From The Virginian-Pilot: The holiday season can provide the greatest opportunity for sales growth but can also be a great opportunity for fraudsters to steal your consumers’ information or that of your business. Identity theft is the fraudulent acquisition and use of a person's private identifying information, usually for financial gain. These stolen identities are frequently used for ...read more

One of the top five paid apps in the Apple App Store, was accumulating data on its users and sending it overseas.  Adware Doctor, previously known as Adware Medic, was the fourth top app in the App store.  It portrayed itself as a security product, gaining the trust of its users.  It is because of its deceitful name and promises for security, users felt safe granting the app additional ...read more

 5-year-old falls victim to identity theft From CBS in Hawaii: HOUMA – Identity theft can affect anyone, even a 5-year-old boy. “I am completely shocked,” Heather Karpinsky said. Karpinsky knew something was off when her 5-year-old son Gavin started to get letters in the mail. “I didn't think much of it until I got a letter that said, 'collection notice' also to Gavin. I opened it up and it ...read more

Your key fob is in your home. Your car is parked and locked on the driveway. You had installed the latest, greatest alarm system. At a hefty cost. What about daytime at the local mall. Is your car still safe? You guessed it . . .   From USAToday: DETROIT – Given that the best way to store your car keys at night is by putting them in a coffee can, what's an ex-FBI agent's advice to protect ...read more

From the Des Moines Register: Two people have been arrested after police found a skimmer, a device installed in ATMs to steal credit card information, at a QuikTrip in West Des Moines. Evaldo Cardozo Da Silva, 40, and Jamily Silva Sousa, 26, were charged with identity theft, forgery and credit card fraud, among other offenses,  Fraud investigators found the skimmer device May 25 at an ATM ...read more

Are you thinking about investing into Cryptocurrency? Definite reading material for you. On Wednesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched a website advertising a fake initial coin offering (ICO), intending to show consumers the dangers of a cryptocurrency scam. The agency says that most ICOs tend to be fraudulent, as the digital tokens sold to buyers can often turn out to be ...read more

Visited a hotel recently? Feeling secure after 'locking' your door? Think again. From ConsumerAffairs: Researchers at F-Secure, a Finnish cybersecurity company, discovered that a hotel lock system known as Vision by Vingcard can be hacked by combining a card reader that can be purchased online with custom software. Security consultants Tomi Tuominen and Timo Hirvonen said they used old cards ...read more

"Ransomware has become a major problem and is one of the scourges of the modern Internet, allowing cyber criminals to reap huge profits by locking up users’ files and systems. The gold-rush mentality has not only pushed more and more cyber criminals to distribute ransomware, but also contributed to the rise of Ransomware-As-A-Service and other specializations in the cyber criminal underworld. ...read more

So, will these new cards protect you more than the previous cards containing your SS number? Yes, and maybe no. From the Motley Fool: Medicare provides essential support for millions of older Americans in protecting their health. Those who choose to join Medicare receive a card that identifies them as Medicare participants, and for decades, the design of the Medicare card stayed the same. ...read more

  Do you regularly “cross-shred” your documents? Which documents should you shred? Take advantage of paper shredding events in your area. Dumpster diving is still alive and well. Read on from WWLP.com: “CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – It’s important to properly dispose of personal information so it doesn’t end up in the wrong hands. National Consumer Protection Week is designed to help people protect ...read more

It's becoming routine for companies experiencing data breaches to downplay certain aspects of the breach. I reported earlier, that in my opinion, this breach was going to get larger. Bottom line – we can't do anything about that, but we can protect ourselves from identity theft. Be protected. It's a bit more secure knowing a reputable monitoring company has your back. From Wired magazine: “IT ...read more

Once you're a member, your LegalShield team is constantly providing useful information. From the latest IDShield’s informational pieces: "The number of cyber-attacks against small businesses has more than doubled in the past 5 years. Small businesses are often targeted because many lack critical IT security policies and procedures, which larger organizations have in place. You have a duty to ...read more

Are you tired of reading, and hearing about these massive identity theft breaches? So am I and I think we become complacent. But every day you can find the small time criminal doing their bit to disrupt your life. Remember, whether your victimized from one of these massive breaches, or your victimized from a small time thief, it comes down to one fact – your information is compromised. The thief ...read more

“ 'Tis the season for clicking away on our computers and mobile devices. Most of us will be online even more than usual in the coming weeks. Oh, look at that great sale! Click. The kids are soo cute with the antler hats, have to post them on Facebook. Click. Responding to the Evite for the holiday party. Click. All that information sharing also makes us more vulnerable to cybersecurity ...read more

This could be you! I continually tell folks that financial identity theft is not the story any longer. Only 17% of fraud is financial. This story ended up with a 'happy ending', but most require time, money, and much frustration to resolve. From a FOX NEWS story: “A San Francisco man who lost identification cards when his backpack was stolen was stunned to receive a $52,310 bill for the thief's ...read more