July 26, TechWeb News — One in four identity theft victims never fully recover. Making things right after a stolen identity can take months and cost thousands, according to a survey of identity theft victims released Tuesday, July 26. Worse, in more than one in four cases, victims haven't been able to completely restore their good name.
The survey, conducted by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., found that 28 percent of identity thieves' marks aren't able to reconstruct their identities even after more than a year of work. More than half of the victims discovered the theft on their own by noticing unusual charges on credit cards or depleted bank accounts, but that took time: on average, five and a half months passed between when the theft occurred
and when it was spotted.
Forty percent of the victims polled named the police, their financial
institution, or their credit card issuer as the "most difficult" to work with when trying to revolve the problem. Poor customer service was cited as one of the more egregious problems encountered. A surveyed victim from Orlando, FL, for instance, noted: "The institution we do all of our banking with made us feel like we were the ones trying to 'pull' something."
Survey information: http://vocuspr.vocus.com/VocusPR30/Temp/Sites/2133/a1c28924f
2fd4ef8a9ba8373a0ebdcd3/national%20release.pdf
Source: http://informationweek.securitypipeline.com/news/166402691
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Professors make password protection product.
July 25, Associated Press — Professors make password protection product. The increase in identity theft has prompted two Stanford University professors to develop software that protects computer passwords from Internet thieves.
John Mitchell and Dan Boneh will unveil Pwdhash,software that scrambles passwords typed into Websites, then creates a unique sign−on for each site visited, at the Usenix Security Symposium in Baltimore, MD, next week.
It's the latest attempt to thwart attempts by cyber−criminals who steal passwords by creating phony online banking or e−commerce sites. Cyber criminals dupe victims into believing the site is legitimate and lure them into typing their passwords. The crooks then use the password to loot the victim's bank account. For e−commerce shoppers, many of whom have stored credit card information at their favorite online stores, the thieves may use their information to go on a shopping spree.
All the security tools are free browser plug−ins available at Stanford's Website.
Source:
Plug−ins: http://soe.stanford.edu/profiles/profile_infotech_mitchell.html
John Mitchell and Dan Boneh will unveil Pwdhash,software that scrambles passwords typed into Websites, then creates a unique sign−on for each site visited, at the Usenix Security Symposium in Baltimore, MD, next week.
It's the latest attempt to thwart attempts by cyber−criminals who steal passwords by creating phony online banking or e−commerce sites. Cyber criminals dupe victims into believing the site is legitimate and lure them into typing their passwords. The crooks then use the password to loot the victim's bank account. For e−commerce shoppers, many of whom have stored credit card information at their favorite online stores, the thieves may use their information to go on a shopping spree.
All the security tools are free browser plug−ins available at Stanford's Website.
Source:
Plug−ins: http://soe.stanford.edu/profiles/profile_infotech_mitchell.html
Personal 'ICE' number on cell phone can save your life
Personal 'ICE' number on cell phone can save your life
July 25, 2005 - By John Capelland KATU Web Staff
PORTLAND, Ore. - Did you know there is a simple thing you can do on your cell phone to help emergency personnel if you are injured or have some other kind of medical emergency?
It's called 'ICE' and it could help save your life.
Emergencies happen all of the time across the Portland metropolitan area. This time, the call is for an unconscious woman on a bike path in southwest Portland.
The woman cannot speak or give the responding medical team critical details about why she might have fallen, what medications she might be on or who to contact in an emergency.
"The more information you have about someone and their needs, obviously you are able to treat that person more effectively," says Gary Gray, a paramedic with the Portland Fire Bureau.
Fortunately, in this case, the woman's husband was there to fill in paramedics on what they needed to know, but what if she had been alone, or traveling out of town?
'ICE,' which stands for 'In Case of Emergency' may be one answer.
In recent weeks, a growing e-mail movement is encouraging people to program at least one emergency contact name and number following the code word 'ICE' in their cell phone. The number would be one that emergency responders could call of something happened to you.
"(It's a) good concept," says cell phone user Matilda Rosenberg. "Sounds like a safe way to alert people."
