This week has been marked by some very big news stories about social media and the privacy issues related to the ever-increasing amounts of information available about each of us that is posted online through social media. As Facebook announced that it reached 500 million customers – yes, that’s right, half a billion people around the world, making Facebook larger than every country in the world except two – it’s clear that social media is no longer a phenomenon but a way of life for many people. The new normal — like having a cell ... Read More

Last week, a US Federal Judge ruled in the case Experian Information Solutions, Inc. v. Lifelock, Inc. that the intent of provisions in the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), which gives consumers the right to place a free fraud alert on their credit files if they believe they are a victim of identity theft, did not include for consumers to be able to contract with businesses to file these alerts. The ruling will not impact the way Europ Assistance USA (EA) serves its customers.   EA focuses on a multiple-pronged approach to identity ... Read More

EA has launched a new website in conjunction with its program offering identity theft prevention and resolution services as an employee benefit.  Located at www.id-beme.com, the site includes a bunch of prevention tips for those just looking for some helpful ... Read More

Confusion over which entities must comply with the FACT Act’s Identity Theft Red Flags Rule has led the FTC to delay enforcement until May 1, 2009.  Previously, the Rule was scheduled to become enforced on November 1st of this year.  Much of the confusion comes from educational institutions, which are not in their primary functions, creditors or financial institutions.  However,  if they participate in the Federal Perkins Loan Program or in other ways are “loaning” and “collecting” money to allow students to attend ... Read More

President Bush’s Identity Theft Task Force released information that convictions by the Department of Justice of identity theft increased by 27% in 2007 with a total of 2,470 defendants and 1,943 convicted.  That number still can’t account for the millions of identity theft cases every year, and the task force is recommending further steps by federal and state agencies to deter potential identity thiefs with stiff ... Read More

November 1, 2008 is the deadline for compliance of the “Identity Theft Red Flags” rules.  These new rules are being required of financial institutions and creditors and are intended to help prevent identity fraud.  Businesses included under these regulations will not only have to have a plan for how to respond to identity theft, but document that they know where their data is and how to protect it.  More details on what these rules are and what businesses will have to do to be compliant can be found in SC ... Read More

As a follow up to our last post, President Bush has indeed signed into law tougher measures for punishment of cybercriminals. (The Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act of ... Read More

The Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act of 2007 has been given new life.  Provisions of the act were added to a bill to provide Secret Service protection to former US Vice Presidents (H.R. 5938) which was passed by the US House and Senate last week and is expected to be signed into law by the President.  If made law, it will give victims greater rights and increase the severity of which some crimes are treated. The highlights: Identity theft victims have the right to sue criminals for restitution Would no longer require a minimum $5000 ... Read More

Today Judith Graham’s blog “Triage” at the Chicago Tribune has two postings with tips on how to protect against and respond to medical identity theft.  Sources include the Identity Theft Resource Center and the World Privacy Forum.  Medical identity theft is an expanding frontier in the crime of identity fraud, and with the decentralization of medical information it can be difficult to discover and resolve. Medical identity theft can be two different types of crime - strictly financial - where a thief tries to use your ... Read More

The indictments of 11 people on Tuesday revealed the severity of an international identity theft scam.  The suspects proportedly hacked their way into wireless networks at retailers in Boston, stealing in total 40 million credit card numbers.  Even more reason to check your account statements carefully and if something seems wrong, report it to your bank ... Read More