Next year will mark the turning point of the mobile application threat, McAfee President and CEO Dave DeWalt predicted during a keynote Wednesday at SC Congress Canada in Toronto. ...read full article

Scareware SEO attack exploits engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton

Yesterday, the news wires were hot with the announcement of the engagement of Prince William to Kate Middleton. As ever with hot news stories, one thing is inevitable. It is just a matter of time before the story is picked up and used in blackhat search engine optimisation (SEO) attacks. ...read full article

UH sued over data breach

University of Hawaii alumnus Philippe Gross applied for a job at the state Department of Health in February. That's when he was notified there are four other names associated with his Social Security number. ...read full article

Lawyer gets 6 months in Dead Sea Scrolls harassment

NEW YORK — A lawyer has been sentenced to six months in jail for an ultramodern crime that was all about antiquity. ...read full article

Drive-By Downloads Still Running Wild

For some time now, the browser has been the most dangerous piece of software on the Web, and to hear researchers tell it, the climate it likely to get far worse before it gets any better. ...read full article

Cyber criminals target Harry Potter fans

Friday's release of the latest Harry Potter movie has cyber criminals working a little magic of their own. ...read full article

Malaysian man charged with hacking into federal bank

New York (CNN) -- A Malaysian man was charged on Thursday for hacking into the computer network of a U.S. Federal Reserve bank and for stealing more than 400,000 stolen credit card and debit card numbers, according to federal authorities. ...read full article

European Banks See New ATM Skimming Attacks

IDG News Service — Banks in Europe are seeing innovative skimming attacks against ATMs, where fraudsters rig special devices to the cash machines to record payment card details. ...read full article

November 18, 2010

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The 12 most dangerous online scams

Consumers would be wise to beware of the most commons scams of the season before heading online to book travel and do holiday shopping. McAfee revealed the 12 most dangerous online scams that computer users should be cautious of this holiday season. ...read full article

FBI brass ask Google, Facebook to expand wiretaps

Top officials from the FBI traveled to Silicon Valley on Tuesday to persuade Facebook and Google executives to support a proposal that would make it easier for law enforcement to wiretap the companies' users. ...read full article

Credit Card Details Stolen from ECS Learning Systems Customer Database

ECS Learning Systems, a seller of K-12 state-specific test prep materials, has sent notification letters to 1,300 customers after unidentified attackers hacked into its customer database and stole credit card data. ...read full article

Stolen - Passport agency grapples with identity theft in Jamaica

Assistant Commissioner of Police Les Green, head of the Major Investigation Task Force, is urging the Jamaican Government to invest in higher-quality paper for its official documentation, as a deterrent to the high incidence of identity theft. ...read full article

Montgomerian pleads guilty to tax fraud, identity theft

A Montgomery man received more than half a million dollars from the Internal Revenue Service. Now, he could receive up to 25 years in prison from a federal judge. ...read full article

Rogue e-mail makes Swiss bank lose millions?

Reports that a rogue e-mail generated by a Swiss bank employee has cost the organization around £6.2 million in lost business highlights the problem of data leakages caused by email errors, says Lieberman Software. ...read full article

Computer virus Stuxnet a 'game changer,' DHS official tells Senate

Washington (CNN) -- A highly complex computer attack that may have been targeting Iran's nuclear power plants is posing a serious security threat to critical infrastructure worldwide, according to government and cyber-industry experts testifying Wednesday on Capitol Hill. ...read full article

NY lawyer faces sentence in Dead Sea Scrolls case

NEW YORK -- A lawyer is facing the possibility of prison time after being convicted of an ultramodern crime that was all about antiquity: using online aliases to harass people in an academic debate about the Dead Sea Scrolls. ...read full article

Top 10 Security Threats for 2011

Imperva announced their predictions for the top ten security trends for 2011 which have been compiled to help IT security professionals defend their organization against the next onslaught of cyber security threats. ...read full article

Adobe update tackles PDF peril

Adobe released an unscheduled update to Reader and Acrobat on Tuesday that addresses a variety of security bugs in its PDF software, including an unpatched flaw that has become the subject of hacking attacks over recent weeks. ...read full article

China Telecom Operator Denies Hijacking Internet Traffic

IDG News Service — China's largest fixed-line phone carrier has denied it hijacked worldwide Internet traffic this past April following a U.S. government report that said the company had redirected network routes through Chinese servers. ...read full article

10 holiday ID theft prevention tips

In the search for the ultimate holiday gift or the biggest bargain, consumers need to make sure that they are not putting their identity at risk this holiday season. ...read full article

Whitehat cracks notorious rootkit wide open

A malware analyst has deconstructed a highly advanced piece of crimeware believed to be the work of the notorious Russian Business Network ...read full article

Hard Drive With Messiah Student Information Missing

GRANTHAM, Pa. -- A computer hard drive containing personal information about tens of thousands of current, former and prospective Messiah College students disappeared about two weeks ago, a representative of the small private college said Monday. ...read full article

Facebook messaging poses risks for users: watchdog

SINGAPORE (AFP) – Facebook's new online messaging service makes users of the social networking site more vulnerable to identity theft by cybercriminals, computer security firm Sophos warned Thursday. ...read full article

Identity thief gets 45-month sentence

A woman who forged the death certificate of a nursing home patient in order to avoid a court appearance was sentenced to 45 months in federal prison Wednesday. ...read full article

ICE requests hold on Ottumwa identity theft suspect

OTTUMWA, IOWA -- A case of identity theft has landed an Ottumwa man in jail. ...read full article