Parents say 'ICE' is especially good for kids, who might not be carrying any other form of identification. Portland EMTs had not heard of the idea until KATU News told them about it, but say they will be looking for 'ICE' numbers from now on. "I think it's a terrific idea," says Lt. Sid Palmer with the Portland Fire Bureau. "I hope more people get in the movement and start doing this. I think it will help us provide better care and to notify family members faster."
Paramedics say programming an 'ICE' number into your cell phone might turn out to be an important addition to things like medical alert bracelets and medical ID cards.
July 25, 2005 - By John Capelland KATU Web Staff
PORTLAND, Ore. - Did you know there is a simple thing you can do on your cell phone to help emergency personnel if you are injured or have some other kind of medical emergency?
It's called 'ICE' and it could help save your life.
Emergencies happen all of the time across the Portland metropolitan area. This time, the call is for an unconscious woman on a bike path in southwest Portland.
The woman cannot speak or give the responding medical team critical details about why she might have fallen, what medications she might be on or who to contact in an emergency.
"The more information you have about someone and their needs, obviously you are able to treat that person more effectively," says Gary Gray, a paramedic with the Portland Fire Bureau.
Fortunately, in this case, the woman's husband was there to fill in paramedics on what they needed to know, but what if she had been alone, or traveling out of town?
'ICE,' which stands for 'In Case of Emergency' may be one answer.
In recent weeks, a growing e-mail movement is encouraging people to program at least one emergency contact name and number following the code word 'ICE' in their cell phone. The number would be one that emergency responders could call of something happened to you.
"(It's a) good concept," says cell phone user Matilda Rosenberg. "Sounds like a safe way to alert people."
Parents say 'ICE' is especially good for kids, who might not be carrying any other form of identification. Portland EMTs had not heard of the idea until KATU News told them about it, but say they will be looking for 'ICE' numbers from now on. "I think it's a terrific idea," says Lt. Sid Palmer with the Portland Fire Bureau. "I hope more people get in the movement and start doing this. I think it will help us provide better care and to notify family members faster."
Paramedics say programming an 'ICE' number into your cell phone might turn out to be an important addition to things like medical alert bracelets and medical ID cards.
"Growing Trend: Prosecution for Workers' Injuries, Deaths"
"Growing Trend: Prosecution for Workers' Injuries, Deaths"National Law Journal (07/18/05) Vol. 27, No. 45, P. 13 ; Sozio, Stephen G.; Gregory, Earnest B.
Prosecutors are increasingly charging businesses and their managers with criminal conduct in certain cases where workers have been injured or killed on the job. Although the combination of the civil tort system and federal worker-safety regulations have generally been sufficient to provide incentives for businesses to keep workers safe, criminal prosecution creates an additional risk for companies that do not follow the regulations. The most common criminal charge in such incidents is reckless homicide or reckless assault, with "recklessness" being defined as disregard of a known risk without regard to the possible consequences. As a result, businesses should establish up-to-date compliance standards for safety procedures and treat workplace injuries or deaths with the same seriousness as they would the commission of a crime. The risks of criminal prosecution for those who do not comply with federal safety standards and regulations include jail time for individuals and increased insurance costs and government monitoring for the business as a whole.
Prosecutors are increasingly charging businesses and their managers with criminal conduct in certain cases where workers have been injured or killed on the job. Although the combination of the civil tort system and federal worker-safety regulations have generally been sufficient to provide incentives for businesses to keep workers safe, criminal prosecution creates an additional risk for companies that do not follow the regulations. The most common criminal charge in such incidents is reckless homicide or reckless assault, with "recklessness" being defined as disregard of a known risk without regard to the possible consequences. As a result, businesses should establish up-to-date compliance standards for safety procedures and treat workplace injuries or deaths with the same seriousness as they would the commission of a crime. The risks of criminal prosecution for those who do not comply with federal safety standards and regulations include jail time for individuals and increased insurance costs and government monitoring for the business as a whole.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Imposter sites plaque free credit report web sites
Imposter sites plague free credit report site
By Alorie Gilbert
http://news.com.com/Imposter+sites+plague+free+credit+report+site/2100-1028_3-5789299.html
Story last modified Thu Jul 14 20:45:00 PDT 2005
A Web site created by federal mandate last year to help consumers spot identity theft is opening up new avenues for fraud, according to a privacy watchdog group.
