Monthly Archives: August 2011

How do identity theft services stack up?

August 31, 2011 – 8:07 am

Consumers have seen a fair share of data breaches this year. With all the breaches, it’s obvious why there has been an increased interest in identity theft protection services.
What do these services offer, particularly to those who’ve had their identities stolen? Of the services currently on the market, most are comprehensive, providing monitoring, protection [...]

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Text message spoofing not illegal – but dangerous

August 25, 2011 – 7:39 am
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Deployed soldier duped by house sitter

August 22, 2011 – 7:57 am

A soldier, facing deployment to Afghanistan, asked a friend to housesit while he was gone. Now, still serving in Afghanistan, he’s facing the mess left behind by betrayal and identity theft.
Roberto Beharry, of Erwin, N.C., asked his friend Neil Phillips to housesit in May, just before Beharry’s departure. Phillips agreed, and all went well until [...]

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How does identity theft work?

August 19, 2011 – 8:11 am
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Don’t be fooled by offers of free ‘audit’

August 17, 2011 – 8:28 am

Picture this: You receive a phone call during which the caller tells you that you can get a $3,000 federal grant if you allow the caller’s company to do an energy audit of your home. The caller asks for your Social Security number and bank account information in order to check your credit. What do [...]

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Identity manipulation is the newest trend in ID theft

August 15, 2011 – 7:48 am

There’s a new way to commit identity theft sweeping the country – identity manipulation.
Identity manipulation is where a person changes part of their own personal information on applications for credit, cell phones, auto loans or apartments, often because they have bad credit. Those who commit this crime are not, more often than not, looking to [...]

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Scared of signing one of those surveys? Don’t be

August 10, 2011 – 8:32 am

If you’ve ever been in a mall, it’s very likely you’ve seen people standing in higher traffic areas holding clipboards. These folks are taking surveys, and with all the talk about identity theft, there has been some discussion as to whether signing a petition could result in identity theft.
There are all sorts of [...]

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Number of credit card offers nearly doubles in first quarter of year

August 8, 2011 – 8:18 am

Credit card companies have mailed out nearly double the amount of pre-approved offers compared to the first quarter of last year in the hopes of making up losses – so you may have noticed the increase in your mailbox.
But if you’re just throwing those offers in the trash can, you could be putting yourself at [...]

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Protect yourself from identity theft

August 5, 2011 – 7:58 am
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Gift cards used in identity theft

August 3, 2011 – 8:22 am

Two Romanian men are now facing 70 criminal charges after exploiting Dunkin’ Donuts gift cards.
Daniel Gheorghe and Lonel Cristian Popa, who are in the U.S. on journalism visas, exploited a flaw in how the gift cards are programmed, then turned the cards into phony ATM cards. The duo used special software to reprogram the cards [...]

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