December 2010 News Archive

December 22, 2010

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ID theft case nets 2 arrests in Tulare

Tulare police made two arrests and are looking for two more in connection with an identity theft enterprise with victims throughout the state. ...read full article

Police make arrests in identity theft ring

Tulare police made two arrests and are looking for two more in connection with an identity theft enterprise with victims throughout the state. ...read full article

Hacker threatened the US Vice President

A US BLOKE hacked into his neighbour's WiFi network and made threats to kill the Vice President of the United States. ...read full article

Two-timing geezer fleecer jailed

A confessed Manhattan gold digger yesterday was sentenced to 3½ to seven years in prison after apologizing for "inconveniencing" her two sick, elderly victims. ...read full article

2009 Supreme Court Decision: Illegal Aliens Not Guilty of Identity Theft?

2008: "Generally speaking, people who come into the United States don't go out and steal an identity. They generally purchase a set of identity documents for the purpose of being able to work." (Chris Joseph, Esq.) ...read full article

Ohio: Alarming increase in identity theft cases

CLEVELAND -- There is an alarming increase in the number of identity theft cases that the Ohio State Highway Patrol is now investigating. ...read full article

Hillsborough man arrested after FDLE uncovers elaborate ID theft operation

TAMPA — Authorities said Tuesday they have charged a 58-year-old man with identity theft and possession of stolen credit cards after a three-month investigation revealed a sophisticated operation. ...read full article

Three charged in scheme to steal cancer patients' identification

Southfield- Three people are facing charges for allegedly stealing the identification of cancer patients being treated at a Southfield medical facility and using the credit card numbers to buy building materials for remodeling projects. ...read full article

Great Falls woman pleads guilty to wire fraud

GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) — A Great Falls woman has pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. ...read full article

5-Month-Old's Identity Stolen

Credit Card Accounts Use Baby's Information

...read full article

Waterford man allegedly steals 15,000 Social Security numbers

WATERFORD -- A 25-year-old Waterford man has been arrested for stealing over 15,000 social security numbers, State Police say. ...read full article

San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department releases a warning about "Hitman" email scam

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department has been investigating several complaints from citizens who report being threatened in an email, widely known as the “Hitman Scam.” The FBI first reported the Hitman Scam on their web site back in December 2006. It made the rounds for a few years and died down. However, it seems to have made a comeback. ...read full article

Trio convicted in counterfeit check ring

NEWPORT NEWS – Three members of a counterfeit check ring conspiracy were sentenced last week for running a two-year fraud scheme throughout the Tidewater area that caused more than $50,000 in losses. Banks and businesses, including some in James City County, were among the victims. ...read full article

Chandler woman accused of stealing from fallen officer's fund

Chandler Police arrested a woman suspected of stealing more than $300 from the memorial account for Det. Carlos Ledesma Monday. ...read full article

December 21, 2010

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Palagi pleads guilty to wire fraud, identity theft

Tina Marie Palagi pled guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in a Great Falls courtroom on Monday. ...read full article

Feds Pursuing Fraud Charges Against Oil Spill Claimants in 5 States

A woman was indicted last week in the Eastern District of Louisiana for allegedly filing fraudulent claims for compensation due to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Four other individuals were also charged last week in Alabama, Michigan, and Mississippi for fraud related to oil spill compensation claims, in addition to two defendants previously indicted on Nov. 22 and 24 in Texas and North Carolina. ...read full article

Laptop with medical info stolen from Wisconsin doctor

Thousands of patients are being offered identity theft protection after a laptop was stolen from a doctor's home in Fitchburg. ...read full article

The Women of Twitter: Behind those sexy tweets

“The CADJPY is testing the rising trend line dating back to Nov. 2,” announced the blonde bombshell in a low-cut bikini top, discussing with seeming gravitas and authority technical levels for the value of the Canadian dollar against the Japanese yen. “Despite consumer prices and retails sales topping expectations.” ...read full article

Woman pleads guilty to wire fraud, ID theft

Great Falls resident Tina Marie Palagi, 44, pled guilty on Monday in federal court to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. ...read full article

ATM machine stolen from gas station

Officers were contacted about an alarm at a convenience store Dec. 8 on Patrick Mill Road. Upon arrival officers noticed the front door had been pried open and the interior window had been broken from the inside. ...read full article

Suspect wanted on bank fraud, identity theft charges

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - Sheriff's deputies are looking for a man on identity theft and fraud charges. ...read full article

Pair charged with stealing from elderly Limerick woman

An Upper Darby woman employed as a caregiver of an 84-year-old Limerick woman has been charged along with her male co-conspirator with stealing more than $11,000 from her elderly patient. ...read full article

Identity theft reports climb to 135 in Butte

Butte police have received 135 reports of identity theft from last week to Monday afternoon. ...read full article

PinnacleHealth outpatient data breached

PinnacleHealth announced Monday that it has sent notifications to 1,086 people whose personal outpatient medical information may have been accessed through an independent medical transcription company. ...read full article

Identity Theft: The Gift that Keeps on Giving

Last Minute Holiday Shoppers can be Easy Targets

...read full article

Boonton man arrested on identity theft charges after 1-hour manhunt

MOUNT OLIVE — A Boonton man accused of identity theft led police on an hour-long manhunt Friday when he fled a Toys "R" Us warehouse where he worked in an attempt to escape. ...read full article

Lynn man convicted of identity theft, mail and wire fraud

LYNN - A Lynn man was convicted on Monday in federal court of mail, wire and bank fraud, as well as aggravated identity theft to purchase cars and motorcycles. ...read full article

Federal Investigators Shut Down Identity Theft Ring

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. -- A former Newland Medical Center Employee was charged Monday with 15 counts of identity theft and criminal enterprise. ...read full article

Credit cards could be easy pickings for high-tech thieves

SALT LAKE CITY — A new credit card technology designed to increase consumer convenience may put users at higher risk for identity theft. ...read full article

December 17, 2010

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More censorship, data breaches and devices: Security predictions for 2011