Woman charged for alleged ID theft that stems from robbery

A 41-year-old Sheboygan woman has been charged with five counts of identity theft for allegedly renting an apartment and setting up utilities using the identity of a woman her daughter robbed in 2003. ...read full article

LinkedIn attack comprised over 31% of all spam

Enterprise users experienced an average of 133 Web malware encounters per month, peaking at over 140 during the month of August, according to Cisco. ...read full article

PAKISTANI MAN CHARGED WITH IMMIGRATION FRAUD AND FALSE STATEMENTS

BOSTON, MA - In a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Boston yesterday, Aftab Ali, aka Aftab Ali Khan, 28, formerly of Watertown, Mass., was charged with immigration fraud and making false statements. ...read full article

Neb. inspector accused of faking mad cow tests

A former Nebraska cattle inspector has been indicted on charges that he faked reports about mad cow disease, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Wednesday. ...read full article

November 17, 2010

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AvMed sued over loss of computers holding personal information

Five AvMed Health Plans customers filed a class-action lawsuit Tuesday against the health insurer on behalf of 1.2 million people whose personal information was on two laptops that went missing from the company’s Gainesville office. ...read full article

Report: IRC Botnets Dying...But Not Dead

Once the most common form of malicious computer network, botnets that use the IRC (Internet Relay Chat) protocol are going the way of the Brontosaurus, according to a report from Internet security monitoring firm Team Cymru. ...read full article

Man Charged with Stealing Secrets From Wireless Company Sirf

A San Ramon, California, man is facing charges he stole valuable technology from his former employer in hopes of building competitive location-aware products. ...read full article

Hackers hop onto royal engagement search results

Knaves, scoundrels and traitors to the crown took only minutes to leap onto yesterday's news of the royal engagement in a bid to expose sentimentally patriotic surfers to malware. ...read full article

Identity theft suspects sought

New Castle County Police are working to the identify two theft suspects whose images were captured on video at a local Target Store when they attempted to open an account. Due to technical problems, an image was not supplied in an earlier version of this story). ...read full article

'Red Flag Rules' catch card offices by surprise

Students, either because of their naivety or just plain carelessness, are ideal candidates to have their identities stolen. They may loan their campus card to another student to use in the dining hall or just leave their card and other personal possessions unattended while they participate in a basketball game. ...read full article

Chinese ISP hijacked US military, gov web traffic

Eight months after 15 percent of the world's internet traffic was mysteriously diverted through China, investigators for a US Congressional committee remain wary of the Asian superpower, even as they're quick to say they have no evidence it's the work of the Chinese government. ...read full article

Malware growth reaches record rate

Malware growth has reached its highest levels, with an average of 60,000 new pieces of malware identified every day, according to the latest threat report from security firm McAfee. ...read full article

Hackers, Spammers Will Target Facebook Messages, Say Experts

Facebook's revamped Messages will be a very attractive target for spammers, scammers and malware makers, security experts said today. ...read full article

New settlement offered in TD Ameritrade data theft

OMAHA, Neb.—Millions of current and former TD Ameritrade customers whose contact information may have been stolen more than three years ago will be eligible to receive as much as $2,500 under a new proposed settlement agreement. ...read full article

EGF man to plead guilty in ID-theft case

An East Grand Forks man charged in an identity-theft case that involved dozens of local victims is expected to plead guilty at a Dec. 7 hearing. ...read full article

Credit Swindlers Claim UK Victims

YORK, England, November 17, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Identity thieves have devalued the credit ratings of thousands of unsuspecting Brits according to a new study. ...read full article

Former Special Olympics Employee Sentenced to Prison

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- A former bookkeeper for the West Virginia Special Olympics has been sentenced to six months in federal prison in the theft of more than $163,000 from the nonprofit group. ...read full article

Henry Ford notifies patients of possible breach of information

Henry Ford Health System has notified some of its patients that their personal health information may have been breached after an employee’s laptop computer was stolen Sept. 24. ...read full article

New law will provide stronger protection against identity theft

Manitobans will have stronger protection against identity theft when a new law allowing individuals to place a security alert on their file with credit bureaus takes effect Jan. 31, the province says. ...read full article

PayPal Users Beware of Holiday Phishing Scam

With Black Friday quickly approaching, and retailers racing to outdo each other with earlier and earlier deals, it is safe to say that the holiday shopping season has begun. If you're shopping online, though, and paying with PayPal--be warned. There is a phishing attack targeted just for you. ...read full article

Nebraska students' financial privacy breached

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - An effort to ensure transparency in state spending has resulted in the posting of private financial aid and loan information about thousands of University of Nebraska students. ...read full article

November 16, 2010

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Internet Crime Complaint Center Reaches 2 Million Entries

FAIRMONT, WV (November 15, 2010)—The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has logged its 2 millionth consumer complaint alleging online criminal activity. The milestone entry was submitted on November 9. ...read full article

Nebraska auditor, agency director continue to dispute release of health records

A legislative committee clarified Friday how a performance audit of state employees' health insurance plans will be conducted -- and that the identity of employees will not be passed on to state Auditor Mike Foley's staff. ...read full article

Copy machine identity theft is becoming a bigger problem

JEFFERSON CITY, MO -- The threat of identity theft has us all doing things different. ...read full article

Medical Identity Theft Ordeal

You've all heard stories about identity theft, but nothing like this. Imagine: someone walks into a hospital to get major surgery that costs thousands of dollars and does it all in your name. Then that person sticks you with the bills ...read full article

