Criminals who file fraudulent tax returns by stealing people's identities could rake in an estimated $26 billion over the next five years because the IRS cannot keep up with the amount of the fraud, Treasury Inspector General J. Russell George said Tuesday.
For the 12th year in a row, identity theft was the number one consumer complaint -- irking consumers more than debt collectors, imposter scams and shady credit repair companies.
A man authorities say was part of a Brooklyn husband-and-wife identity theft team has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the deaths of three identity theft victims, prosecutors said Thursday.
The government received more than a million consumer complaints last year, with identity theft enraging the most people.
A man authorities say was part of a Brooklyn husband-and-wife identity theft team has been convicted of the murder of two of his three identity theft victims, prosecutors announced Thursday.
Identity theft is the number one complaint by consumers to the Federal Trade Commission and has been for the past five years.
Ten million Americans a year are victims of identity theft. It's a growing problem in the United States, but fighting it doesn't appear to be a priority, a new report says.
Federal regulators said Tuesday that LifeLock has agreed to pay $12 million to settle charges the company made deceptive claims about its ability to protect customers from identity theft.
A man federal authorities say is part of a Brooklyn husband-and-wife identity theft team has been charged with killing two of their victims.
The 2010 Census is nearly under way, but don't expect an e-mail from the U.S. Census Bureau asking you personal questions in its head count of America.
We learned yesterday that the Fed Chief's wife Anna had her handbag stolen at a Starbucks in Washington, D.C. Her checkbook, driver's license, four credit cards and a small amount of cash were in her bag.
There's a reason consumers are worried about protecting their credit- and debit-card information.
Let's say you've been job hunting for months now, and applied to so many employers you're starting to lose track of them all. One day you get a call from someone in HR at a well-known company. He found your resume on an online job board, thinks it's very impressive, and is looking forward to meeting you, he says. To set up the interview, he asks for your home address, date of birth and Social Security number.
As many as 12,000 Puerto Rican schoolchildren, teachers and school administrators are believed to be victims of an identity-theft ring that sold stolen personal documents to illegal immigrants in the mainland United States, according to the FBI.
Sophisticated techniques developed by a new breed of cyber-criminals intent on stealing personal data represent a growing threat to millions of Americans, a top U.S. Justice Department official told Congress Tuesday.
Thousands of taxpayers across the country aren't getting their refund or stimulus checks because criminals have stolen their Social Security numbers in an identity theft scam, CNN has learned.
Record the CNN Special Investigations Unit Classroom Edition: Identity Theft: How to Rob a Bank when it airs commercial-free on Monday, November 17, 2008 from 4:00-- 5:00 a.m. ET on CNN. (A short feature begins at 4:00 a.m. and precedes the program.)
Even weeks after Brenda Clarke's identity was stolen and thousands of dollars in illegitimate credit card charges were discovered, she is still saddled with extremely high interest rates on her credit cards and a damaged credit score.
Back in the good old days of the Internet, the hacker was a teenager motivated by high-tech pranks and bragging rights. Today, the online thief could be anyone with 'Net access after a quick buck.
By the end of the year, consumers in all 50 states will have a new weapon in preventing identity theft - credit freezes. We'll tell you if this protection is worth the time...and the money.
Internet pirates have begun to turn away from traditional attack modes such as viruses and worms and are increasingly using targeted emails and other techniques to swipe critical personal information, according to an Internet security report released Monday.
Of the more than 670,000 consumer fraud complaints made to the Federal Trade Commission in 2006, identity theft was the biggest category of reported cases, accounting for 36 percent of calls.
Sony PC-B-Q... Defects in batteries made by Sony for portable computing cause a handful of notebooks to burst into spectacularly photogenic flames. The end result is the biggest computer-related recall ever, as Dell replaces the batteries in more than 4 million laptops. In short order, Apple (1.8 million), Lenovo/IBM (500,000), and others do the same.
On December 8, Australia suffered a sneak-attack from malevolent forces based in the former Soviet states. The weaponry was a multi-million fusillade of bogus e-mail touts targeting customers of iiNet, owner of Ozemail, one of the most popular Internet providers in the country.
Anyone who works in an office - or watches "The Office" - knows how torturous cubicle life can be: unflattering fluorescent lights, insecure supervisors and clueless co-workers can all take their t...
There's no surefire way to stop ID theft because so much of your information is already out there. More than 93 million personal data records have been lost or stolen since February 2005. That's on top of the tens of millions of records bought and sold annually by credit issuers, insurers, government agencies, data brokers and, of course, identity thieves.
ID theft, pretexting, security holes in browsers, targeted Web advertising, the kids' MySpace profiles, the company's monitoring software, phishing, spyware, Wi-Fi break-ins. CAN'T A PERSON GET A L...