This past year has been a doozy in the security world. We kicked off the year by discovering operation Aurora, saw the first national-industrial sabotage attack with Stuxnet and are closing the year with Wikileaks about to become a constitutional crisis between the First amendment and a 1917 espionage law. Reality has well and truly become weirder than fiction. ...read full article

New Haven man sent to prison for $780,000 identity theft fraud

A New Haven man was sentenced to more than 7 years in prison for stealing more than $780,000 in an identity theft scheme through which he took over Walmart and Sam’s Club credit card account of victims, authorities said in a statement. ...read full article

Northfield man convicted by federal jury in fraud case

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A 52-year-old Northfield man was found guilty by a federal jury in St. Paul on Thursday for using the identity of others, including that of a dead man, for the past 20 years and attempting to obtain passports, a Social Security card, bank accounts and credit cards with false identification. ...read full article

Local Women Indicted For Identity Theft: Scheme Could Affect Thousands

Four Waco women have been arrested on federal charges stemming from an alleged identify theft scheme in which thousands of background-check applications that were supposed to have been destroyed were stolen.

...read full article

Store clerk accused of stealing credit card numbers in Okeechobee County

OKEECHOBEE COUNTY — A convenience store employee will be arraigned Friday on several federal charges after allegedly stealing credit card numbers in a counterfeit operation, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. ...read full article

Stolen: True Tales of Identity Theft

Identity theft happens when you least expect it -- and it's often committed by the people you least suspect. The thief could be someone you trusted implicitly, such as your ex-girlfriend, or someone who has no qualms about living the high life on your tab. ...read full article

Identity Theft Suspects Arrested -

DOVER, Del. - Three suspects are behind bars in connection to using a stolen credit card. Mark Talcott, 26, Sandra Lowden, 25, and Robert Trowbridge II, 25, have each been charged with 18 counts of various theft and related crimes. ...read full article

Loren Steffy: Our goodbye to privacy online

The irony didn't hit me until later in the evening. The same day that Time magazine named Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg as its Person of the Year, I spent part of the afternoon talking with a Sugar Land physician about electronic medical records. ...read full article

Mesa police accuse Scottsdale deli worker of identity theft

Mesa police arrested a 40-year-old man Wednesday in connection with a string of credit card thefts they said he committed while working at a Scottsdale restaurant. ...read full article

Fighting bad guys with good tech

As more crimes are committed online, or with the help of online data, police departments are banding together to share tech tips and catch wrongdoing wherever it occurs.

...read full article

How to foil electronic pickpockets

No reason to be overly fearful of high-tech scanning devices

...read full article

Nine St. Joseph's/Candler employees snagged in medical breach

Nine St. Joseph's/Candler employees were punished after a digital image of a patient's anatomy was photographed, texted by cell phone and posted to Facebook. ...read full article

Career thief jailed on $253K bail

HILO -- A 40-year-old Nanawale Estates woman with a lengthy history of theft has been charged with 22 financial crimes -- and police are investigating other potential charges against her. ...read full article

Romanian police cuff 40+ over €millions telecom blag

Romanian police are claiming success in breaking up a cybercrime ring blamed for losses of more than €11m ($14.6 million) through telecoms call charge fraud. ...read full article

Nearly 12 million in U.S. were victims of identity theft, report says

Nearly 12 million people, about 5% of the U.S. population ages 16 and older, were victims of identity theft in a recent two-year period, the Department of Justice reported Thursday. ...read full article

Patients contacted after data loss at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust

CONFIDENTIAL patient records have been stolen from a local hospital. ...read full article

Identity Theft on the Rise During Holiday Season; Whether Shopping Online or at the Mall, Be Vigilant

NEW YORK, Dec. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With everything easily available from wines and perfumes to electronics and toys, online shopping is an increasingly attractive alternative to braving the local mall during the holidays. However, it can also pose a risk to your identity, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.). ...read full article

Man pleads guilty in ID theft case

One of the main figures in San Antonio's largest identity theft case pleaded guilty Thursday. ...read full article

20 news cases of identity theft in Butte

A whopping 20 new cases of identity theft were reported to Butte law enforcement on Wednesday. This makes for almost 30 cases of credit and debit card fraud since Friday. ...read full article

New finger print ID system for websites that means you don't need to remember every online password

With the average person having at least five online accounts it can be a struggle to remember all of the usernames and passwords. ...read full article

5 face charges related to ID theft, tax fraud

Five people were indicted by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama on a variety of charges stemming from an identity theft and tax fraud conspiracy, the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service announced Thursday. ...read full article

Crowd sourcing the fight against cybercrime?

The European Union (EU) is examining a plan to use "crowd sourcing" to fight internet crime, allowing members of the public to connect directly with police and report internet security attacks and online scams. ...read full article

Chase Leads to Arrest for Theft, Identity Theft

A wild car chase through Lackawanna County has a woman from the Philadelphia area under arrest. ...read full article

December 16, 2010

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Warning over growth of fake PC 'defrag' tools

Fake AV has morphed into expensive 'disk fix'

...read full article

Ohio State reveals server was hacked; 760,000 people offered credit protection

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Ohio State University says unauthorized users accessed a computer server containing personal information on about 760,000 current and former faculty, staff, students and others. ...read full article

Gawker theft stirs ID safety push

The gruesome aftermath of last weekend's ugly hacker attack on gossip empire Gawker Media has other sites working furiously to ensure their users are kept out of harm's way. ...read full article

Beaufort Couple Charged With Credit Card Fraud And Aggravated Identity Theft

United States Attorney Bill Nettles announced today that a Federal Grand Jury sitting in Charleston, South Carolina, has returned the following Indictments: Annette Lucille Rhett, 31, and Joseph Linwood Redd, 49, both of Beaufort, were charged in a 3-count Indictment with Credit Card Fraud, Possession of 15 or more Unauthorized Credit Card Numbers and Aggravated Identity Theft. ...read full article

Police identify 11 in identity theft case

Springs Police bust a major crime ring they say was using counterfeiting and identity theft to pay for their meth addiction. ...read full article

Indictments detail car title scam in three states

A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted 19 people in three states, accusing them in a scheme involving 800 fraudulent Texas vehicle titles that cheated lenders out of at least $3 million. ...read full article