Detroit Hospital Security Breach

DETROIT, Mich. -- Henry Ford Health Systems has notified patients of a possible security breach after a laptop was stolen out of an unlocked medical urology office September 24th. Representatives with the hospital said although the password was protected there is a possibility some personal patient information could be at risk. ...read full article

At FTC’s Request, Court Shutters International Robocall Operation

At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a federal district court in Chicago has shut down an international robocall ring that allegedly conned consumers out of $995 each with false promises that it would reduce their credit card interest rates, but provided little or nothing in return. ...read full article

Man Learns Of Stolen Identity On Facebook

WARWICK, R.I. -- A Rhode Island couple has been charged with illegally using the personal information of an American citizen living in Dublin, Ireland, who says he learned of the alleged scam through Facebook. ...read full article

Doctor to keep fighting privacy complaint

An Invercargill doctor is refusing to settle over a privacy complaint, saying it would be "moral cowardice". ...read full article

November 15, 2010

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The Great Cyberheist

One night in July 2003, a little before midnight, a plainclothes N.Y.P.D. detective, investigating a series of car thefts in upper Manhattan, followed a suspicious-looking young man with long, stringy hair and a nose ring into the A.T.M. lobby of a bank. Pretending to use one of the machines, the detective watched as the man pulled a debit card from his pocket and withdrew hundreds of dollars in cash. Then he pulled out another card and did the same thing. Then another, and another. The guy wasn’t stealing cars, but the detective figured he was stealing something. ...read full article

A quarter of UK internet users hit by fake anti-virus scams, study reveals

Criminal gangs are raking in millions by exploiting security conscious internet users with rogue anti-virus scams, according to the Get Safe Online annual report ...read full article

Sarah Palin e-mail hacker dodges prison

The student convicted of hacking Sarah Palin’s Yahoo email account in 2008 appears to have been treated relatively leniently, receiving a term of one year and one day in Tennessee state custody ...read full article

Koobface takedown exposes money trail

A Koobface server takedown operation which began over the weekend has already shed new light into the operations of the infamous botnet. ...read full article

Stolen Numbers, Stolen Identities

FRESNO — Document counterfeiters often choose a Social Security number at random when creating a fake card. That can mean trouble for somebody else. ...read full article

New Stuxnet clues suggest sabotage of Iran's uranium enrichment program

Computerworld - Researchers have uncovered new clues that the Stuxnet worm may have been created to sabotage Iranian attempts to turn uranium into atomic bomb-grade fuel. ...read full article

Man declared dead in '94 arrested in kidnapping case

(CNN) -- Federal agents in Gulfport, Mississippi, arrested Sunday a 53-year old man, declared dead in 1994, on kidnapping charges. ...read full article

Council disclosed personal data on planning website, says ICO

The New Forest District Council breached the Data Protection Act by publishing the personal data of planning applicants on their website, says the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). ...read full article

Auction for failed games developer hit by DDoS attack

Realtime Worlds' liquidation auction was blitzed off the web on Friday, following an attack on the website of auctioneers Sweeney Kincaid. ...read full article

TraceMyID And Frank Abagnale Release 10 Holiday ID Theft Prevention Tips

STAMFORD, Conn., Nov. 15, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- In the search for the ultimate holiday gift or the biggest bargain, consumers need to make sure that they are not putting their identity at risk this holiday season. A recent online survey sponsored by TraceMyID.com, a leading provider of identity theft protection, detection and resolution services, revealed that while the majority of consumers take steps to protect their identity, many admitted to risky behavior that could put them at risk for ID theft. To help educate and protect consumers this season, TraceMyID.com has partnered with world-renowned fraud prevention expert Frank Abagnale to develop solutions and provide tips to consumers. ...read full article

Pair of scams make rounds in Reno area

Are you a senior citizen who received a call from someone claiming to be your grandchild, who urgently needed money following an arrest or injury accident? ...read full article

Class Claims Chase Bank & 1-800-Flowers Assist in 'Insidious' Online RICO Scheme

BROOKLYN (CN) - Chase Bank and 1-800-Flowers.com provide essential services for an online racketeering scheme run by a "discount club" whose "insidious set of business practices" have been exposed by Congress, a class action claims in Federal Court. Trilegiant and its corporate parent Affinion "defraud the consumer into paying fees" to "clubs" such as Great Fun and LiveWell "that consumer[s] never even realized they had signed up for," according to the complaint. ...read full article

November 12, 2010

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VNA patients are warned of possible security breach after computer theft

Waterford - About 12,000 current and former patients of the Visiting Nurse Association of Southeastern Connecticut will be receiving letters notifying them of a possible security breach of agency data. ...read full article

Terror Group Gets 'A' Rating From Better Business Bureau?

The Better Business Bureau, one of the country's best known consumer watchdog groups, is being accused by business owners of running a "pay for play" scheme in which A plus ratings are awarded to those who pay membership fees, and F ratings used to punish those who don't. ...read full article

Facebook "free plane tickets" scams

Don't be tricked by the impossibly good offers that have lately been popping up on Facebook profiles. There are no free ticket giveaways - there's only the possibility of getting your profile abused by the applications that you are required to install in order to receive them. ...read full article

Holy Cross Hospital Notifies Emergency Room Patients of Possible Data Breach

FT. LAUDERDALE (November 10, 2010) – Holy Cross Hospital announced today that it has begun sending letters to notify some of its hospital Emergency Room patients of a possible compromise of personal data from patient data sheets and to offer free credit monitoring services. ...read full article

