Robert Siciliano Security Analyst at Safr.me
The Federal Trade Commission recently released the list of the most common consumer complaints in 2010. Identity theft topped the list for the eleventh year in a row. The FTC received 1,339,265 in 2010, and 250,854, or 19%, involved identity theft. In second place, there were 144,159 debt collection complaints. For the first time, “imposter scams,...
11 April 2011 /security /regulation
When you compare the cost of various services, you begin to see how much your time is worth. For example, it would take most homeowners a significant chunk of nights and weekends to paint a house themselves, but a professional crew can get it done in a week, for a reasonable price. Recovering from identity theft can take as little as an hour for s...
08 April 2011 /security /regulation
A thief hacked into a woman’s checking account and used her daughter’s name on an electronic check to pay for an online porn subscription. The FBI believes this is a relatively new scam, with reports coming in from across the country. The little girl isn’t a signer on the account, but the bank cashed the check for $29.95 made out to a porn company...
02 April 2011 /security /regulation
Your spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend, or partner just headed out to do errands without logging out of his or her email account. The computer’s sitting right there. Would you feel compelled to check it out? According to a recent study, there’s a good chance that you will eavesdrop on your significant other’s cell phone and email conversations. 38% of...
This mess Joseph Kidd stole Larry Smith’s identity 17 years ago, when Smith was 50 years old. While operating under Smith’s identity, Kidd “spent time in jail, as sent to prison, paroled, obtained welfare and Medicare benefits, and got married.” He did all this using Smith’s name, which means that Smith has had to deal with the imposter’s actions ...
29 March 2011 /security /regulation
While criminal hackers are cracking databases and stealing millions of electronic records every year, street level identity thieves are a more insidious element of the identity theft epidemic. Thieves of this nature live in your neighborhood. In some parts of the country, local identity thieves tend to be meth heads. Local identity thieves underst...
24 March 2011 /security /regulation
The songstress wasn’t home at the time, but her security team was. Madonna’s London manse worth an estimated $10 million is equipped with security guards, cameras and a home alarm system. And while these are all effective layers of security and are often good deterrents they didn’t stop her stalker from breaking a window and climbing through. Howev...
Keeping up on the latest advances in technology has always been my thing. I once had a beeper the size of a pack of cigarettes, and a mobile phone bigger than a shoebox. I’m something of a gadget geek and a wannabe innovator. I like new and shiny. . You probably haven’t run across the name Everett Rogers in People Magazine. In 1962, Everett Roger...
In Buffalo New York WBEN reports “Buffalo Police are investigating a home invasion at a Sussex Street home. The male victim told police the suspects accosted him, wearing what appeared to be FBI badges and jackets.” “The victim reported that he was driving down Welker Street at around 8:45 AM, when four or five black males wearing “FBI” gear stop...
Social media security issues involve identity theft, brand hijacking, privacy issues, online reputation management, and users’ physical security. Social media provides opportunities for criminals to “friend” their potential victims, creating a false sense of trust they can use against their victims through phishing or other scams. Register your ful...
23 March 2011 /security /regulation
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