Ex-Geneva car dealer gets 3 years in fed pen

The former owner and general manager of Massucci’s Geneva Ford will spend three years in federal prison for bank fraud and identity theft, the Federal Bureau of Investigations reports. ...read full article

UK Man cops to £500,000 iTunes royalty scam

A UK man has admitted involvement in crime ring that generated £500,000 in royalties by using stolen credit cards to buy his own songs on iTunes and Amazon, according to published reports. ...read full article

Data Breach Risk Is High at Colorado Agencies, Audit Says

Auditors have found flaws in Colorado’s cyber-security program that put the state government at “high risk” of system compromise or data breach, according to a report released this week. ...read full article

Alleged Harvard Univ. Scammer Due In Court

WOBURN (CBS) – A man from Delaware who is accused of faking his way into Harvard University and stealing $45,000 in financial aid, grants and scholarships is headed to court Thursday. ...read full article

Phishing foot soldiers

WASHINGTON – Sitting at a computer somewhere overseas in January 2009, computer hackers went phishing. ...read full article

ST. LOUIS > Ex-inmate accused of scam

A former South Carolina inmate was indicted Wednesday for allegedly submitting false student aid forms to Webster University's distance learning programs, then using nearly $125,000 in aid for personal expenses. ...read full article

Case continued for former beauty queen accused of identity theft

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A former beauty queen at the center of a large identity theft case was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday for a change of plea hearing. ...read full article

Trial opens for alleged hacker accused of using know-how to terrorize neighbors in Blaine

The tools he used were high-tech, but the motive fueling Barry Ardolf's alleged crimes predated the invention of the fence: He was mad at his neighbor. ...read full article

Norton Study Reveals 'Over-Sharing' of Holiday Cheer Puts Consumers at Risk

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Dec. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- With more than 1,300 merchants participating in national "Free Shipping Day" tomorrow, it's more likely that last-minute shoppers will be hitting the Internet in force. ...read full article

Facebook Crimes Surge By 7,400 Percent

PC Advisor (UK) — The number of crimes taking place on Facebook has soared by 7,400 percent in the past three years. ...read full article

Thieves Stealing Identities By 'Fishing' For Mail In Drop-off Boxes

Your rent check might be in danger if you mailed it from a drop-off box on a street corner or outside a post office. Some say your identity could be too. ...read full article

Fort Collins man accused of 123 car break-ins

A man serving time in a halfway house for breaking into vehicles faces more charges for allegedly stealing items from more than 120 vehicles. ...read full article

Bus driver who stole identities of disabled passengers sentenced to prison

A Central Florida bus driver charged with stealing the identities of her disabled passengers and opening credit accounts with their personal information was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in federal prison Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. ...read full article

Hacker warning over internet-connected HDTVs

Internet-connected HDTVs could be used by hackers to infiltrate home networks, according to a firm that markets device security software for smartphones, VoIP devices and TVs. ...read full article

Waterford man allegedly steals 15,000 Social Security numbers

WATERFORD -- A 25-year-old Waterford man has been arrested for stealing over 15,000 social security numbers, State Police say. ...read full article

State Public Health Department loses records of 2,550 people

State public health authorities have lost medical and other records for 2,550 healthcare facility residents, workers and state staff, officials said Wednesday in a statement. ...read full article

Authorities: Fundraising scam all too typical for holidays

LANCASTER -- It's the season for gift giving and end-of-the-year charity soliciting. It's also a time for scam artists to use people's desire to help others against them. ...read full article

Two arrested at Limerick outlets for identity theft

Two New York men were arrested after being caught at a store with false identities and hundreds of bank account numbers, Social Security numbers and other personal information that was not their own. ...read full article

ID Theft Arrest

A Waterford man is charged with stealing social security numbers from close to 15 thousand people. ...read full article

Cops: Geoffrey Lucas wrote bogus prescriptions

ONEIDA — The Oneida physician arrested Saturday on three felony charges is no longer practicing medicine at Women’s Health Associates. ...read full article

Congress acts to stop scams using false caller IDs

WASHINGTON – Congress moved Wednesday to stop scammers who use fake caller IDs to trick people into revealing Social Security and credit card numbers and other vital information. ...read full article

Internet Domain Name Theft Conviction May Be First in U.S.

In what prosecutors are calling the first U.S. conviction for theft of an Internet domain name, a Union Township, N.J. man pleaded guilty Monday to stealing a web address and selling it on eBay to an innocent buyer: former professional basketball player Mark Madsen. ...read full article

December 15, 2010

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FTC Halts Operation that Posed as Government Agencies and Duped Consumers into Paying to Collect Bogus Prize Money

At the Federal Trade Commission’s request, a federal judge has halted an operation that allegedly tricked people into paying a $20 fee to collect a fake multi-million-dollar sweepstakes prize. The case is part of an ongoing FTC crackdown on scams that target financially strapped Americans, and the agency is seeking to make the defendants give up their ill-gotten gains. ...read full article

Kindsight Security Trial Reveals Nearly One Third of Home Networks Have Been Successfully Hacked

Compromised Home Networks Leave Users Susceptible to ID Theft and Other Threats

...read full article

YAWI: Woman handed application and told she had a job only to get scammed

Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) - Thousands of Nevadans are looking for jobs right now. A lucky few in Las Vegas thought they'd landed on their feet at Big Lots. Unfortunately, they ended up being victims of a scam. ...read full article

Man who allegedly used stolen identity for more than a decade caught

LOUISVILLE, KY. (WHAS11) - Carlos Rios Bravo was arrested for felony identity theft Dec. 13 for using another man’s social security number. ...read full article

Father arrested for stealing kids' identity for cable

AMSTERDAM -- Police arrested a man Tuesday on two counts of identity theft and two counts theft of services. ...read full article

University faces lawsuit after security breach

Personal information of 40,000 former University of Hawaii students was online for nearly a year

...read full article

Shredding is the safest way to get rid of credit card offers

Throwing them away isn’t the answer. ...read full article

ICE officials arrest 4 in Bluffton

BLUFFTON, SC - A search warranted executed Monday at a Bluffton apartment complex resulted in the arrest of four individuals, and the seizure of numerous items of evidence used in the manufacturing of fraudulent identification documents. ...read full article