Millions stolen in ATM fraud

Two executives of an automated teller machine dispensing company are currently waiting to be sentenced in a case of fraud perpetrated against Connecticut's Domestic Bank, which allowed them to siphon around $4.8 millions from the bank's ATMs. ...read full article

November 11, 2010

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Man faces 400 identity theft charges

Levittown — Court documents said a Lower Salford man's car was being searched in connection with a bad check that was presented at a bank when the personal information of nearly 200 people was found. ...read full article

Botnet takedowns curb spam volumes

Spam volumes almost halved in the three months between August and the end of October, according to Symantec. ...read full article

Salerooms across UK hit by major credit card fraud

POLICE are appealing for help after a swathe of established regional salerooms were hit by a major credit card fraud last month. Victims are now recommending the adoption of a new protocol for regional auctioneers when conducting ‘cardholder not present’ credit card transactions. ...read full article

Losses from online fraud continue to rise

More people are having to bear the loss if they have been a victim of online fraud and identity theft, according to security company Verisign. ...read full article

Unknown If Student Info On Stolen Computers

While students were enjoying fall break last week, someone broke into two Murfreesboro schools. Four computers were stolen, and now officials are trying to figure out if there was any personal information of students that could be in the hands of thieves. ...read full article

Identity theft victims can now register status at DMV

People who believe they've been victims of identity theft now can register that status with the state through any of Virginia's 74 Department of Motor Vehicles customer service centers. ...read full article

Colwood employment centre loses data on 212 clients

RCMP are investigating a possible privacy breach at a Colwood employment centre, after the personal information of more than 200 clients went missing. ...read full article

Fraudsters Target Veterans and Military Families Warns Better Business Bureau

The Better Business Bureau, in Alaska, Oregon and Western Washington, says fraudsters are targeting our nations heroes – military members and veterans – with several types of scams. Here’s what you need to know: ...read full article

Key data stolen from main government registry

A substantial amount of official data, including some classified documents on deaths, births and companies has been stolen in what appears to be an “inside job” involving officials in the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs. ...read full article

Goodfellow student information stolen from vehicle

A binder containing personal information on 93 Goodfellow Public School students was stolen from a teacher's car in Springwater Township sometime overnight between Nov. 5 and 6. ...read full article

Cybercrime strikes more than two-thirds of Internet users

New Norton study of 7000 web users is first to gauge emotional effect of cybercrime; victims feel ripped off and angry ...read full article

Federal online glitch leaked private info

A major Canadian government website malfunctioned and publicly displayed the personal information of about 75 people, CBC News has learned. ...read full article

Credit card fraud ring targets gay Seattleites

Authorities continue to investigate a wave of fraudulent credit and debit card charges that have targeted more than 100 gay Seattleites. ...read full article

Salvager finds personnel files in trash

SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (WISH) - He thought it was trash, but it turned out to be a whole lot more. ...read full article

Nasty IE 0day exploit hosted on Amnesty International site

Visitors to Amnesty International's Hong Kong website are being bombarded with a host of lethal exploits, including one that attacks an unpatched vulnerability in Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser, researchers at security firm Websense said. ...read full article

2 ex-executives indicted in fraud

BEVERLY — Three weeks after the Securities and Exchange Commission sued a Beverly company accused of inflating revenues to boost stock prices, two former executives have been charged criminally in the scheme, federal prosecutors announced and the pair is accused of using the identity of a local drowning victim in their scheme. ...read full article

FCC Investigates Google for Data Collection

According to The Washington Post, the Federal Communications Commission is looking into whether Google violated communications laws when it collected personal data through its Street View service. The Wall Street Journal reports that intentional violations of the law could end up costing Google $50,000 for each violation. ...read full article

Outrage expressed over security breach

NEW BALTIMORE — Even before the budget was passed at New Baltimore Town Board meeting, tensions escalated over the recent revelation that over 50 New Baltimore employees’ personal finance information was transmitted over the Internet. ...read full article

Identity theft ring breaches Holy Cross

An identity-theft ring managed to breach emergency-room files at Holy Cross Hospital to steal Social Security numbers and personal details of about 1,500 patients, officials said Wednesday. ...read full article

Facebook bug compromises top pages

A customer of Sendible, an online marketing service for promoting and tracking brands through the use of social media, e-mail and SMS messaging, has inadvertently discovered a flaw in Facebook API. ...read full article

Taiwanese Gov Workers Breach HIV Privacy Law

An HIV/AIDS advocacy group has condemned Taiwanese government workers after several of them shared private information about the HIV statuses of citizens drafted into the military. ...read full article

November 10, 2010

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Young women are the most likely victims of online scams, research shows

Women aged 25 to 34 are most likely to fall victim to online scams, according to research published today. ...read full article

Bank returns money in apparent case of cross-border I.D. theft

Without Sara Aguilar’s knowledge, she said, someone began withdrawing money from her Chase Bank savings account in San Diego in June. By the time the retired Tijuana telephone operator learned what happened, the account had been emptied — all $8,427.15. ...read full article

Sad But True Crime Scam Targeted Holocaust Survivors’ Fund

For nearly six decades, a not-for-profit corporation known as The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany—or the Claims Conference—has been overseeing German government funds that assist Holocaust survivors. ...read full article

$42M Holocaust-fund 'rip-off'

This scheme was as twisted as a swastika. The feds yesterday charged 17 people who allegedly stole more than $42.5 million by scamming the organization that doles out German reparations to Holocaust survivors. ...read full article

Man arrested for identity theft

An illegal alien was arrested last week for identity theft for allegedly using someone else’s Social Security number to gain employment at several restaurants in the Aspen area. ...read full article

