identity theft

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Fake Soldiers Scam Facebook Users
Fake Soldiers Scam Facebook Users
Feb 28, 2011 2:02 PM CST

Fake Soldiers Scam Facebook Users

Military warns women to beware of impersonators looking for love

(Newser) - Facebook users need to watch out for a shameful scam that appears to be becoming more widespread, military officials warn. Con artists have been using the photos and details of real soldiers to strike up romances with women on the social networking site, the AP reports. The phony soldiers declare...

How a 'Slimy' Facebook Prank Took Over My Life
How a 'Slimy' Facebook Prank Took Over My Life
OPINION
Feb 5, 2011 12:00 PM CST

How a 'Slimy' Facebook Prank Took Over My Life

Susan Arnout Smith couldn't get 'disgusting' profile removed

(Newser) - Susan Arnout Smith is a writer of thrillers, plays, TV movies, and NPR essays. But for a long time, if you looked her up on Facebook, you would find not the respectable website of a published author, but an obscene, pornographic site of a fake persona “trolling for sex,...

US Troops Have Another Battle: Identity Theft

Pentagon too casual with Social Security numbers, says report

(Newser) - Military service members—particularly those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan—are vulnerable to identity theft because the Pentagon tosses around their Social Security numbers too casually, says a study written by a West Point professor and highlighted in the New York Times . Though the culture is changing, service members have...

New Zealand Lawmaker Stole Dead Baby's Identity

David Garrett resigns from party in disgrace

(Newser) - New Zealand lawmaker David Garrett resigned from his party today, two days after revealing that he’d once used a dead baby’s identity to obtain a passport. Garrett pulled off the scam in 1984, after reading how in a thriller novel. He trolled a graveyard looking for someone with...

Three in 4 Americans Hit By Cyber Crime

According to Norton study, two-thirds of all web surfers are victims

(Newser) - A whopping 65% of all web surfers and 73% of Americans have been the victim of online crime, according to a new survey from Symantec—the company behind Norton Anti-Virus. That makes the US the fourth-most victimized country in the world, behind China (83%) and India and Brazil (each 76%),...

Identify Theft Cases Spike, but Hackers Aren't to Blame

Private data lying around in plain view on Internet

(Newser) - Last year the number of identity theft victims in the US jumped 12%, while the number of Internet-related fraud cases went up 23%. But the problem isn't just hackers, say experts: In many cases, we're exposing our private data to anyone and everyone who knows where to look. Atlanta officials...

Harvard Student Busted for Stealing Grants

He faked life story, prosecutors say

(Newser) - A former Harvard senior is facing 20 criminal charges for allegedly faking a life story to win admission to the university and then plagiarizing work to steal $45,000 in scholarship and grant money. Adam Wheeler's alleged deception was uncovered when a professor who suspected him of plagiarism went through...

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...

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