News for Economic
Monday, December 10, 2018
RICHMOND, Va. -- IRS and state officials say this time of year, they see a spike in calls about identity theft.
“Sometimes, they’re crying and I have to calm them down. They don’t know where to go,” Mary Sharpe said.
Scam victims call Sharpe at the Attorney General’s Office to report their cases. She provides them with resources. Most of the time, they’re frantic and have had trouble getting ...read more
Categories: Community, Education, Economic, General News Article
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
From Techlicious:
Technology has made it easier than ever to give to charities in times of need. Fundraisers pop up in your Facebook News Feed, you see options to text in your donation and, of course, you receive emails and calls. All of these donation methods are legitimate and used by reputable charities to receive funds. Unfortunately, these methods are also used by scammers. So go through ...read more
Categories: Education, Human Interest, Economic, General News Article
Monday, October 22, 2018
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
Categories: Community, Education, Human Interest, Chamber, Economic, General News Article
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
From Kentwired.com
Would you know if a hacker stole your personal information?
While most people would like to believe so, it’s usually not the case, said Kambiz Ghazinour, an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science.
“Mostly, we think that if our personal information is stolen, it’s going to be used as identity theft immediately against us,” Ghazinour said. “Unfortunately, ...read more
Categories: Economic, Human Interest, Community, General News Article
Thursday, October 11, 2018
ADA, Okla., Oct. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Released today, the LegalShield Law Index, a suite of leading indicators of the economic and financial status of U.S. households and small businesses, points to strong consumer financial health due to a combination of rising incomes, manageable debt levels, and an increasingly tight labor market. The LegalShield Consumer Financial Stress Index, one ...read more
Categories: Economic, Press Release, Political
Monday, September 24, 2018
From ConsumerAffairs:
We've all done it. We're not sure of our password, so we make multiple attempts to log into an account, and after too many tries we get locked out.
So when you get an email from your bank saying they've locked you out of your account for that very reason and you need to "verify your account" or lose permanent access, maybe you take it seriously.
But watch out. There's an ...read more
Categories: Chamber, Economic, Education, General News Article, Human Interest
Monday, September 10, 2018
Equal access to justice is a pillar of our justice system and a core American value. In fact, it has been fundamental to our self-understanding since even before we were a nation. It informs the principle of righteousness in the Iroquois Confederacy’s Great Law of Peace: “Each individual must have a strong sense of justice, must treat people as equals and must enjoy equal protection under the ...read more
Categories: Economic, General News Article, Community, Education, Human Interest
Monday, August 20, 2018
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
Categories: Chamber, Community, Economic, Education, General News Article, Human Interest
Monday, August 13, 2018
From GovernmentExecutive:
At a time when curbing identity theft is high on the Internal Revenue Service’s agenda, an Atlanta-based IRS employee has pleaded guilty to a stolen identity fraud scheme.
The Justice Department announced on Thursday that IRS contact representative Stephanie Parker, based in Atlanta, admitted to at least five instances between September 2012 and March 2013 in which, ...read more
Categories: Community, General News Article, Chamber, Economic, Human Interest
Friday, July 20, 2018
They're hereeeeer!!!
Google is preparing to plug a potential privacy leak with its Google Home smart speakers and Chromecast television devices that could reveal your location.
The vulnerability was discovered by the Tripwire security firm. Researcher Craig Young blogged that the problem stems from fundamental design choices that he says are prevalent among Internet of Things devices.
One ...read more
Categories: Economic, General News Article, Chamber, Education, Human Interest
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
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
Categories: Community, Human Interest, Education, Chamber, Economic, General News Article
Monday, July 09, 2018
Do you know your legal rights? Instead of Knotweed, what about that tree next door? Are City Municipalities liable for drain clogging? - use Family legal plan photo
From the law firm of Hodge, Jones & Allen:
There has been a court ruling from the Court of Appeal dealing with whether an adjoining owner could be sued for nuisance and damage arising from the encroachment of Japanese knotweed ...read more
Categories: Economic, General News Article, Community, Education
Monday, June 25, 2018
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
Categories: Economic, Community, Education, General News Article, Human Interest
Monday, June 11, 2018
Read Item 3. We're all guilty of this. Keep this as a manual.From the Motley Fool:
Identity thieves swindled Americans out of $16.8 billion in 2017 and according to Javelin Strategy & Research, that number climbs higher every year. Despite the various precautions financial institutions have taken, including the widespread use of microchipped cards, they haven't been able to overcome the biggest ...read more
Categories: Community, Human Interest, Education, Economic, General News Article
Monday, May 21, 2018
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
Categories: Education, Human Interest, Economic, General News Article, Community
Saturday, May 19, 2018
Wouldn't you love to see these new cards succeed in thwarting identity thieves? Me too.
From the Fresno-Bee
New Medicare cards that don't bear Social Security numbers will be arriving in mailboxes soon in the central San Joaquin Valley.
The new cards will display a random set of 11 characters of numbers and letters, and should help deter identity theft and Medicare fraud. Social Security ...read more
Categories: Community, Education, Economic, General News Article
Friday, April 27, 2018
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
Categories: Economic, Community, Human Interest
Monday, April 23, 2018
Does Medicare need to update your files before issuing your new Medicare card? Does Medicare need to update your bank information? These are a couple of questions Medicare recipients are being asked. Should you answer these and other questions?