If you get an e-mail announcing the cost-of-living increases scheduled for 2007 Social Security benefits and purporting to be from the Social Security Administration, don't answer it and don't click on any links in the e-mail.
16 ways hackers can break in
Identity theft isn't only for adults anymore. Kids are having their identities stolen more and more often.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid discovered this week he was the victim of identity theft after someone used his MasterCard number to charge about $2,000 at a Wal-Mart and other stores in Monroe, North Carolina.
One of the few protections available to consumers worried about their identity could be disappearing. This week, Congress may be tightening requirements for people who want to put a freeze on their credit account.
In what likely will be a prickly issue with many Americans, Congress next week is expected to vote on a bill that would limit consumers' ability to request a credit freeze, according to a published story Wednesday.
If you are worried about a thief stealing your identity, it's not your wallet that needs guarding -- it's your state and local governments.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - If I borrow something of yours, then lose it or realize it's been stolen from me because I wasn't vigilant about protecting it, you'd probably expect me to do everything I could to make amends.
Authorities waited almost three weeks to alert the public that personal data on more than 26 million U.S. veterans had fallen into the hands of thieves, a government source said Tuesday.
No one's immune from the aggravations of potential identity theft.
Federal agents are trying to recover personal data on more than 26 million U.S. veterans after an apparently random burglary at the home of a computer analyst, Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson said Monday.
Matthew Boyden doesn't deliver the mail; he investigates it, with a .40-caliber pistol strapped to his waist and an MP-5 machine gun within easy reach.
When Bank One notified Houston veterinarian Mike Janney that he owed $85,000 on his line of credit, he was stunned.
Jason Michael Carpenter, a convicted identity thief who is serving 17-and-a-half years in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and fraud in connection with access devices, says stealing identities was fun and "incredibly easy."
1) How much money does the typical victim of identity theft lose?
It's just the news that hardworking taxpayers want to see in their inbox: an update on their refund from the Internal Revenue Service.
A new study from the Department of Justice shows an estimated 3.6 million households were victims of at least one type of identity theft within just a six-month period in 2004.
An estimated 3.6 million households, or about 3 percent of all households in the country, have been victims of identity theft, according to the Justice Department.
1) The IRS offers taxpayers lots of ways to turn lemons into lemonade. Which of these are NOT allowable deductions?
Question: Last April I enrolled in an identity protection plan that's supposed to send me an e-mail alert whenever someone checks my credit report. A couple of months later, I applied for credit at...
The Internal Revenue Service is warning taxpayers about a so-called "phishing" scam in which criminals are attempting to steal money by sending fraudulent e-mails purporting to be from the IRS.
Everybody fears identity theft but not many people do anything to prevent it from happening.
Julie Hernandez had no idea she was a convicted shoplifter.
The Federal Trade Commission has levied the largest fine in its history against consumer data broker ChoicePoint Inc. for the company's failure to protect consumer privacy and violations of federal laws that resulted in 800 cases of identity theft.
Some people just aren't that bright.
He ends up in the hospital and pretends to be you. His medical history becomes a part of what Gardner calls your "MIB identity, or Medical Information Bureau identity." You could end up being denied insurance--or much, much worse. "It could cost you your life," says Gardner, whose résumé includes eight years as a South Carolina legislator as well as co-authorship of Chicken Soup for the Entrepreneur's Soul. "If you show up on the medical bureau as having heart disease or diabetes and then show up at the hospital unconscious, they might kill you trying to save you." ...
Did you hear the one about the five-year-old girl working as a cook in a Utah steak house? How about the second-grader in Florida who racked up $13,000 in credit-card debt? Or the suburban Seattle ...
The world sure looks scary. The television bombards you with images of crime, disaster and mishap that have you fretting about your own demise. Tune in to the business news and Lou Dobbs is warning...
Hurricane victims struggling to rebuild their lives may be faced with an additional challenge: regaining their identity.
Internet criminals want your computer, your money and your identity. And their tactics are becoming increasingly refined and organized, according to security experts.
Internet criminals want your computer, your money and your identity. And their tactics are becoming increasingly refined and organized, according to security experts.
There are now some 4,600 Web sites advertising Hurricane Katrina relief services, and most of them are under suspicion of being bogus, FBI assistant director Louis Reigel said Friday.
If the thought of a hacker selling your Social Security number to the Russian mob via some Internet hidey-hole sends you into a panic, you're not alone. Identity theft pushes a lot of fear buttons.
There are now some 2,300 Web sites advertising Hurricane Katrina relief services, and most of them are presumed to be bogus, the FBI said Friday.
At least that's what John Gardner, a smooth-talking lawyer and spokesman for a company called Pre-Paid Legal Services, would have you believe. Here's his scenario. A bad guy steals your identity. H...
Scared by all the doom-saying from security experts and the identity theft stories in the news? Well, don't lose sight of your common sense. Below are some of the services you could buy -- and the free alternatives.
