Thousands of Oklahomans reported having their identities stolen in 2005, according to a recent report.
One metro woman hopes her nightmare with identity theft can be a lesson to everyone else.
Two years ago, somebody became Becky Pennington Moore, at least in the eyes of creditors. They opened accounts, ran up bills and ruined Moore’s credit.
“I opened this (bill) up, and it said it owed $4,033,” she said.
According to a book published by the Federal Trade Commission, Oklahomans were ripped off for millions of dollars in 2005. One person even reported getting scammed out of $1.8 million.
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Oregon - Identity theft is the fastest-growing crime in Washington County, police say.
Identity theft occurs when unauthorized persons use someone else’s bank account information or other personal information to secure loans, credit cards, checks or merchandise, said Washington County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson David Thompson.
The most effective and least prosecuted thieves get people to give up the information voluntarily. Identity thieves often attach tantalizing offers to phone calls or e-mails. Be wary of any phone call or e-mail offering anything that sounds too good to be true. Particularly popular are travel deals, pyramid schemes and prize offerings, Thompson said.
Most people are familiar with the “Nigerian” scheme, e-mail that claims recipients can share the fortune of some deposed African nobleman or politician if only they supply their personal account information to facilitate depositing the money there.
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“Why did you miss jury duty?” the caller asks in a threatening tone. The phone call, according to federal officials, is the latest ploy used by crafty individuals to coerce citizens to provide-over the phone-their Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, and other personal information.
The hoax works like this. Perpetrators, pretending to be court employees, call potential jurors demanding to know why they didn’t show up for jury duty. They then inform the individuals about the legal consequences associated with neglecting jury services, such as fines and prosecution.
The bogus phone calls, if convincing to the recipient, will probably lead to the disclosure of personal information, thus setting the stage for identity theft and fraud. The legal penalties, especially when presented in an intimidating fashion “are used as leverage to obtain personal information,” says Dick Carelli, a spokesman for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the agency assisting the federal court system. In August, the agency issued a public alert on the swindle, stating that most communication between the court and a prospective juror will occur through the U.S. mail and any phone calls to citizens will not ask for private information, such as Social Security numbers and credit card numbers.
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An online scam preys on people’s fear of identity theft to steal their identities.
Consumer Unit reporter Audrey Laganas said the scam targets people who buy and sell over the Internet. It uses the logo of PayPal — an online payment service — to try to trick users into giving up their PayPal account information.
“I almost fell for it, I have to be honest with you. I almost fell for it because it looks so real,” said Lisa DiBello.
DiBello was talking about a spoof e-mail that pretends to protect the user from identity theft. But its true goal is to steal the user’s identity.
The e-mail looks like it’s from PayPal, the online payment service DiBello uses when she’s buying and selling online.
It alerts the user that, “A new e-mail address has been added to your account.” It also has a “protect your password” warning.
“I knew I hadn’t added any new e-mail addresses, but the part that really got me suspicious said, ‘If you did not authorize that e-mail, click on this link,’” DiBello said.
The link went to a Web site that looked like the real PayPal, but there were some hints it was phony.
“It was the exact same template as PayPal uses, and that’s what really scares me, because unless you had noticed it’s ‘https’ versus ‘http,’ everything else is the same,” DiBello said.
When she clicked on the various icons, DiBello said, “It redirects you to the page they want you to fill out. They want you to give your e-mail and they want you to give your password.”
The goal of this scam is to hijack PayPal accounts. The thieves can use the accounts to buy something from an online seller.
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A Delaware official said couples have been receiving letters asking them to register their name change with the federal government.
They are asked to supply a wealth of personal information, including address, birth date, and Social Security number.
The newlyweds are even asked for a fee — about $15 to $20, payable by check or credit card.
As the Delaware official put it, these couples are handing over their most personal information, and paying the scammers to take it.
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A Saugus husband and wife were convicted April 4, 2005 in federal court for identity theft, bank fraud, credit card fraud and various other federal offenses.
United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan; Peter Zegarac, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in New England; Gary Mathison, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General in New England; Robin M. Avers, Special Agent in Charge of Immigration and Customs and Enforcement in New England; Leo Sullivan,
Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General in New England; James MacKay, Chief of the Saugus Police Department; Kathleen O’Toole, Commissioner of the Boston Police Department; and Leo A. Sacco, Chief of the Medford Police Department, announced that ITZA RUIZ, age 39, and HERIBERTO RUIZ, age 48, both residing at 226 Essex Street, Saugus, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Rya W. Zobel to a twenty-three-count Indictment, charging them with Identity Theft, Bank Fraud, Credit Card Fraud, and Making False Statements in Documents required by Federal Immigration Law. The twenty-three count indictment also charged ITZA RUIZ with Student Financial Aid Fraud, Making False Statements in Loan Applications, Making False Statements and Entries in an INS Employment Eligibility Verification Form, and Misrepresentation of a Social Security Account Number. The Indictment also seeks forfeiture of the couple’s marital home.
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Internet phone services have drawn millions of users looking for rock-bottom rates. Now they’re also attracting identity thieves looking to turn stolen credit cards into cash.
Some Internet phone services let scam artists make it appear that they’re calling from another phone number–a useful trick that enables them to drain credit accounts and pose as banks or other trusted authorities, online fraud experts say.
“It’s like you’ve handed people an entire phone network,” said Lance James, who as chief technology officer of Secure Science sees such scams on a daily basis.
The emerging scams underline the lower level of security protecting voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, the Internet-calling standard that has upended the telecommunications industry over the past several years.
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A special credit card offer for college students is actually the latest identity theft scam, Local 2 reported Tuesday.
Dennis Mulvey was suspicious from the beginning.
“I went, ‘Uh oh,’ when they said they were giving away free Montgomery College credit cards. I knew the college did no such thing,” he said.
He was one of at least three students at Montgomery College who were targeted for identity theft.
Mulvey received a call at home nearly three weeks ago.
The woman on the line offered him a $200 gift certificate along with the college credit card.
Mulvey knew the college did not offer credit cards, so he played along.
“Then she said, ‘Can I have your mother’s maiden name?’ Then I gave her a false one. I gave her my cat’s name,” he said.
The caller was persistent, asking for bank account and Social Security numbers.
“I said, ‘Not a chance.’ And she hung up,” Mulvey said.
He reported it to the school right away.
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Never before with Instant Messaging (IM) has a more vital warning been needed for current and potential IM buddies who chat online.
John Sakoda of IMlogic CTO and Vice President of Products stated that,
“IM viruses and worms are growing exponentially….Virus writers are now shifting the focus of their attack to instant messaging, which is seen as a largely unprotected channel into the enterprise.”
Because Instant Messaging operates on peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, it spawns an irresistible temptation for malicious computer hackers. P2P networks share files and operate on industry standard codec (encyrption codes) and industry standard protocols, which are publicly open and interpretable. Anti virus software does not incorporate protection for Instant Messaging services.
Like sharks in a feeding frenzy, these hacker mercenaries view Instant Messaging clients as their personal “Cash Cow” because of the ease by which they can access your computer via the publicly open and interpretable standards, unleash a Trojan horse, virus, or worm, as well as gather your personal and confidential information, and sell it to other depraved reprobates.
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