The site, AnnualCreditReport.com, offers consumers free copies of their own credit reports. It was launched in December by Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, the three major credit reporting agencies in the United States, in accordance with the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003. The federal law aims to quell growing concerns over privacy and disclosure of sensitive financial data.
However, the online service has quickly fallen prey to imposter sites, which are designed to lure traffic from a legitimate Web site by adopting a similar domain name. Imposters targeting the AnnualCreditReport.com site now number 112, according World Privacy Forum, a nonprofit based in San Diego that's studying the problem. Another 120 registered domains that aren't currently active employ the words annual credit report in some combination or are close misspellings of the official site, the group said.
Many of the imposter sites serve as "ad farms," referring visitors to credit bureaus that charge for the reports, World Privacy Forum said. The imposters then collect referral, or "pay per click" advertising, fees from for-pay bureaus.
The privacy advocate sounded an alarm bell on Thursday in a report that said the imposter sites "have been aggressively attempting to deceive and misdirect consumers."
Some of the sites ask visitors to supply Social Security Numbers, date of birth and other personal information, the report said. Others send consumers to pornographic sites and other sites that have nothing to do with credit reports. Only seven of the 112 imposters posted a privacy policy and only 21 of them provided consumers with information for contacting the sites' operators.
People can be reeled into imposter sites by either typing the wrong domain name of the site they mean to visit or by using a search engine to find the site and clicking on the wrong search result.
World Privacy Forum is urging the Federal Trade Commission to crack down on credit bureaus that advertise on imposter sites.
"The FTC should require credit bureaus and their subsidiaries to cease and desist from all search engine and other online advertising campaigns--including affiliate marketing programs--that use the words annual + credit + report in any combination if these search terms take consumers to a for-pay commercial site or any site other than the official annualcreditreport.com site," the group said in its report. "This is a challenging area, but one that needs to be tackled."
The FTC did not immediately return calls for comment
By Alorie Gilbert
http://news.com.com/Imposter+sites+plague+free+credit+report+site/2100-1028_3-5789299.html
Story last modified Thu Jul 14 20:45:00 PDT 2005
A Web site created by federal mandate last year to help consumers spot identity theft is opening up new avenues for fraud, according to a privacy watchdog group.
The site, AnnualCreditReport.com, offers consumers free copies of their own credit reports. It was launched in December by Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, the three major credit reporting agencies in the United States, in accordance with the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003. The federal law aims to quell growing concerns over privacy and disclosure of sensitive financial data.
However, the online service has quickly fallen prey to imposter sites, which are designed to lure traffic from a legitimate Web site by adopting a similar domain name. Imposters targeting the AnnualCreditReport.com site now number 112, according World Privacy Forum, a nonprofit based in San Diego that's studying the problem. Another 120 registered domains that aren't currently active employ the words annual credit report in some combination or are close misspellings of the official site, the group said.
Many of the imposter sites serve as "ad farms," referring visitors to credit bureaus that charge for the reports, World Privacy Forum said. The imposters then collect referral, or "pay per click" advertising, fees from for-pay bureaus.
The privacy advocate sounded an alarm bell on Thursday in a report that said the imposter sites "have been aggressively attempting to deceive and misdirect consumers."
Some of the sites ask visitors to supply Social Security Numbers, date of birth and other personal information, the report said. Others send consumers to pornographic sites and other sites that have nothing to do with credit reports. Only seven of the 112 imposters posted a privacy policy and only 21 of them provided consumers with information for contacting the sites' operators.
People can be reeled into imposter sites by either typing the wrong domain name of the site they mean to visit or by using a search engine to find the site and clicking on the wrong search result.
World Privacy Forum is urging the Federal Trade Commission to crack down on credit bureaus that advertise on imposter sites.
"The FTC should require credit bureaus and their subsidiaries to cease and desist from all search engine and other online advertising campaigns--including affiliate marketing programs--that use the words annual + credit + report in any combination if these search terms take consumers to a for-pay commercial site or any site other than the official annualcreditreport.com site," the group said in its report. "This is a challenging area, but one that needs to be tackled."
The FTC did not immediately return calls for comment
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