Spokane, Wash., men sentenced for identity theft

BOISE, Idaho -- The U.S. attorney's office in Idaho says two Spokane, Wash., men have been sentenced in an identity theft case. ...read full article

Banks, colleges on list of dangerous places to give out personal info

TAMPA - There's no question in this day and age of identity theft – our Social Security number is the most coveted prize to a thief. ...read full article

ID Theft: Insider Access Is No. 1 Threat

Kirk Nahra says Social Security numbers are used too often. ...read full article

Gov't agency e-mails names and SS numbers of 12,000 employees

And the idiot award of the day goes to: the General Services Administration! While the GSA was created to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies, it doesn’t seem to be functioning well itself. On Sept. 16, one GSA worker mistakenly sent the full names and Social Security numbers of every employee (12,000) to a private email account, reports The Washington Post. ...read full article

Bill O'Reilly hacker gets 30 months

A 23-year-old Bellevue, Ohio, man has been sentenced to 30 months in prison following a 2007 online crime spree in which he used a network of hacked computers to attack and knock offline websites belonging to conservative pundits Bill O'Reilly and Ann Coulter. ...read full article

MILAN: Police Briefs: Police seek man in bank fraud; graffiti reported; report of man 'playing chicken' on highway

A man using a valid California resident's identification altered with his picture is accused of defrauding to area banks of several thousands of dollars, police said. ...read full article

Quiet Microsoft update fixes 11 flaws with three patches

Microsoft on Tuesday released three patches as part of its monthly security update ...read full article

Zeus threatens to strike down community banks

Small community banks with thin profit margins can ill afford the significant new security measures required to defend against the Zeus botnet ...read full article

Microsoft Kinect may be eavesdropping on you

Released only five days ago, Microsoft's Kinect seems poised to start a revolution in gaming. And if you are one of the lucky people who already managed to get their hands on it, you might want to know that a specific setting regarding the device's microphone could allow other players to overhear your private conversations. ...read full article

Identity Theft Reported By 33% Of Healthcare Organizations

A Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) survey has revealed that 33% of respondents said their organization has had at least one known case of medical identity theft, and that some cases may never be reported. ...read full article

Businesses under all-out cyber attack, says Websense

Cyber criminals are mounting an all-out attack on businesses, which is likely to continue, according to the Websense 2010 Threat Report. ...read full article

Man pleads guilty to $4.8M ATM fraud

IDG News Service - The general manager of a business partner of Connecticut's Domestic Bank has pleaded guilty to his role in a scheme that siphoned millions from automated teller machines. ...read full article

Popular Twitter account hacked by spammers

Spammers have recently hacked the account of Twitter phenomenon "Sh*tMyDadSays", posting a message to the popular page's 1.8 million followers. The tweet, which has since been removed, said “wow I just got a free dell laptop LOL” and contained a shortened link to a ‘make-money-fast’ website. ...read full article

Trucking firm owner heading to court

NEW CASTLE — More than 300 counts of forgery, document tampering and identity theft against a Washington Township businessman have been waived to court. ...read full article

November 9, 2010

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Mismanaged data encryption causes financial loss

Venafi invited the 150-plus survey participants from the world’s largest companies to give their views on the problem of downtime caused by increasing encryption deployments, coupled with an acute lack of enterprise management controls. ...read full article

Americans Exposing Answers to Common Security Questions and Identities on Social Networks

ID Analytics’ Survey Finds More than 24 Million U.S. Adults Leave Their Profiles Public and Millions More Reveal Sensitive Information to Potential Fraudsters ...read full article

Medical Records From Ob-Gyn Found In Dumpster

WOODSTOCK, Ga. -- Woodstock police have opened an investigation into the discovery of hundreds of confidential medical records discarded in a Dumpster outside the former office of a Cherokee County Ob-Gyn. ...read full article

BlackSheep Plugin Bites Back: Detecting FireSheep Hijack Attempts

With more than 600,000 copies of the FireSheep browser plug-in downloaded in a matter of weeks, Web security firm zScaler have released a new Firefox plug-in, BlackSheep, in hopes of combating attempts by those using FireSheep to try to hijack their Web session. ...read full article

Burglar cuffed after crime scene MySpace blunder

A Florida teen was arrested for burglary after he left himself logged into his MySpace account at the scene of the crime. ...read full article

Data breaches of patient information cost healthcare organizations $6 billion annually

The latest benchmark study by Ponemon Institute, sponsored by ID Experts®, finds that data breaches of patient information cost healthcare organizations nearly $6 billion annually, and that many breaches go undetected. The research indicates that protecting patient data is a low priority for hospitals and that organizations have little confidence in their ability to secure patient records, putting individuals at great risk for medical identity theft, financial theft and embarrassment of exposure of private information. ...read full article

Two FBI fugitives wanted on federal cyber crime charges captured

On November 3, 2010, Dorin Codreanu and Lilian Adam were arrested in Portage, Wisconsin by FBI agents. ...read full article

Data Breach Prompts Indiana to Sue Health Insurer WellPoint

Indiana is suing health insurer WellPoint for $300,000 in damages from a data breach involving health care applicants.

