Identity Theft Secrets

If you have been dragging your heels, I mean your fingers on accepting yet another change on Facebook; soon you will have no choice.  The Facebook Timeline is here to stay, at least until Facebook decides to make another not so bigger and better change.  Feb. 11, 2012, Facebook users all over the world may once again post their “I hate the new Facebook” on their status but more importantly they may be posting, “I hate the new Facebook timeline security, which isn’t so secure.”

According to Sophos Security  over 4000 people responded to a poll regarding the new Facebook Timeline.  Almost 52% stated that they were worried about security and another 32% said they don’t “know why they are still on Facebook” and only 7.96 reported they “liked it.”

One major concern is pointed out by Naked Security blog, “Facebook is encouraging users to enter even more personal details about themselves and their life experiences, and making it simpler for others to view the information,” Cluley writes on the Naked Security blog.

“But might this not also make it even easier for identity thieves to put together a profile about an individual, discover the name of their first pet, and so forth? That’s all information which could be put to a nefarious use.”

Cluley tested his out, and was “shocked” to find out how much information he had shared since he first started using Facebook.  I admit that with time running out, I’ve been spending a little “time” working on my Timeline to try to delete those things that I don’t want shared, since sharing seems to be the keyword on the new Facebook Timeline, but in this case sharing is definitely not “caring.”

Cluley has left Facebook saying, “In a nutshell, if I don’t think that I can get my head around how to protect my personal information and updates on Facebook then – as someone who advises others on how to best remain private – I should quit.”

 So what are some of the security concerns about the new Facebook Timeline? Read the rest of It’s time for the Facebook Timeline and security concerns

I think quite possibly the only thing worse that a sales or collection call is a phone call that attempt to “scam” you into doing something; especially something you may not want to do.  But the phone call is so sincere.  This wonderful, service representative is here to help you get more money out of your time share.  Someone is just dying to purchase it from you and if you only do these few little things then it could be sold in 60-90 days and all your time share worries (and maintenance fees) will be over.

The FBI recently reported an increase is this type of con.  The offer comes to them and wanting to sell or rent their time share to make a little extra money sounds pretty good to them, especially if they can’t take a vacation this year or meet the fees associated each year with time share ownership.  They agree to the sale or rental and provide their credit card number over the telephone to cover the cost of a “one time processing fee.”  But, before you can say “Let’s go to Disney!”  that credit card information is being used as a stolen card and many charges for now stolen goods are adding up until it reaches that maximum capacity (or maximum balance) stage. Or maybe they are using that credit card information to create a whole new you, and not the one that returns back home ready to work and handle daily life’s stresses, but a whole new identity involving you. Read the rest of Time share fraud: I don’t have time for them!

Approximately 18 months ago one of the biggest Medicare instances of medicare fraud was uncovered and over 94 people were arrested in Miami, Houston, Baton Rouge, Brooklyn and Detroit.  A grand total of $251 million was stolen from the medicare system in a series of incidents that included not completing medical testing or diagnostics that were billed,  home health care,  making false claims for treatment, medical equipment, physical therapy,  and other “goods and services” there were either never provided or were unnecessary.

(Talk about above and beyond reasonable and necessary charges).

Those arrested included senior citizens, doctors, and other medical care professionals.   Senior patiencts were offered a “kick back” of  $50-$100 for their assistance in this scheme where “suspects in Miami alone are accused of submitting $103 million in false claims, the Miami Herald reports. “This is like a game of whack a mole,” Miami U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer told the paper. “The numbers are off the charts.”

How did the other cities and suspects “add” up?

According to ABC News:

• In Baton Rouge, 31 defendants were charged for various schemes allegedly involving fraudulent claims for durable medical goods (such as wheelchairs) totaling approximately $32 million.
• In Brooklyn, 22 defendants were charged for their alleged participation in schemes to submit fraudulent claims totaling approximately $78 million.
• In Detroit, 11 defendants were charged for their alleged roles in schemes to submit $35 million.
• In Houston, four defendants were also charged for their alleged roles in a $3 million

According to the US Dept. of Health and Human Services these

“arrests are a powerful warning to those who would try to defraud taxpayers and Medicare beneficiaries,” said HHS Secretary Sebelius.  “These arrests illustrate close cooperation between the Medicare program that identified these fraudsters and the law enforcement officials who acted swiftly to cut them off.  And our efforts to stop criminals don’t end here because the Affordable Care Act gives us new tools to prevent Medicare fraud before it is committed – better protecting seniors and the integrity of the Medicare program for generations to come.”

