Archive for the ‘Identity Theft News’ Category

Identity theft topped 2009’s list of customer complaints released by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). It most frequently took the form of credit card fraud.

The report analyzed the complaints by type and location. Identity theft accounted for 278,078 complaints, or 21 percent of the total. The state with the most identity theft complaints was California, with 42,209. Florida, Arizona and Texas reported the highest number of such complaints per capita.

Third-party and creditor debt collection and Internet services also generated large numbers of complaints. The combined number of complaints related to these issues was still less than that for identity theft.

The complaints are received and stored by the Consumer Sentinel Network. Last year, there were more than 1.5 million complaints sent to the network, 54 percent of which were related to fraud. The median amount paid on these fraud complaints was $399, according to the report. Of the fraud-related complaints that reported initial contact, almost half pointed to e-mail.

Along with the list of top complaints, the FTC released a new animated video about filing a complaint. The video, which is available in Spanish, identifies various types of scams and directs consumers to ftc.gov/complaint to file a report.

TJX Companies, parent company of clothing retailers T.J. Maxx and Marshall’s, will pay $9.75 million to 41 states to settle a case involving a huge data breach in 2005 and 2006 after computer hackers gained access to the credit and debit card account numbers of 50 million store customers.

The settlement comes just as most states are grappling with escalating budget deficits. You might think that this little windfall could be used to help save the job of a firefighter or two, or maybe get the potholes filled in your hometown. Alas, after deducting roughly $1.75 million for expenses incurred by the investigations of the 41 attorney generals and $2.5 million, which will go toward creating a data security fund for states, the actual settlement money heading toward the states is just $5.5 million, or about $134,000 per state, if the money were evenly divided. (It’s not.)

Oh, and the bad guys? Of the 11 people indicted, two pled guilty to the original charges, and two others have pled guilty to related charges. I guess that seems like a partial victory, but there are far too many scammers ready to take their place.

CVS was ordered to fork over $2.25 million in a court settlement last month after an Indianapolis TV station went dumpster-diving and surfaced with pharmacy customers’ personal data.

WTHR-TV went on the prowl at Walgreen’s and Rite-Aid, too, and at both Walgreen’s and CVS dumpsters in 11 of 12 cities (Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Louisville, Miami, New Haven (CT), Philadelphia, and Phoenix) it hit a mother lode of patients’ unshredded Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, names, addresses and prescription information, indicating a pattern of haphazard records disposal that put patients at risk for medical identity theft.

Such careless management of confidential medical records is in direct violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy and security rules. Interestingly, CVS prominently cites its commitment to the HIPAA law under the Patient Privacy tab on its website.

“The WTHR investigation was initially prompted by news of a grandmother in Bloomington, Indiana, who was robbed at her front door by a thief who found her address in a CVS dumpster,” The Clark Howard Show reported.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time CVS has been nabbed for dumping patient records.  The Texas attorney general reached a settlement with CVS exactly one year ago.

Under that agreement, CVS said it would overhaul its information security program with administrative, technical and physical safeguards designed to protect the personal information of CVS customers. CVS also had to pay $315,000 to the state of Texas.

Why, then, are we hearing again about CVS dumping patient medical records?

If you’d like to share your thoughts with CVS, you can contact their director of public relations, Mike DeAngelis, at MJDeangelis@cvs.com.

As we start 2009, identity theft experts from around the globe are checking their crystal balls and compiling predictions of what you’re going to see in the field of identity theft in the new year. As I once again dust off my crystal ball and peer deep inside, here’s what I think is in store for you in 2009.

• More scams. That’s right, my crystal ball tells me that 2009 will be chock full of identity theft-related scams. Not surprising, considering the economic climate. When the economy goes belly-up, those people who walk the line on a good day will go to the dark side when the days get bad. They’ll do whatever it takes to get money, even if it means stealing your precious name.To make matters worse, today’s economic climate has turned people with good character desperate. And although they might not go to the dark side and become your neighborhood identity crook, when good people get desperate, they certainly are more prone to falling victims to these scams. Identity crooks thrive on the vulnerable, and the current economic situation is making many of us exactly that. In fact, scams related to real estate, jobs and credit (all affected by the current economic climate) will be on the rise. I’m even going to go out on a limb here — while overall identity theft crimes may or may not rise this year, I’d bet that we’re going to see an increase in new credit-related fraud due to the tight credit climate. When those who walk on the edge can’t get their own credit, they’ll get it using your precious name.

• Consumer education. Without a doubt, consumers appear to be more interested in educating themselves on identity theft-related issues. They want to understand the different types of identity theft and what they can do to protect themselves against them. They’re also looking more and more into available protection services and how to choose a service that meets their needs.

• Increased legislation. Every other week, it seems like there’s a big breach with thousands of consumer’s information being compromised. Without a doubt, “data breach central” has caused many states to take initiatives and create legislation in the interest of the consumer. With over 40 states passing or considering such legislation, more are sure to follow, and the federal government is getting involved in the game as well.

• Consumer-driven services. More and more consumers are inquiring about identity theft-related consumer services to help them prevent, detect and remedy an identity theft incident.

Nothing like hitting them when they’re down.

Florida’s unemployment office, also known as the Agency for Workforce Innovation, experienced a computer security breach on an external test server in mid-October, inadvertently making public the names and Social Security numbers (SSNs) of about 250,000 residents who used the services of Florida’s One-Stop Career Centers between January 2002 and November 2007.

While the information was never posted to a public website, it was accessible by search engines during the two-and-a-half weeks it was public, the Florida agency reported.

Looks like some Florida job seekers now have more to worry about than the lack of a paycheck (as if that weren’t enough). That’s because fraudsters who use the stolen SSNs to open up new lines of credit can quickly damage their victims’ credit by going on a spending spree. Even aside from any possible monetary losses, victims could be forced to spend countless hours contacting creditors to repair their credit, time that could be better spent on their job search. And if job-seekers fail to check for damaged credit, it could come back to haunt them later, possibly jeopardizing their ability to get a job offer should prospective employers do a routine credit check and come across an ID thief’s handiwork.

Florida residents who used the One-Stop Career Centers during the stated period are being advised to check the Agency’s website to see if their name appears on the list of compromised identities, obtain a copy of their credit report to look for unauthorized transactions and carefully review all credit and debit statements.

In a world where millions of personal records are stored electronically, one small glitch can quickly become magnified a thousand times over. Whether it’s our state and federal government agencies, places where you shop or your own online Facebook account, confidential details, once they’re made known, can at least embarrass us or at worst cost us deeply in terms of stress, aggravation and time spent undoing the damage.

Is identity theft on your radar and if so, what do you do to safeguard your credit?

Express Scripts, one of the country’s largest medical benefits management companies, has reached out to the F.B.I. for assistance investigating a threat to expose millions of patient records if money wasn’t provided to the writer of the threat. The threatening letter arrived at Express Scripts offices in St. Louis in early October, containing personal data about 75 members. The information revealed their names, birth dates, Social Security numbers and, for some, the types of prescriptions they were taking. The company notified the F.B.I. and data security experts, who have been thoroughly investigating the threat.

Express Scripts currently handles the prescription benefits for about 50 million people and health insurers, as well as employer-sponsored medical plans.

In an effort to assist consumers, Express Scripts has set up a website to keep you informed. To find out more about this investigation, you can visit esisupports.com.

Should you be the victim of identity theft due to this data breach, Express Scripts has also announced that they will offer their members free identity restoration services. George Paz, CEO of Express Scripts, said, “Express Scripts recognizes that this situation is concerning to our clients and members, and we want to assure them that they will have our constant support until their issues are resolved.