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller has filed a lawsuit against insurance company WellPoint for delaying notification of a data breach to the AG's office and to the more than 32,000 customers in Indiana affected. ...read full article

Cyber Thieves Using Harry Potter To Steal Your Identity

Online hackers are taking advantage of the hype surrounding the upcoming Harry Potter movie by tricking people into divulging sensitive information in exchange for a free download of the film. ...read full article

Connecticut Fines Health Net $375,000 For Security Breach Last Year

Health Net faces a $375,000 fine for a security breach that happened last year at the insurer's Northeast headquarters in Shelton, the Connecticut Insurance Department said Monday. ...read full article

Woman accused of $25,000 in food stamp fraud

A 35-year-old Gastonia woman stole the identities of seven others in order to defraud the Department of Social Services out of $25,000 in food stamp benefits over a period of several months, according to arrest warrants. ...read full article

Hacker sinks Royal Navy website

SQL injection exploited by serial military site 'show-off' hacker

The Royal Navy's main website has been taken offline following claims by a Romanian hacker that he broke into the site, swiping the login credentials of administrators in the process. ...read full article

November 8, 2010

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Anonymizer Universal Protects Against Firesheep and Other Wi-Fi Hacks

The recent release of the new Firefox extension Firesheep is heralding a new call for online vigilance from security experts and the media. Anonymizer Universal, http://www.anonymizer.com, the leading solution for secure Internet privacy, tackles the vulnerabilities exposed by Firesheep and addresses these concerns head on. ...read full article

Scrutiny sought for repeat offenders on Medicare claims

CMS could greatly reduce improper payments by focusing on this "error-prone" group, says the HHS Office of Inspector General.

Washington -- Medicare administrators have not been using historical error rate data to identify and focus on physicians prone to mistakes when reporting claims, according to a report delivered in October by the Dept. of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. ...read full article

Fix Your Credit Score by Checking For And Disputing Credit Report Errors

Luckily for consumers, many credit files are in fact an accurate reflection of a person’s financial picture. However, NationalCreditReport.com, a leader in credit report, credit score and credit monitoring services reminds consumers that they can verify the accuracy of information in their credit files by checking credit reports regularly and disputing credit report errors if they find them. ...read full article

State police warn of "lottery winner" scam

Fulton, NY - State police in Fulton are warning Central New York residents to be wary of a telephone scam in which the caller claims to be contacting lottery winners. ...read full article

The Growing Cybersecurity Threat

What's really worrying security experts, and how to fix the problem.

It sounds like something out of a spy novel: corporate theft, military cyber attacks, espionage through counterfeit electronics. ...read full article

Identity theft suspect sought

The Halifax County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a suspect in an identity theft case. Maj. Bruce Temple said the incident occurred in October, first at the Travel World and Oasis located along Interstate 95 in Halifax County and was followed by another incident at a BP station in Roanoke Rapids, also located near I-95. ...read full article

Facebooked: My Stolen Identity and the Gay Teen Suicide Hoax

If someone had told me this story, I would be sure they were lying to me. My boss called me one morning a couple of weeks ago. He said, “Donny you need to get down to the office—there’s some controversy brewing.” ...read full article

Woman arrested in vehicle break-ins

Jillian Ellen Trumbull, 19, of Newark, Del. was arrested in a series of vehicle break-ins that occurred between the hours of 1 and 7 a.m., Sept. 9 on several streets in Concord. ...read full article

November 5, 2010

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Smartphone security concerns running high

EDDAH: "Level of security" is a top or high priority when buying or using smartphones and tablet computers - and more than half are anxious about losing their mobile devices, protecting their identities and protecting their families with parental controls, four out of five people surveyed by Juniper Networks said. ...read full article

New Technique Spots Sneaky Botnets

Tool could be used to detect activity from botnets such as Conficker, Kraken, and Torpig, which rotate domains in an effort to evade discovery and stay alive ...read full article

10 Riskiest Places to Give Your Social Security Number

McAfee, the antivirus software company, recently released a list of the most dangerous places to give your Social Security number. Many of the places on the list might surprise you ...read full article

Uncovering Covert Command-and-Control Channels

As the line between securely hosted and controlled enterprise applications and cloud-based applications continues to blur, there's more "legitimate" traffic between corporate networks and the Internet than ever before. This opens up new vectors for attack by hackers and cybercriminals as more traffic types are allowed through corporate firewalls. ...read full article

Fugitive sought in $1.2 million bank fraud case

A former Coos Bay bank employee suspected of bilking vulnerable customers of up to $1.2 million may be hiding in the Southern Willamette Valley, FBI sources say. ...read full article

La. Woman used relatives' IDs for loans

ZACHARY, La. (AP) - Zachary police have arrested a St. Charles Parish woman accused of fraudulently obtaining student loans in the names of relatives. ...read full article

The Technology Protecting Your Credit Cards

Credit cards are fantastic for those unexpected expenses throughout the month, but with credit limits in excess of £5,000 in some cases, they can cause trouble if they fall into the wrong hands. However, you shouldn’t despair, as there are steps you can take to protect your finances. In this article, we are going to look at the advancements in the industry which have reduced the impact identity theft has had on the economy. ...read full article

Exclusive: Man in disguise boards international flight

Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- Canadian authorities are investigating an "unbelievable" incident in which a passenger boarded an Air Canada flight disguised as an elderly man, according to a confidential alert obtained by CNN. ...read full article

Beware of Twitter ‘phishing’ pirates

Your personal and confidential information can be stolen via online phishing, By Denise Richardson ...read full article

November 4, 2010

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Massive Denial Of Service Attack Severs Myanmar From Internet

The nation of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, found its access to the Internet severed by a massive denial of service attack, according to a report by Arbor Networks. ...read full article

Attackers set sights on online industrial control systems

The US government's Industrial Control System Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT) is warningPDF that searches for SCADA systems accessible via the web are increasing. SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems are used to monitor and configure industrial control systems for devices such as pumps and motors. Attackers can attempt to penetrate and manipulate such systems via known default passwords or security vulnerabilities. By changing target parameters, attackers may be able to cause faults or failures, depending on the application. ...read full article