However, it seems that some defendant’s may be getting off “easy” as a deal is reached in the Brooklyn cases.  The New York Daily News reports, that 6 of the accused have reached a “deal.”  According the the Daily News “the indictment will be dismissed in 18 months if the defendants agree not to accept any more Medicare kickbacks and pay unspecified restitution. They do not have to admit wrongdoing before a judge.”

One defendant, at 76 years old passes away last summer due to natural causes.

This agreement is reached after one defendant appeared in the courtroom pushing a walked, and another at 84 years old didn’t appear because she couldn’t get a ride to the court.

Defense attorney John Kaley says. ”We appreciate what we think is the government’s fair assessment of the case and it’s a just resolution.”

What do you think?  Should age and health issues be taken into consideration in a criminal trial?  Or should each of the defendants have to either plead guilty as three clinic operators (in the Brooklyn cases) or gone to trial, as two doctors in the Brooklyn case did?

To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to:www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.

Sources:

US Department of Health and Human Services 

CBS News 

PBS 

ABC News 

As credit cards become even more competitive, and less not more are using them, credit card companies may be trying to get social with you and their rewards system.    Find out which credit cards may be interacting with you in a whole new way.

Citigroup will be thanking customer with thank you rewards that they can “pool” together in a new Facebook application.  The Facebook application allows users to join points and use them to benefit a charity, a person or a gift.  For example, 20 people could share their points together, and use them to purchase an airline ticket for a friend.   Citi says it’s the first bank to offer such a feature.

After a successful launch of a Citigroup app which permitted customers to transfer points to one another using the banks online banking service, it decided to expand the rewards sharing capability and program by offering it social media. Read the rest of Credit Cards Rewards? There’s an ‘app’ for that as credit cards join forces with social networking

Anonymous has announced that once again Sony will be under attack by their extraordinary powers of hacking. Here is the video.

Sony is not the only one to come under attack, but several others including many celebrities like Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, and Kim Kardashian, for their support of the SOPA Act.

What is the SOPA Act? Some say it’s designed to stop piracy on the Internet. Other’s call it a form of government censorship that can stop just about anyone or any business dead in their tracks. While stopping piracy may sound good there is a whole lot more to this act than meets the eye. Also, many piracy options occur all over the world, and the US Government can’t police that.

Here is the SOPA Act in it’s entirety.

This isn’t the first time, as we have reported in “Hackers Hit Sony Again and Again” and “Sony Playstation Network Breach”

Find out what PlayStation has to say in response to the Anon threat. Do you have PS3? What is stored in your game’s memory that probably shouldn’t be? Do you think that if completed it will make any difference to those that support and endorse the SOPA Act?

“These donations will never reach the ones in need,” writes Mikko Hypponen at F-Secure. “In fact, these actions will just end up hurting the charities, not helping them.  Credit card companies will do a chargeback to the charities, which will have to return the money. In some cases, charities could be hit with penalties. At the very least, they will lose time and money in handling chargebacks.”

Starting in November of 1935 as part of the New Deal Social Security program, citizens of the United States were issued what the Social Security Administration called Social Security Numbers.  Familiar to us all today, these numbers were and still are used for income tracking and taxation purposes, and are the most sensitive piece of personal information anyone can have.

In the past decade, however, with the rise of the internet as the predominant networking and business platform, social security numbers are being lifted from websites and emails by hackers and used maliciously, most often to start and subsequently max out lines of credit, along with other similar financial crimes.

Ordinary consumers have learned to take precautions when browsing the web, and to go to great lengths to protect their identity, but it has recently come to light that members of the military — the same people who serve and protect us at home and overseas — are at a much greater risk for being the victims of identity fraud.

The military relies heavily on the use of social security numbers to identify soldiers and administer their orders.  In fact, a soldier’s social security number has (in the past) been posted in public view, on ID cards, bunk bed assignments, laundry bags, and other kinds of personal property.

And soldiers who are overseas are even more vulnerable, as they don’t have regular access to their citizen accounts and have their highly sensitive information visible to the public.

One soldier, David Hernandez, was the victim of egregious fraud while he was stationed in Japan.  After his service term was over and he returned home, Hernandez received a billing notice for the repayment of a loan that he did not take out.  Furthermore, there were several outstanding arrest warrants in his name, as well as credit charges, medical bills, and other fraudulent accounts all opened in his name using his social security number.  Hernandez even owed back child support for children that were not his.

Another serviceman, Marine Cpl. Jacob Dissmore, returned home from Iraq to find that his information had been used to open credit card accounts, start a business, and even buy a home while he was deployed.