Brooklyn man charged in identity theft

METUCHEN — Police arrested and charged a 25-year-old Brooklyn, N.Y., man for identify theft last week after he attempted to deposit a large amount of money at the Wachovia Bank on Main Street. ...read full article

Federal employee peeked at celebrity loan info

An employee in the U.S. Department of Education office in Chicago admitted today to snooping through student loan records of hundreds of friends, relatives and celebrities. ...read full article

Identity Theft Charges

LENOIR COUNTY -- Kinston Police say 19-year-old Cody Holden faces identity theft charges. The Kinston Free Press reports Holden was arrested Sunday for stealing a Snow Hill man's debit card and using it to make purchases. ...read full article

Teen violates probation with identity theft charge

A Kinston teenager violated the terms of his probation this week when city police arrested him for allegedly stealing a Snow Hill man’s First Citizens’ Bank debit card and making purchases with it. ...read full article

Genesco Payment Database Breached, Full Payment Data Taken

Genesco, the $1.6 billion North American footwear retailer, confirmed Friday (Dec. 10) that its payment systems had been breached. The theft apparently started with the 2,225-store chain, but neither the number of cards nor whether other chains were impacted was not initially disclosed. ...read full article

Palm Springs OBGYN expected to plead guilty in case with 276 felony counts

An obstetrician-gynecologist is expected Wednesday to admit to charges of fraudulently obtaining tens of thousands of highly addictive painkillers for herself over a period of months and be sentenced. ...read full article

Yummy mummy con hits the rich

They are dubbed the “yummy mummies” – a gang of pretty young women who steal identities and then hit the banks, withdrawing large sums of money from people’s accounts. ...read full article

Database breach that could endanger lives

A database breach that could result in more than just identity theft is the result of a compromise of the online database of the Mesa County Sheriff's Department (Colorado) by yet unknown individuals. ...read full article

4 arrested in ID fraud ring

BLUFFTON, SC (WTOC) – Four people were arrested on conspiracy and identity theft charges as part of an investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. ...read full article

December 14, 2010

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Beware: 7 Scrooge-worthy scams for the holidays

The holiday scam season is upon us. ...read full article

Richland man admits defrauding his father

A 32-year-old Richland man who admitted fraudulently opening numerous credit cards in his father's name was sentenced to 20 days in jail. ...read full article

Police: Identity theft ring hits locally

NEWINGTON — A California man was working as part of a national identity theft "ring" when he flew to New Hampshire with false documents to withdraw cash from a local bank, police allege. ...read full article

More identity thefts reported

Federal and state authorities on Monday confirmed a recent swell in reports in Butte of identity theft involving unauthoritized credit card charges. ...read full article

TrendMicro - Scammer Will Do Anything

Video from Trend Micro’s 2010 What’s Your Story Video Contest. Just how far will scammers go to get your information? ...read full article

I-Team 10 investigation: Charity theft charges

Logan Cheek of Perinton is the treasurer of the Empire State Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. This month, he was charged with funneling more than $60,000 of the organization's money to himself. ...read full article

Australians could be charged for WikiLeaks site attacks: expert

Australians who took part in attacks that brought down the websites of firms refusing to transfer payments to WikiLeaks may find themselves in breach of the law, a University of Sydney cyber-security expert says.

...read full article

Check-fraud "recruit" from Grand Rapids sentenced to jail in Muskegon

MUSKEGON — A Grand Rapids woman has been sentenced in Muskegon County for her role in a Grand Rapids-based check-cashing scheme. ...read full article

Daughter sentenced in medical fraud case

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) -- A week after her father received his sentence, a Wilmington woman found out she will join him in prison. ...read full article

Phone calls seeking Medicare information likely lead to identity theft

Medicare scams seem to come with the holiday season, especially during the open-enrollment period that lasts through the end of the year. Scammers typically seek financial information from seniors over the phone in a scheme that amounts to Medicare identity theft. ...read full article

Woman locks herself in gas station bathroom to avoid arrest

A New York woman was arrested after attempting to withdraw money from a Darien bank using a fake name. ...read full article

Woman, accused of baby-sale scam, facing new charges of identity theft

JOPLIN, Mo. — A Joplin woman who was jailed last week on felony stealing charges after she allegedly accepted $200 from two undercover police officers in what turned out to be a baby-sale scam faces new felony charges of trafficking in stolen identities and identity theft. ...read full article

Police stalker takes plea deal

ELYRIA — A Sheffield Lake man accused of stalking an Elyria police detective and her family took a plea deal Monday. ...read full article

Teen earns 6-month sentence for ID theft, burglary

FARMINGTON -- A judge reprimanded an 18-year-old for his crime spree before sentencing him to serve six months in jail for vehicle burglary and identity theft. ...read full article

Shopper busted for using phony money

LIMERICK — A Philadelphia man who allegedly used counterfeit bills to pay for some of his Black Friday purchases at the Philadelphia Premium Outlets was held for court on charges of felony forgery. ...read full article

Guest charged in credit card theft

WATSONTOWN — A Watsontown woman's stolen credit card — taken by a visitor to her home — serves as a reminder to everyone to stay on guard to protect personal account information. ...read full article

December 13, 2010

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Fourth member of identity theft ring arrested in Dallas

TYLER - It started with several complaints from East Texans about strange charges on their bank statements. It moved into an investigation and evolved into a case that dealt with thousands of identity theft victims in East Texas. The investigation lead to the arrest of three individuals and the fourth is now spending the night in jail. ...read full article

Man had to prove he wasn't criminal

Michael Ray Brown of Bell Buckle is not a criminal, but was recently denied a part-time job after a background checking company headquartered in New York determined he was. ...read full article

SWIRCA laptop computer stolen

The Southwestern Indiana Regional Council on Aging, Inc. (SWIRCA) is in the process of notifying 757 clients of a breach of their protected personal information due to the theft of a case manager's laptop computer from SWIRCA's offices ...read full article

McDonalds customers warned over identity theft

McDonalds customers may face something a lot nastier than greasy food, with the company warning that a hacker has gathered thousands of customer details. ...read full article