Honeypot role reversal

Security firm Tllod (The Last Line of Defense) reports in its blog that some botnet control servers are apparently equipped with functions to mislead and monitor inquisitive researchers, and to complicate their analyses. According to the researchers, such servers present a fake, basic web interface after pretending to accept easily guessed log-in credentials. ...read full article

One in eight malware attacks are via a USB device, study shows

A growing number of malware attacks are using plug-in USB devices, according to researchers at security firm Avast Software. ...read full article

A Chilling Case of ‘Sextortion'

The hacker knew every move the unsuspecting victim made. He controlled her computer webcam and microphone. He could see her in her bedroom, hear her conversations, knew every keystroke she made online. And he threatened to expose her secrets unless she bowed to his demands. ...read full article

Facebook Responds to Firesheep WiFi Security Controversy

Many tech insiders have been bleating for years about a privacy flaw inherent in unencrypted browsing that lets hackers snoop on your Web activity. But their cries didn’t reach the ears of the general public until the creation of “Firesheep,” a simple Firefox add-on that takes advantage of the flaw to let users on an unsecured WiFi network steal cookies and snoop on people’s Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr activity — basically any site that does not offer secure “HTTPS” browsing. ...read full article

Europe tests cyber defences in first regional attack simulation

Europe's cyber security experts are testing their responses today in the first ever pan-European cyber-attack simulation exercise. ...read full article

Tax Scam Bewilders, Then Outrages Mom

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (CN) - A woman claims her tax preparer stole her $2,000 federal refund and told her the IRS had "kept" the money, then stole a $5,178 refund the next year though she hadn't even hired him, and when she confronted him he tried to bribe her with "a few hundred dollars." ...read full article

High-Flying 'Wealth Manager' Falls to Earth

CHICAGO (CN) - Federal prosecutors say a suburban man duped more than 150 people in a $5 million Ponzi scam he ran through his insurance and investment business, Harbor Wealth Management. Scott Ross used his suckers' money to pay himself a $319,000 salary, to buy a $75,000-per-year skybox to watch the Indianapolis Colts, and to make Ponzi payments to a few investors, according to the criminal information. ...read full article

Hackers exploit unpatched IE bug with drive-by attacks

Microsoft confirms hackers targeting IE6; IE7 also at risk

Computerworld - Microsoft today warned that attackers are targeting Internet Explorer (IE) with an exploit of a critical unpatched vulnerability in all current versions of the browser. ...read full article

Brazilian Government IDs Used as Spear Phish Bait

Brazilians are the target of new and devilishly convincing e-mail-based scams that purport to be official customer communication from a large Brazilian bank and use stolen identity data to convince victims that the message is for real. ...read full article

Son of the Year - Not

CAMERON PARK, Calif. (CN) - While she was ill, an aging mother says, her son emptied out her bank account and safe, stole her jewelry, coin and stamp collections, along with $50,000 in gold, $30,000 in cash, 18 guns, bonds and valuable documents - more than $625,000 in all - and used it to pay off his own debt and that of his business. But he tells her it's all safe and he'll give it back when she feels better, she says - a statement she calls "nonsense." ...read full article

November 3, 2010

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Firesheep not evil, says snooping tool's maker

He blasts Microsoft for tagging packet sniffer as malware

Computerworld - The security researcher who created the Firesheep snooping tool defended his work today, saying it's no one's business what software people run on their computers. ...read full article

Cops: Hacker posted stolen X-rated pics on Facebook

IDG News Service - A 23-year-old California man was expected to appear in court Tuesday, after police say he broke into the Web mail accounts of more than 3,000 women and posted sexually explicit images of many of them on Facebook. ...read full article

Judge's Ruling Favors DOJ in E-mail Search Warrant Dispute

When the government serves a search warrant on an Internet service provider to seize the contents of an e-mail account, prosecutors have no obligation to notify the account holder, a federal judge in Washington ruled this week. ...read full article

Guilty Pleas in Private Deportation

SAN DIEGO (CN) - A Hemet couple pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony charges that the husband impersonated a federal official to try to deport a woman. Gregory Raymond Denny Jr. 38, and his wife, Karen Denny, 52, face up to 3 years in prison at the Jan. 24, 2011 sentencing. ...read full article

Search Engine Finds Vulnerable SCADA Systems

CS-CERT, the emergency response team for industrial control systems, has warned companies that run SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) software that the systems running it may be easily discovered using a free Web based search engine dubbed Shodan. ...read full article

Hospital health records breached

A breach of personal health records has occurred at Bluewater Health and the North Lambton Community Health Centre. ...read full article

Dog sitter arraigned on identity theft charges

A former Strabane woman was arraigned Monday on charges including identity theft after allegedly using personal information of clients of her dog-sitting service. ...read full article

Springs man convicted for rash of car thefts, burglaries

A Colorado Springs man was convicted in Douglas County for a crime spree that included about 30 victims. ...read full article

Law Requiring Convicted Sex Offender to Disclose All Internet Identities is Constitutional

On October 26, 2010, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, decided a case involving a sex-offender's constitutional challenge of a Utah’s sex offender registry statute. Doe v. Shurtleff, 2010 WL 4188248 (C.A.10 (Oct. 26, 2010)). John Doe, a registered sex offender, appealed a decision from the district court enforcing the Utah statute that required all sex offenders living in Utah to register their “internet identifiers” and their corresponding websites with the state. John Doe was convicted of a sex offense, served a prison sentence, and was released without being placed on probation or supervised release. Nonetheless, Mr. Doe was required to comply with the states sex offender registry laws, which provided that he register all “internet identifiers” (defined as any electronic mail, chat, instant messenger, social networking, or similar name used for online communication) and “all online identifiers and passwords used to access” websites where he was using an online identifier. ...read full article

Did the Colorado Supreme Court minimize the seriousness of using another’s SSN? ITRC says ‘yes.’

