snowdeal.org - conflux: The New York Times: Technology and Easy Credit Give Identity Thieves an Edge

conflux

The New York Times: Technology and Easy Credit Give Identity Thieves an Edge

The New York Times Technology and Easy Credit Give Identity Thieves an Edge
[requires 'free' registration]

"In an economy that runs increasingly on the instantaneous flow of information and credit � aggressively promoted by banks and credit card companies despite the risks � Phoenix and its surrounding area provide a window on one of the system's unintended consequences.

According to a Federal Trade Commission survey in 2003, about 10 million Americans � 1 in 30 � had their identities stolen in the previous year, with losses to the economy of $48 billion. Subsequent surveys, by Javelin Strategy and Research, a private research company, found that the number of victims had declined to nine million last year but that the losses had risen to $56.6 billion."

KSL.Com Child ID Theft a Big Problem
"t's a fast growing crime that affects all of us, including children. One Utah mother recently found that out when her daughter's identity was stolen.

It happens more than parents may realize. Lynnette Weed's daughter is sharing her identity with someone else. She may be only five-years old, but clearing her name has become a frustrating feat."

TMCNet Veterans not the only, or even easiest, targets of identity theft
"Veterans understandably are a little nervous after the apparent heist of 26.5 million Department of Veterans Affairs records from the home of a federal employee earlier this month.

But it turns out the vets have plenty of company."

"[Millions] of names and Social Security numbers are in danger of being scooped up each year, unbeknown to the individuals they belong to. About 50 million records kept by universities, financial institutions, government agencies and other sources were compromised last year in a fashion similar to what happened with the VA database, said Michael Stanfield, chairman and CEO of Intersections Inc., a Virginia-based data monitoring firm."

WFAA.Com Do you need ID theft insurance?
"With all the publicity surrounding it, many Americans are considering identity theft insurance to protect themselves from potentially disastrous consequences, including a reduced credit rating."

" Identity theft insurance typically costs about $600 a year as an add-on to your homeowners' insurance policy.

But security experts urge consumers to use caution before making such an investment."

Money Are you terrified about identity theft yet? If not, consider this: It could get you killed.
"As you've read these past few months, identity theft is becoming a huge problem, netting more than $50 billion annually for the crooks and leaving the victims with no end of headaches. With enough information about you, a criminal can get credit cards, cell phones, apartments and, yes, even medical care in your name, leaving you to deal with the collectors and credit bureaus when the perp skips on the bills. Not surprisingly, financial companies, including big names like American Express, Chase, Citi, Discover and MBNA, see opportunities in the hysteria over this, and they're hawking services designed to protect you from the threat. A few of them might be useful for some folks. But before you shell out one thin dime, take a deep breath and try to understand what the real risks are--and what's just lurid hype."

bookmark: del.icio.us ::digg it ::furl ::reddit ::yahoo ::
11:38 AM 0 comments

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

[ rhetoric ]

“"You're not a designer, you're not a writer, and you're not an editor!"

Well, no, blogger, you're not. And therein lies your gift. Because even if it's true the vast majority of blogs would not be missed by more than a handful of people were the earth to open up and swallow them, and even if the best are still no substitute for the sustained attention of literary or journalistic works, it's also true that sustained attention is not what Web logs are about anyway. At their most interesting they embody something that exceeds attention, and transforms it: They are constructed from and pay implicit tribute to a peculiarly contemporary sort of wonder.

...[T]he Web log reflects our own attempts to assimilate the glut of immaterial data loosed upon us by the "discovery" of the networked world. And there are surely lessons for us in the parallel. For just as the cabinet of wonders took centuries to evolve into the more orderly, logically crystalline museum, so it may be a while before the chaos of the Web submits to any very tidy scheme of organization.”

[ outbound ]

conflux

The New York Times: Technology and Easy Credit Give Identity Thieves an Edge

0 Comments:

[ rhetoric ]

[ search ]

[ outbound ]

[ schwag ]

[ et cetera ]