Walgreen Co. warns customers e-mail addresses may be in spammer's hands

Customers who subscribe to Walgreen Co.'s e-mails should be on the alert for spam that directs them to another website where they are asked for personal data, the company warned Friday. ...read full article

Major Retailer Suffers System Intrusion - Payment Systems Compromised

Genesco Inc, a specialty retailer of branded footwear and other products, today announced that the computer network that processes its payment card transactions in the United States has been hacked, in what the company is calling a “criminal intrusion.” ...read full article

Seven charged for US oil spill claims fraud

WASHINGTON (AFP) – A woman was indicted Friday for allegedly filing fraudulent claims for damage in the wake of the disastrous BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, bringing to seven the number of people charged so far. ...read full article

Important Notice regarding GAA Membership Database

Servasport Ltd., has informed the GAA that there has been unauthorised access to the GAA membership database. ...read full article

Mum sent private bank account details for 23 people by NatWest

A BANK posted the statements of 23 strangers to a barmaid in error. ...read full article

UW-Madison warns 60,000 of card data theft

Records with the names and identification card numbers of 60,000 people affiliated with UW-Madison were hacked into, compromising Social Security numbers. ...read full article

Veteran gets medical info of other members

HALIFAX - The Department of Defense has launched an investigation after a former member of the Canadian Forces found sensitive health and personal information about other military personnel in his medical file. ...read full article

US: Hackers hit universities' database 'jackpots'

Since 2008, 158 data breaches have compromised more than 2.3 million records at American higher education institutions, according to a recent report by Application Security, Inc, a US database safety company. ...read full article

KU School of Business class teaches graduate students how to commit fraud, identity theft

It got to the point where the students followed their teacher to Panera Bread and secretly videotaped him on the way to class. ...read full article

R.I. News Digest: Restaurants warned of identity theft scam

PROVIDENCE — The state Department of Health has issued a warning to restaurants that someone claiming to be from the Health Department has been calling restaurants in an apparent bid for identity theft. ...read full article

ID thieves still infect dead hosp

Shuttered St. Vincent's Hospital is the source of a new outbreak -- of identity theft. ...read full article

December 10, 2010

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Police warn against get-rich-quick scams

CLIFFSIDE PARK — Last week’s Neighborhood Watch Meeting took a different road than where previous sessions had led. Cliffside Park Police Officer Rodney Telleri, who heads the program, spoke to the group members about identity theft, a crime that has increased of late within the borough’s senior citizen population. ...read full article

GAA confirms data breach incident

The GAA has confirmed that personal details of over 500,000 members contained on a database have been compromised. ...read full article

Liga De Quito Player Gonzalo Chila Suspended For Identity Theft

Ecuadorean football has been rocked by Gonzalo Chila's admission that he stole someone's identity to play for Liga de Quito

...read full article

Investors must be on alert for scammers’ tactics

Federal and state officials are patting themselves on the back for Operation Broken Trust, a nationwide effort to target investment fraud schemes. ...read full article

A gang may be at large inside your computer

YOU MIGHT expect paranoia to be in plentiful supply at an IT security get-together but the need for co-operation in addressing online risks was one of the major themes at the annual cyber crime conference in Dublin – even if, appropriately, nobody wore name badges. ...read full article

Women charged with theft and ID theft for utility fraud scheme

A West Side woman and her granddaughter are accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from utility companies, and the identities of seniors and the disabled following a two-year investigation. ...read full article

Stolen Alta. laptops held health data

Seven laptops or digital devices with unencrypted health, employee and financial information have been lost or stolen in Alberta in the past month, prompting disbelief Thursday from Alberta Privacy Commissioner Frank Work. ...read full article

West Side woman accused of stealing identities of the elderly and disabled

A West Side woman was charged in an identity-theft scheme that preyed on elderly and disabled nursing home residents, using their personal information to set up utility accounts for people who were delinquent on their bills in exchange for cash, officials said Thursday. ...read full article

U.S. indictment of WikiLeaks' Assange reportedly 'imminent'

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange could soon be indicted on spying charges under the U.S. Espionage Act, according to an ABC news report. ...read full article

Libertyville employee charged with identity theft

An employee of the Secretary of State office in Libertyville has been charged with stealing identities from the office and giving the information to a third party. ...read full article

Don't Fall for the Latest Tax Scam

For the past several weeks my inbox has been deluged with e-mails from various sources that claim my federal tax deposit made online at EFTPS (Electronic Federal Tax Payment System) has been rejected by the IRS. ...read full article

Former prison guard sentenced for smuggling cell phones

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - A former prison guard was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court for smuggling cell phones into prison. ...read full article

Credit Card Fraud: Watch Your Credit Card At Restaurants

Here’s a new credit card fraud gambit that ranks a “10? on the outrage meter. ...read full article

Military Overuses PII Raises ID Theft Risk

The military's use of Social Security numbers and other forms of personal identifiable information such as birth dates places service members at a higher risk of identity theft than the population at large, and efforts to limit their use are meeting resistance by an "uninformed, sometimes cavalier" military culture. ...read full article

BBB warns of new phone & computer scam

A new phone scam is making the rounds in B.C., with callers claiming to be from Microsoft to con people into giving up not only money but personal information that could be used in identity theft. ...read full article

Temecula duo suspected of identity theft; at least 15 victims involved

Rocky Brian Lewis, 29, and Tiffany Noel Temple, 28, were arrested Monday after they allegedly tried to use forged checks and fake IDs to purchase items at a Sears on Winchester Road, according to Sgt. Keith Knotek. ...read full article

Police chief says Lake Wales victim of identity theft

LAKE WALES - The city of Lake Wales has suffered ID theft. ...read full article

New Study Identifies Snooping as Growing Threat for Corporate Data Breaches

Two-Thirds of Employees Put Sensitive Information At Risk for a Visual Data Breach When Working Outside the Workplace

...read full article

La. man sentenced for credit card theft

MONROE, La. (AP) — A 24-year-old Mer Rouge man has been sentenced to almost 10 years in prison after being convicted of stealing debit and credit card numbers and making thousands of dollars in unauthorized charges. ...read full article