There was a court decision in Colorado recently that I didn’t cover on this site because the decision supposedly wouldn’t have much impact going forward in light of a new law that had gone into effect. The case involved a man who used his own name, address, and details to apply for a loan, but used someone else’s Social Security Number. The court held that given how much genuine information he had provided about himself, his actions did not constitute “criminal impersonation.” ...read full article

November 2, 2010

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Woman Accused Of Posing As Nurse, Stealing Identities

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Detectives are continuing the investigation of a woman they say posed as a nurse and stole identities of hospital staff. Four more victims have been identified in Albuquerque, bringing the total to 16. ...read full article

Marshals: Vampire Sex Offender Arrested In AZ

Has Teeth Resembling Fangs, Drives a Hearse, Deputies Say

MESA, Ariz. -- The U.S. Marshals Service said its deputies arrested a convicted sex offender who believes he's a vampire. ...read full article

Is it legal to use Firesheep at Starbucks?

November 01, 2010 — Computerworld — People using the Firesheep add-on may be breaking federal wiretapping laws, legal experts said today. ...read full article

U.S. Marshals Task Force Arrests Sexual Offender

Milwaukee, WI - Kevin A. Carr, United States Marshal for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Police Chief Edward A. Flynn, and Milwaukee District Attorney John T. Chisholm, announced the arrest of Thomas Thornhill Jr. ...read full article

Call to boycott Barbie with built-in camera

MATTEL'S trademark vinyl doll is getting older but she has embraced technology - Barbie's new built-in camera abilities are worrying some privacy advocates and psychologists. ...read full article

Tackling Insider Fraud From The Outside-In

Companies should use the same technologies that authenticate external customers to monitor employees and watch for insider attacks ...read full article

UK teen charged with school board hack

A 15-year-old who allegedly broke into a school board website before exposing the passwords of 27,000 fellow schoolchildren has been charged with computer hacking offences. ...read full article

Bredolab Mastermind Was Key Spamit.com Affiliate

The man arrested in Armenia last week for allegedly operating the massive “Bredolab” botnet — a network of some 30 million hacked Microsoft Windows PCs that were rented out to cyber crooks — appears to have generated much of his clientele as an affiliate of Spamit.com, the global spamming operation whose members are blamed for sending a majority of the world’s pharmaceutical spam. ...read full article

Facebook discovers and "punishes" UID-selling developers

The recent discovery that some Facebook application were inadvertently forwarding users' UIDs to advertising agencies and data collection companies has spurred the social network to investigate the matter thoroughly and to try to think of a platform-wide solution that would prevent that from happening ever again. ...read full article

102 Sex Offenders Checked by U.S. Marshals and Darlington County Sheriff's

Florence, SC – On October 29, approximately 30 personnel from the United States Marshals Service and Darlington County Sheriff’s Office conducted Operation Trick or Treat, an initiative to ensure registered sex offenders are residing in their documented homes and compliant with the rules set forth for South Carolina sex offenders. ...read full article

November 1, 2010

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Attorney General warns of online voting scam

There are many things New Hampshire citizens can do online, but Attorney General Michael Delaney said voting is not one of them. ...read full article

Canadian Pharmacy Privacy Warning for Americans

Online Canadian pharmacy lawyer warns Americans about high risk of identity theft, how to buy drugs online safely and save a bundle of money. ...read full article

Identity theft is on the rise in Montgomery County, but there are deterrents

t’s no secret that identity theft has been on the rise in recent years, and while it’s difficult to investigate, law enforcement authorities catch some of the thieves and are looking at ways to combine resources to increase their success rate. ...read full article

Avoid getting scammed when looking to rent

CHICAGO — With fewer people buying homes in the current market and more people renting it is no surprise that scammers are targeting renters more frequently. The Better Business Bureau urges consumers to be wary when looking through classified rental listings online. ...read full article

Indictments allege charges of wire fraud and bank fraud

Three indictments were returned by a grand jury in Denver in three separate mortgage schemes, one related to properties purchased in Castle Rock and Parker, and one involving a Castle Rock man. The returned indictments were related to charges of wire fraud, bank fraud and related offenses. ...read full article

Bomb plot sparks cargo crackdown

Governments and airlines around the world are reviewing security procedures after two parcel bombs were found in US-bound air cargo. ...read full article

ATM 'skimming' threat grows

Baltimore —Privacy experts, banks and others are warning consumers about a threat to their personal financial information: electronic "skimming" devices that record credit-card and debit-card numbers at ATMs, gas pumps or vending machines. ...read full article

A case of bombs and identity theft?

SANA, Yemen — (MCT) Yemen authorities on Sunday released a 23-year-old engineering student who had been arrested a day earlier for her alleged connection to al-Qaida and the foiled plot to mail packages of concealed explosives into the U.S., according to her lawyer. ...read full article

Identity thieves relentless in quest for your information

It's everywhere you don't want it to be. From skimming your debit card at a gas pump to phony financial e-mails hitting your cell phone or computer, identity theft is as crafty as it is continuous. ...read full article