identity theft

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Credit Card Scammer Hits Ben Stiller, Other Stars

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

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

Palin Hacker Found Guilty on 2 Counts

David Kernell convicted of obstruction of justice, unlawful email access

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

Credit Card Hacker Gets 20 Years in Prison

Albert Gonzalez stole 90 million credit, debit numbers

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

ID-Theft Ring Victimized Bernanke
ID-Theft Ring Victimized Bernanke
Aug 27, 2009 2:55 PM CDT

ID-Theft Ring Victimized Bernanke

Thieves used pickpocketed IDs, checkbooks for fraud

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

Hackers Indicted in Theft of 130M Credit Cards

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

Social Security Numbers Guessable From Public Data

Available birth info can ease identity theft

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

Surge in Medical Identity Theft Cripples Credit Ratings

Fraud spreading with use of electronic medical records

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

The 10 Riskiest Web Searches
 The 10 Riskiest Web Searches 
ANALYSIS
Jun 2, 2009 4:13 PM CDT

The 10 Riskiest Web Searches

Hackers target popular search terms

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

Inspector Finds IRS Lax in Disposing of Sensitive Docs

Agency vows oversight of waste contractors

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

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

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

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

Passport Security Easy to Breach: Govt. Probe

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

Credit Card Processor Bares Massive Hacker Breach

Sophisticated hackers nab vast amounts credit card data

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

Virus Helps Violate 500K Bank, Credit Accounts

Infects computers through 'drive-by downloads"

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

High Court to Hear Immigrant ID Theft Case

Could impede Justice tactic of jail time for illegal immigrants

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

Passport Frauds Used Identities of Deceased

Fake documents used by illegal immigrants, military deserters

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

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

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

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

Consumer Data Breaches Hit Record

Thefts, losses of confidential info has already topped 2007

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

Man Steals Identity to Fund Heart Surgery

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

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

Patch for Major Security Flaw Is Ineffective

Widely distributed fix for Internet failing only slows the damage

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

'Rockefeller' Prints Linked to Calif. Murder Case

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

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

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