Dutch police arrest 16-year-old WikiLeaks avenger

Dutch police said they have arrested a 16-year-old boy for participating in web attacks against MasterCard and Visa as part of a grassroots push to support WikiLeaks. ...read full article

ID request at gas station riles driver

TORONTO - David Menzies came close to being arrested Saturday after refusing to give his driver's licence to a cashier at a Petro-Canada station. ...read full article

Police explain identity theft scam

TYLER - Authorities say after credit card information was collected at a local Chicken Express where one of the thieves worked. They also went online to get more information. Don Martin with the Tyler Police says the investigation evolved over time. ...read full article

December 9, 2010

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Congress Exempts Physicians From Identity Theft 'Red Flags' Rule

Congress has voted to exempt physicians from the Federal Trade Commission's antifraud identity theft regulation known as the "Red Flags" Rule. The Senate passed S. 3987, the Red Flag Program Clarification Act of 2010 (at the THOMAS website, type "S. 3987" in the search field after selecting "Bill Number"), on Nov. 30, and the House gave the go-ahead by voice vote on Dec. 7. ...read full article

Abbotsford woman falls prey to sophisticated identity-theft ring

Police believe an Abbotsford woman has fallen victim to a sophisticated fraud ring stealing identities and cashing in across the Lower Mainland. ...read full article

Luxury goods seized as police dismantle identity theft gang

BLANK credit cards and luxury designer goods were seized in a massive operation to dismantle an alleged credit card-manufacturing syndicate operating across Sydney. ...read full article

Feds: Woman used dead Phenix City sister’s identity in scheme against BP

Federal prosecutors have charged a North Carolina woman with filing fraudulent claims for relief from the BP oil spill by stealing the identity of her sister -- a 44-year-old Phenix City woman who died in May. ...read full article

East Grand Forks man pleads guilty to 20 felonies in identity-theft case

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — A Minnesota man has reached a plea deal in an identity-theft case involving dozens of victims in the Grand Forks area. ...read full article

Woman's identity stolen as a teen

KILGORE, TX (KLTV) - Credit card numbers are not the only identification thieves are stealing from you. They'll also take your social security numbers and sell them. One East Texas woman's social security number was stolen when she was just a teenager. ...read full article

Cops: Driver's license official fed info to identity thieves

An executive of the Illinois Secretary of State's driver's license division surrendered to authorities Wednesdayafter allegations he gave information to identity thieves in exchange for gift cards and sports tickets. ...read full article

Miami woman charged with possessing fake credit cards

A 26-year-old Miami woman faces multiple counts of possessing fake credit cards and driver's licenses. ...read full article

Locals named in fraud ring

Four indicted in sweeping credit card scheme

Athens — Several months of investigation by multiple law enforcement agencies in East Texas has resulted in the indictment of four Henderson County residents in a wide spread credit card fraud ring. ...read full article

Simi Valley police arrest man on suspicion of identity theft

Simi Valley police arrested a 34-year-old man on today on suspicion of identity theft, receiving stolen property and possession of methamphetamine. ...read full article

Woman's daughter steals her identity to open Verizon account

A woman in the 1400 block of South Ocean Boulevard called police to say that her daughter had stolen her identity and opened a Verizon account in her mother's maiden name in Wilmington, Del. ...read full article

Sex offender charged in aspiring dancer's death

GOSHEN, N.Y. — Prosecutors on Wednesday charged a sex offender with killing an aspiring dancer who vanished two years ago after leaving a New York City nightclub with him. ...read full article

Cyber expert raises alert on card scam targeting hotels

A cyber expert from the U.S. Department of Justice yesterday alerted people in the CNMI about a growing scam in which the perpetrators steal credit card information of guests or customers from hotels and convenient stores. ...read full article

Judge Won't Alter Award in Equifax ID Theft Case

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - A cancer survivor who won more than $1 million from Equifax for improperly handling his identity theft report can keep the full award, a federal judge ruled. ...read full article

City man charged with cashing dead mom's checks

A Luzerne County man is facing a federal identity theft charge for cashing his dead mother's Social Security checks more than two years after she died. ...read full article

WikiLeaks backers plan Amazon.com attack

(CNN) -- Computer hackers who support WikiLeaks released a do-it-yourself hacking tool online Thursday so other people can replicate the attacks they say took down the websites of MasterCard and Visa. ...read full article

Portage woman faces 112 years in illegal credit card usage

MONTELLO - A Portage woman faces 112 years in prison on charges that she took cash from a stolen credit card to pay for crack cocaine. ...read full article

4 indicted in huge stolen credit card ring, one still at large

TYLER, TX (KSLA) – The United States Secret Service along with several other agencies including the Tyler, Texas Police Department busts a massive stolen credit card ring. ...read full article

Fake Receipt Program Targets Amazon Retailers

Amazon retailers are being targeted by fraudsters who have created a custom-built a program that generates fakes receipts for nonexistent orders, according to researchers from GFI Software.

...read full article

Parents Buying School Pictures Victims of ID Theft

LAS VEGAS -- Parents of a Las Vegas school found out the hard way what can happen when cyber-criminals hack into a website. ...read full article

Round Lake man charged with identity theft

An employee of the Secretary of State office in Libertyville has been charged with stealing identities from the office and giving the information to a third party. ...read full article

Texas Attorney General Investigating Sensitive Documents Found

HARLINGEN - An investigator for the Attorney General's Office picked up hundreds of sensitive documents found near a bridge. ...read full article

December 8, 2010

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U.S. Bank allegedly concealed data breach

Arizona firm says the bank stuck it with the cost of bogus charges.

...read full article

Have you been a victim of identity theft or credit card fraud?