For members of the military, especially those that are deployed or are about to be deployed, it is crucial that more strict precautionary measures are taken to protect personal information, so that they aren’t victims of fraud while they are away.

Soldiers who are deployed and have had their identities stolen, and even soldiers who haven’t had their identities stolen, should follow these steps to reclaim and protect their information:

1. Enroll in an online banking program.  Online banks provide access to account information from anywhere in the world, giving deployed soldiers the opportunity to monitor activity frequently, even while away.  And once enrolled, accounts need to be monitored weekly or monthly, either by a relative or by the soldier herself.  This will help reduce further damage and prevent more fraud.
2. Place an active duty alert on your credit report and inform your banks of your deployment date and term.  An active duty alert will let creditors know that you are serving overseas and that you are unlikely to be applying for loans or credits cards.  Three bureaus keep a close watch on your credit activity, and will be able to note suspicious activity if you are serving overseas.  If you have already been the victim of fraud, contact the credit bureaus immediately and tell them you are serving.  All it takes to activate an active duty alert is a letter to each of the three credit bureaus with copies of your driver’s license, Social Security card, military ID, orders of deployment, and proof of your home address.  In the letter state that you would like to activate an active duty fraud alert on your credit report.
3. Grant a close friend or family member power of attorney to handle your financial affairs.  This can be a great solution because it relieves active duty military members of the burden of monitoring their finances, but can also be risky because the entire responsibility is placed on someone else, so that person must be absolutely trustworthy.
4. Sign up for identity theft protection.  Almost every major bank offers identity theft protection now, and there are even third party businesses that you can pay to monitor your credit and finances for suspicious activity.
5. Hold or forward your mail, so that it isn’t intercepted.  A common problem for military men and women serving abroad is that their mail is scattered and lost in delivery, or intercepted by thieves and used to commit fraud.  Have all of your mail held or forwarded to the same place, and eliminate the risk.

Identity fraud is a serious offense, and it is a sad reality that military members are the most vulnerable to attacks.  But with a little effort, you can help to protect your information and reduce the odds of being a victim.

This is a guest post from Jacelyn Thomas. Jacelyn writes about identity theft prevention for IdentityTheft.net. She can be reached at: jacelyn.thomas @ gmail.com.

Many of us go shopping for the best possible credit card, looking for interest rates trying to avoid fees and charges and hopefully finding some great rewards to benefit our family. Sometimes we contact our bank or stores in order to shop for those credit cards that we will really use. I guess it should come as no surprise that those wanting to use credit cards illegally also go shopping online to find their rock bottom, best possible credit card deal.

The Washington Post and Bloomberg reports that a European hacker online name “Poxxie” obtained over 1,400 credit card numbers with all their information including expiration codes, security codes, names and address of the credit card holders and then sold them on his online store CVVs.in. Ironically, he claims that his sales are so popular because he is honest and that underworld buyers have come to trust the “quality of his goods.”  Unfortunately his site registered in India, making it even that much more difficult to catch cyber thieves in “the act.”

Just like any other online site from Amazon to eBay shoppers can sort and shop online, sorting and finding the “goods” they want by bank card, type, credit limit and even zip code. (My question is how do they pay for it, I wouldn’t trust an online credit card transaction, these are thieves and fraudsters after all.)

Read the rest of Credit card bazaar: $3.50 for stolen credit cards sold online

Tis the season to be jolly, but your holiday joy may not be so merry and bright should you run across any of these popular holidays horror stories, from fraud to computer viruses.

Avoid seeing red after starting your holiday season shopping on Black Friday. Before you head out to the stores make sure you clean out your wallet.  Yes, that’s right.  Take only the credit or debit card that you plan on using and your Driver’s License.   It only takes a minute to lift your wallet or purse from your shopping cart or back pocket and the more you have in there, the more you have to loose.

Make a list and check it twice. Store your credit cards and other financial information in a safe place.  Make copies of those cards that you are carrying with you and be sure to attach contact information to your copies.   This way if something does go wrong, you have all the information you need to start making it right.

Don’t be snowed under by requests for your information. Whether it is a pretending to be a non-profit agency or a “seller” of the latest and greatest tech gadgets that everyone must have, don’t supply your credit or debit card, checking or savings information over the phone or over the Internet.  Identity thieves and credit card fraudster know what you want this holiday season, and they want it too.  They just want you to pay for it.

Wrap up those receipts. Read the rest of Don’t let ‘Season’s Greetings’ become ‘Season’s Stealings’