From ConsumerAffairs and AARP:
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is issuing new Medicare cards to seniors, with random letters instead of ...read more
Categories: Community, Education, General News Article, Human Interest, Economic
Saturday, April 07, 2018
"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
Categories: Economic, General News Article, Community, Education, Human Interest
Monday, April 02, 2018
An article from the Delaware Gazette. Scammers are getting more ingenious in ways to separate your personal information from you.
If you’ve ever received an email from someone claiming to be the Prince of Nigeria telling you that you’ve been lucky enough to come into a large sum of money, chances are you’ve been targeted as part of something called a phishing scam.
These types of scams have ...read more
Categories: Economic, General News Article, Community, Education, Human Interest
Monday, March 26, 2018
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
Categories: Education, Economic, Human Interest, Community, General News Article
Monday, March 19, 2018
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
Categories: Community, Economic, General News Article, Human Interest, Chamber
Monday, March 12, 2018
Look at the documents this guy had in his possession!! Is he a Russian identity thief? I don't think so. A common criminal? I think so. But once he sells this stuff on black market – watch out!! This is local folks – Yucca Valley. From the San Bernardino Sun:
“Sheriff’s deputies recovered documents with personal identifying information belonging to numerous victims after serving a search ...read more
Categories: Community, Education, Economic, General News Article
Monday, March 05, 2018
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
Categories: Community, Human Interest, Education, Economic, General News Article
Monday, February 26, 2018
2017 Was a Record Year for ID Theft in the U.S. At least 16.7 million Americans had their identities compromised.
It's not the numbers so much as the fact that it's getting worse, with no end in site. As a matter of fact, every aspect of your personal information is at risk for identity theft. From IEEE Spectrum:
“This will not come as a big shock: an estimated 16.7 million Americans were ...read more
Categories: Economic, General News Article, Community, Education, Human Interest
Monday, February 19, 2018
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
Categories: Community, Education, Chamber, Economic, General News Article
Monday, February 12, 2018
The key word is “RAMPANT”. Are you still sitting around waiting to become victimized? Chances are you already are! You just don't know it. Read this very informative article from Market Watch:
“Identity theft hit a record high in 2017. And if that's not disturbing enough on its own, the latest data on ID crimes found that the crooks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, gaining toeholds into ...read more
Categories: Economic, Education, General News Article, Human Interest
Monday, February 05, 2018
It's that time of year again. Scamers are in full swing. You've read this information before but it pays to read again. From WHNT-TV:
Tax time is in full swing, which means scammers are ready to steal your tax information and your refund, this is also known as tax identity theft. Tax identity theft happens when someone files a fake tax return using your personal information — like your Social ...read more
Categories: Human Interest, Economic, Chamber, General News Article
Monday, January 29, 2018
Small Business owners have enough to worry about and now let's add a potential scam to the mix. Here's another scam to worry about. From the ConsumerAffairs:
“The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is warning employers to be on guard against the Form W-2 phishing scam as tax season gets underway.
The scheme defrauded thousands of taxpayers and hundreds of organizations last year, and the tax ...read more
Categories: Chamber, Education, Economic, General News Article
Friday, January 26, 2018
More scams, some old some new, and most recycled. They still work. Especially as folks get desperate to make that extra income. From ConsumerAffairs:
“A company that marketed "business coaching" courses to people starting home-based businesses has agreed to a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The FTC had charged Internet Teaching and Training Specialists LLC (ITT) with taking ...read more
Categories: Economic, General News Article, Community, Education, Human Interest
Monday, January 15, 2018
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
Categories: Economic, General News Article, Community, Education, Human Interest
Monday, January 08, 2018
Are one of these cards yours? It seems to bring the point home about identity theft when crimes are commited close to home. Remember, with #LegalShield and #IDShield we are in the business to protect your legal rights and personal information. From a story in the Press-Enterprise:
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a trio of suspects in an identity theft case Tuesday, Jan. 2, ...read more
Categories: General News Article, Economic, Human Interest
Monday, January 01, 2018
From the Courier and Press:
Yet another potential problem after the Equifax date breach—thieves filing fraudulent tax returns. Among the data stolen in the Equifax hack were the Social Security numbers of up to 143 million people. Most of the protections offered centered around freezing credit and credit monitoring, but nothing much has been done to address potential fraudulent tax returns. A ...read more
Categories: Education, Human Interest, Economic, General News Article
Monday, December 18, 2017
Much of this report is redundant, but I think we keep needing to be reminded that identity theft is always a possibility. We need to be on constant guard to protect our legal rights and personal information. From thecabin.net:
In case the holiday season isn’t hectic enough, it’s also often the busiest time of year for an unwanted hassle — identity theft.
One local bank is reminding residents ...read more
Categories: Economic, Education, General News Article, Human Interest
Monday, December 11, 2017
Is someone impersonating you? You won't know until it's too late. More and more stories are surfacing. Citizens being pulled over for a missing tailight being arrested for illegal actions in states they've never been to. Recently a Californian found that he had outstanding tickets back east. And there was a bench warrant for his arrest!! How did he find out? Luckily while renewing his driver ...read more
Categories: Economic, General News Article, Community, Education, Human Interest
Monday, November 27, 2017
“ '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
Categories: Chamber, Community, Economic, General News Article, Human Interest