TYLER, TX (KLTV) - The United States Secret Service along with the Tyler Police Department are holding a press conference tomorrow. ...read full article

Minn. man pleads guilty in ND identity-theft case

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- A Minnesota man has reached a plea deal in an identity-theft case involving dozens of victims in the Grand Forks area. ...read full article

Assange supporters attack MasterCard website

Hackers claimed Wednesday to have taken down MasterCard's website in retaliation for the company's decision to cut off services to WikiLeaks. ...read full article

Report details misdeeds of postal workers

Ever had one of those days when you just want to throw your work in the trash? At least two postal letter carriers did - and got caught. ...read full article

Officials: Resort worker caught using phony ID

ELKHORN — An undocumented worker accused of accepting another man's name, Social Security number and child support payments to get a job at the Abbey Resort in Fontana will face a preliminary hearing Jan. 5 on a felony charge of identity theft. ...read full article

WikiLeaks nearly immune to takedown, says researcher

After DDOS attacks and the loss of its domain name, the WikiLeaks whistleblower site is as potent as ever

...read full article

As smart phones become wallets, pickpockets circle, security expert warns

Smart phone users have two things to worry about. First, the devices are loaded with the same old-school vulnerabilities that plagued PCs a decade ago. Second, those flaws are going to make it easy for online thieves to pick your pocket as the phone becomes more like a wallet. ...read full article

2011 Identity Theft Assistance Center Outlook

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Unemployment, economic uncertainty and the proliferation of technology will be factors in emerging types of fraud over the next year, according to the 2011 Identity Theft Assistance Center Outlook. ...read full article

Alleged Victims Report Mortgage Scam

SALINAS, Calif- Police say Blanca Maciel Sanchez swindled several homeowners out of thousands of dollars by claiming she was a realtor and mortgage broker. ...read full article

Forest Grove couple admit to theft in elder abuse case

The case: Police investigated a Forest Grove pair for three months and accused them in June of elder abuse. ...read full article

December 7, 2010

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MCSO: Public Should Take Preacautions After Breach

MESA COUNTY, Colo -- Last week we learned years worth of Mesa County Sheriff's Office files had been inadvertently placed in a data storage area that wasn't secure. Mesa County officials say earlier this year an Information Technology (IT) employee moved the data to the site temporarily in preparation to upload it to a the county's new software system. ...read full article

WikiLeaks furor spawns rival DDOS battles

'Anonymous' group launches attacks against Swiss bank for freezing WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's account

...read full article

Woman pleads guilty to using stolen credit cards, forging checks

Dawn Marie Rassett wept as Maggie Samec, Ramsey County prosecutor, and Robb Olson, White Bear Lake city prosecutor, recited dozens of incidents in which she is accused of using credit cards and writing checks that didn't belong to her. ...read full article

Identity theft abroad hitting Region 8

INDEPENDENCE COUNTY, AR (KAIT) - You get your credit card bill in the mail, and go through your purchases only to find thousands of dollars worth of items that you didn't buy! Identity theft affects thousands of Americans, but what if the criminal isn't even in the United States. ...read full article

Woman sentenced for stealing identity to get bigger breast implants

A Tamarac woman who used a stolen identity to pay for bigger breast implants and liposuction on her arms was sentenced Monday to 21/2 years in federal prison. ...read full article

Woman’s 2007 death may prove to be homicide

Authorities say they are investigating the 2007 death of Michele MacNeill as a possible homicide — with her husband, former Utah Developmental Center clinical director Martin MacNeill, as their prime suspect. ...read full article

Millionaire Murder Case in Court

Kent Keigwin is accused of strangling 65-year-old John Watson inside his La Jolla Shores apartment in June. Keigwin killed Watson so he could transfer $7.5 million from the victim's investment account, according to prosecutors. ...read full article

JPMorgan Banker Is Accused Of Stealing Customer's Identities And $1.1 Million In Cash

Hao "Howie" Wang worked at the JP Morgan Chase branch on Park Avenue between 2008 and 2009. ...read full article

Thieves Steal Woman's Identity, Charge Thousands In Minutes

ROGERS, Ark. -- It's the kind of identity theft usually only seen in Hollywood movies: a few credit cards stolen and thousands of dollars racked up in just a matter of minutes. ...read full article

Students overshare on social media

Leaving a Facebook profile public could lead to identity theft among students.

...read full article

Hacked Indian Investigation Agency Web Site Yet to Return

Close to four days after the site of India's key investigation agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), was hacked and defaced, the web site is still inaccessible to users.

...read full article

Confidential patient details posted online

CONFIDENTIAL patient information has been inadvertently posted on a website in an NHS blunder. ...read full article

Symantec Predicts 2011 Security Trends

Security vendors are on the front lines of defense against all forms of cyber-attack. They have to fight back against current attacks, of course, but for real protection they need to get ahead of the bad guys and preemptively block their new strategies. The experts at Symantec Hosted Services offer 10 specific predictions about the threats we'll see in the coming year. ...read full article

Identity Theft in the "Blink" of an Eye

Rochester, N.Y. - Check the back of your credit card. Is there a "Blink" logo? If so, someone could steal your identity in the "blink" of an eye. ...read full article

Hacker brings enhanced security to jailbroken iPhones

A computer consultant is embarking where Apple has refused to go, adding a security measure known as ASLR to iPhones to make them more resistant to malware attacks. ...read full article

Warnings About Phishing and Smishing Scams

LAS VEGAS -- Online shopping may seem like a quick and easy way to buy holiday gifts. But those split-second online purchases could cause you months of headaches if you're not careful and your identity is stolen. ...read full article

Chinese hackers 'slurped 50 MB of US gov email'

The Chinese government may have used its access to Microsoft source code to develop attacks that exploited weaknesses in the Windows operating system, according to a US diplomatic memo recently published by Wikileaks. ...read full article

Private health info faxed dozens of times

Tighter rules for faxing medical documents are needed after a privacy breach last year, Saskatchewan's privacy commissioner says. ...read full article

Survey Reveals 38 Million Americans Claim Identity Theft In Their Lifetime

A November 2010 study revealed that one would find a victim of identity theft in 19% of American households. And 12.5%, or 38 million American consumers, claim to have been have been a victim of ID theft. The results are part of the 2010 U.S. Consumer Study on Identity Theft, commissioned by IdentityHawk and fielded by Survey Sampling International.* ...read full article

Safeguard your business’ identity

What can I do to prevent my business from becoming a victim of identity theft? ...read full article