At least that's what John Gardner, a smooth-talking lawyer and spokesman for a company called Pre-Paid Legal Services, would have you believe.
Online identity thieves are costing banks as much as a million dollars a month by exploiting lax security at automated teller machines, according to a published report.
Instead of keeping countless cards and pieces of information that verify your identification, soon there may be only one thing you need: yourself.
A majority of Americans fear the threat of identity theft and are doing something about it, according to a recent poll conducted by Money magazine and ICR.
The personal data of nearly 50 million Americans have been exposed this year. As many as one in six people are now vulnerable to identity theft.
There are lots of nasty people out there who would love nothing more than to steal your Social Security number or credit card info and go on a lavish shopping spree.
If we've learned anything from the massive consumer data breaches that have been reported this year, it's this: There isn't much protecting us from having our personal information exposed, traded or stolen.
On a sunny may morning on capitol hill, power suits were hard at work spinning members of Congress. There to testify were representatives of the financial giant Visa and of data brokers Acxiom and ...
An unwelcome dose of reality hit the booming online marketing industry this week. Online security fears are beginning to lower confidence in online commerce.
You may know about scams used by moneychangers, taxi drivers and bartenders, but there is a new danger facing business travelers -- identity theft.
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Over 40 million card accounts potentially exposed to fraud is a big deal. But is it unusual?
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which insures many of the nation's banks, has alerted 6,000 current and former employees that personal information may have been released and that some individuals could be the victims of identity theft.
Grinding through the D.C. sausage factory is some constructive legislation that clamps down on the use of Social Security numbers and further restricts the sharing and brokering of data. But real, permanent protection requires giving consumers more control.
None of the businesses collecting your data want you to be a victim of ID theft. Crime is bad for business, after all. The industry simply has different priorities from yours.
On a sunny may morning on Capitol Hill, power suits were hard at work spinning members of Congress. There to testify were representatives of the financial giant Visa and of data brokers Acxiom and Thomson West.
More than 9 million of us a year are victims of identity theft, which topped the Federal Trade Commission's list of consumer complaints in 2004 for the fifth year in a row. Despite recent legislati...
The press release was written just seven months ago, yet it already sounds quaint. "U.S. announces guilty plea in largest identity-theft case in nation's history," declared the U.S. Attorney's offi...
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Businesses, government agencies, private investigators and, frankly, anybody with a few dollars and a devious mind can get their hands on some of your most sensitive personal information.
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - In the past four weeks alone, there have been reports of massive security breaches of over 2 million people's sensitive personal information.
We've reported to you about security breaches at ChoicePoint, Boston College, and LexisNexis. Now, the latest case of missing personal data turns out to be closer to home.
Millions of employees and consumers have gotten some unwelcome news in 2005. They were told that their personal information was lost or had been stolen.
SHAKESPEARE GOT IT wrong when his Othello said, "Who steals my purse steals trash ... but he that filches from me my good name robs me of that which not enriches him, and makes me poor indeed." Wer...
ChoicePoint President Douglas Curling and LexisNexis CEO Kurt Sanford admitted that they did not immediately report security breaches to victims while they were being grilled during Senate hearings over personal identity theft.
LexisNexis, which compiles and sells personal and financial data on U.S. consumers, said Tuesday that personal information on 310,000 people nationwide may have been stolen.
Since the recent ChoicePoint hacking, online identity theft has people frightened, but a recent study shows that consumers are most likely to get fleeced away from their computers.
Dear Armchair Millionaire: I just discovered that my identity was stolen. I'm in a bit of a panic -- what should I do to protect myself?
Every year an estimated 25 million people, or one out of every 10 Americans, are the victims of consumer fraud. Their collective losses: some $40 billion from telemarketing scams alone. Widespread ...
There is a lot going on right now that could affect your credit.
Have you seen ChoicePoint in the headlines? What is it anyway? As many as 145,000 consumers may be the victims of identity theft after a company few have ever heard of exposed their personal information to criminals.
Whether you're a celebrity superstar like Paris Hilton or seemingly anonymous, there's only so much you can do to keep someone from stealing your identity.
ChoicePoint Inc., a national provider of identification and credential verification services, says it will send an additional 110,000 statements to people informing them of possible identity theft after a group of well-organized criminals was able to obtain personal information on almost 140,000 consumers through the company.
Since the devastating tsunami in South Asia last month, Americans have been generously donating to relief efforts.
The year in science and technology ran the gamut, shedding new light on the past while also foreshadowing a more dynamic future.
This holiday season, there's one gift you don't want to give -- your identity. But there are a slew of con artists trying to get just that.
A new federal law that entitles consumers to free credit reports sounds great, but the devil is definitely in the details.
The first warning sign came last December, although at the time Heather Harding didn't recognize it as such. Instead, when the letter arrived from Capital One asking if she'd requested a credit app...
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