Facebook revamp gives away even more info, warn pros

Security watchers have warned that Facebook's latest revamp will create the tendency to expose more user information. ...read full article

Identity theft danger grows during the holidays

MID-MICHIGAN (WJRT) -- (12/06/10) -- About 9 million Americans have their identity stolen every year. ...read full article

Many employees careless about sensitive data outside workplace

Two-thirds of employees expose sensitive data outside the workplace, according to a survey by People Security. ...read full article

Latest botnet rankings: Rustock still mother of them all

Spam levels – hit by recent botnet takedown efforts – have begun to return to their previous noxiously high levels. ...read full article

Military at high risk for identity theft

NEW YORK, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Military personnel are at high risk for identity theft because of the way their Social Security numbers are used, a report by an intelligence expert concludes. ...read full article

December 6, 2010

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Hackers Issue Bogus Amber Alert

IDG News Service — Hackers broke into the state of Iowa's Amber Alert website and issued a bogus alert over the weekend. ...read full article

Hundreds of personal documents found in dumpster

TULSA - A Tulsa business finds hundreds of documents in its dumpster. ...read full article

Former Renton basketball coach Tony Giles sentenced to prison for identity theft using dead infant's name

A former girls basketball coach from Renton convicted nearly 10 years ago for sexual misconduct with a minor was sentenced Friday to nearly three years in prison for identity theft. ...read full article

MD woman pleads guilty in tax fraud scheme that misused children’s identity information

Baltimore, Maryland - Twanna Dorothea Campbell, aka “Twanna D. Gaines,” “ Twanna Campbell-Moore,” and “Mrs. T,” age 32, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to file false tax returns and aggravated identity theft. ...read full article

Leak of draft e-health document raises privacy concerns

While Health Minister Nicola Roxon said consumers would "truly control" their personal electronic health records at her e-health forum last week, attendees did not see a draft concept of operations, showing a patient portal tacked on to a public/private providers' shared e-health record system (SEHR). ...read full article

Odds someone else has your SSN? One in 7

What are the odds someone else has used your Social Security number? One in 7. ...read full article

Ex-Sheriff: Mesa County Website Breach Could Endanger People

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. -- Police informants’ names and home addresses of sheriff’s deputies are among a mountain of confidential information accidentally posted on Mesa County’s public website for seven months, authorities said. ...read full article

Martin MacNeill: Was his wife Michele's death accidental or was it murder?

Utah County investigator Jeff Robinson compares Martin MacNeill's life to the movie "Catch Me If You Can," but says the movie "paled in comparison." ...read full article

NY bust: Medicaid patients' Rx drugs go to dealers

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Ethel Johnson couldn't get her prescription for pain medication filled fast enough. The 60-year-old Buffalo woman was hurting — but investigators say that wasn't the reason for the rush. ...read full article

WikiLeaks' Swedish Servers Under Attack?

DEVELOPING: LONDON -- WikiLeaks' Swedish Web hosting company says its servers have become unresponsive and are probably under attack. ...read full article

Jury Duty Scam Makes Rounds Again

Hang up! That's what the FBI advises you should do if someone calls you saying that you have missed jury duty and an arrest warrant has been issued. ...read full article

Woman pleads guilty to fraud, identity theft charges

A Montgomery County woman has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to defraud the United States and one count of identity theft, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service announced Thursday. ...read full article

Visited Porn? Browser Flaw Secretly Bares All

SAN FRANCISCO — Dozens of websites have been secretly harvesting lists of places that their users previously visited online, everything from news articles to bank sites to pornography, a team of computer scientists found. ...read full article

Man sought in credit card, ID theft

Crime Stoppers is seeking information about a man wanted on more than a dozen warrants by Fort Oglethorpe police and the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office. ...read full article

Beware Medical Identity Theft

Fairfax County’s Office of Cable Communications & Consumer Affairs representative Vee Johnson briefed seniors at the Hollin Hall Community Center recently on ways to protect against medical identity theft. ...read full article

Website of India’S Top Investigation Agency Attacked

IDG News Service — The website of a key investigative agency of the Indian government was hacked and defaced late Friday, according to a government official. ...read full article

FBI: New Barbie Could Be Used for Child Porn Updated: 1 day 8 ho

(Dec. 4) -- The FBI is warning that a new Barbie doll could be a gift -- to pedophiles. ...read full article

Ringleader pleads in S.A.'s largest ID theft case

The white Cadillac Escalade scoured the San Antonio area for storage rooms of local hotels, looking for a jackpot. ...read full article

Lockport woman is victim of identity theft, fraud

TOWN OF LOCKPORT—A woman told police Sunday that she was the victim of identity theft and fraud, saying someone had illegally withdrawn $173 from her state benefits account. ...read full article

Conman posing as Prince Harry steals from Diana charity

London, Dec 6 (ANI): A conman posing as Prince Harry on social media website Facebook has diverted donations from a charity the prince had created in memory of his late mother Princess Diana. ...read full article

Mesa County weighs damage from security breach of sheriff's files

GRAND JUNCTION — Western Colorado law-enforcement authorities are continuing to assess the damage from a major security breach that exposed employees' personal information, names of confidential informants and investigative files to public view on the Internet. ...read full article

FTC Offers Businesses Tips for Securing Data on Digital Copiers

The Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency, has tips for businesses on how to safeguard sensitive data stored on the hard drives of digital copiers. Here are the highlights of the FTC’s new publication, Copier Data Security: A Guide for Businesses: ...read full article

Siberian crooks dev'd custom malware in ATM slurp heist scheme

Russian cybercrooks contracted a virus writer to develop custom-made malware before launching a plot to loot compromised ATM machines. ...read full article

Supermarket techie in mega loyalty-point blag

A London IT worker has been found guilty of fraud offences related to scamming supermarket Sainsbury's out of loyalty points worth £70,000. ...read full article

Palm Desert man accused of ID theft

A Palm Desert man suspected of using another person's Social Security number was arrested this week, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. ...read full article

Abbotsford woman falls prey to sophisticated identity-theft ring

Police believe an Abbotsford woman has fallen victim to a sophisticated fraud ring stealing identities and cashing in across the Lower Mainland. ...read full article