Below you will find a complete archive of identity theft newsletters, written with the intent to educate everybody about the perils of identity theft and how to protect yourself and your family.
2018 Newsletters
December
ID Theft and Data Breach Events Will Continue to Threaten Your Personal Privacy in 2019
At the end of each year, leading identity theft and cybersecurity companies release reports predicting upcoming cybersecurity risks and trends to help consumers and businesses stay ahead of evolving threats and cyberattacks.
November
ID Theft Victims Report Increased Stress and Fatigue
I was in Washington, D.C. last month where the
Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC), a nationally recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established to support victims of identity theft released the initial findings of its The Aftermath®: The Non-Economic Impacts of Identity Theft victim impact survey.
October
National Cyber Security Awareness Month Promotes Education and Awareness
This month is National Cyber Security Awareness Month (
please see here) - which is celebrating its 15th year - to raise awareness and education about the importance of cyber security.
September
Lessons Learned on the 1-year Anniversary of the Historic Equifax Data Breach
One year ago today, on September 7, 2017, Equifax announced its cybersecurity incident involving the private information of 143 million people (
Link to article).
August
Reviewing the Top Cybersecurity Threats Highlighted from the Black Hat USA 2018 Conference
Two weeks ago I attended the 21st annual Black Hat USA conference held in Las Vegas where information security professionals had an opportunity to learn about the latest hacking techniques, advanced cloud security strategies, penetration testing, network security, machine learning, the Internet of Things (IoT), cryptography, forensics, and mobile security just to name a few.
July
Can Blockchain End Identity Theft?
I just read an interesting article titled
How Blockchain Could Put an End to Identity Theft (
please see here).
June
Employees Continue to be the Weak Link in Cybersecurity
I recently read two articles with a focus on training employees to become more aware of cyber security and helping employees understand that they have a responsibility to protect company information, just as the employer has responsibility in protecting the employee.
May
5 Tips to Manage your Small Business Cyber Security Risks
With all the headline news about data breaches and how employee and customer information is lost or stolen every day, small businesses need to stay current in managing their cyber security and identity theft risks.
April
Are You in Control of Your Personal Privacy?
Eight years ago I wrote an article titled
How to protect your personal information from the internet and database marketing (
see here) on how your data is used by marketers to analyze your personal information in order to create targeted marketing and provide you with specialized offers.
March
How Much Is Your Identity Worth On The Dark Web?
With all the headline news about the "Dark Web," have you ever wondered about how much your identity is worth?
February
Record High 16.7 Million Identity Fraud Victims in 2017
According to the Javelin Strategy & Research 2018 Identity Fraud Study (
please see here), "the number of identity fraud victims increased by eight percent (rising to 16.7 million U.S. consumers) in the last year, a record high since Javelin Strategy & Research began tracking identity fraud in 2003. The study found that despite industry efforts to prevent identity fraud, fraudsters successfully adapted to net 1.3 million more victims in 2017, with the amount stolen rising to $16.8 billion."
January
ID Theft Criminals Steal and Use your Name and Social Security Number to Get Your Tax Refund
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), "tax identity theft happens when someone uses your Social Security number to get a tax refund or a job."
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2017 Newsletters
December
2017 Lessons Learned from a Year of Data Breaches
The end of each year is a great time to take stock of the past year and highlight some lessons learned.
November
The Threat of ID Theft Can Go On For Years! 12 months of credit bureau monitoring has limitations and cannot prevent ID theft
Last month I had numerous questions from readers on my October article titled The Equifax Aftermath: Assume Your Identity Has Been Stolen, where the Equifax data breach event totaled 145.5 million Americans, including Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, and dates of birth.
October
The Equifax Aftermath: Assume Your Identity Has Been Stolen
September
The Face of ID Theft: Eva Velasquez, President & CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center
This month's article includes a question and answer interview with Eva Velasquez, the President & CEO of the
Identity Theft Resource Center. Eva previously served as the Vice President of Operations for the San Diego Better Business Bureau and spent 21 years at the San Diego District Attorney's Office.
August
Cyber Insurance Can Reduce Your Small Business Cyber Security & Data Breach Risk
On July 26, 2017 the House Committee on Small Business held a
hearing on
Small Business Cybersecurity Insurance (
read full article here).
July
Protecting Your Child's Identity as the 2017-18 School Year Begins
According to the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) 2017 Consumer Sentinel Network Data book – which tracks annual identity theft and fraud statistics – nearly 20 percent of all identity theft victims are age 29 years old or less.
June
Protect Yourself from Summer Vacation ID Theft Threats
Identity theft could be the number one threat to your family’s summer vacation in 2017 as ID theft criminals and fraudsters target parents and children.
May
Consumers Are Now Being Targeted By Ransomware
I just read two great articles from (IN)SECURE Magazine titled "38% of consumers affected by
Ransomware pay up" and "
Ransomware spiked 752% in new families" sponsored by Help Net Security, an independent website, focusing on information security.
April
Employee Training Critical Data Breach Preparedness Step
I just returned from the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) annual conference in Philadelphia, where some of the leading insurance and risk management professionals talked about current and future data breach risk management trends and challenges.
March
Almost half of all Identity Theft was non-financial in 2016
February
2016 Had the Most Identity Theft and Fraud Victims Ever Recorded!
This 2017 Javelin Strategy & Research annual identity fraud study (https://www.javelinstrategy.com/coverage-area/2017-identity-fraud) found that a record 15.4 million consumers fell victim to identity theft and fraud in 2016, which represents the highest level of victims ever recorded in a one year period.
January
Be Prepared for Taxpayer ID Theft by Knowing the Warning Signs
Unfortunately, taxpayer identity theft and refund fraud happens when identity criminals steal the Personally Identifiable Information (PII) of taxpayers and file fraudulent refunds in their names. When the real taxpayers file, their refunds aren't paid until the IRS resolves their individual case.
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2016 Newsletters
December
Embrace the New Year by Protecting Your Identity in 2017
Based on the past year and all of the high profile data breach events in the news, cyber security experts are having a difficult time keeping pace with the dramatic rise in cybercrime.
November
Protect Your Identity from Holiday Thieves
While information technology (IT) and hacking are the sizzle that makes the headline news for identity theft and fraud, consumer concerns for the Holiday season should focus on people, including Holiday thieves.
October
Cyber Security Awareness Month Includes a Major Internet of Things Breach
National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) experienced an unexpected reality check when numerous internet companies including Twitter, PayPal, Netflix, Airbnb and Reddit were negatively impacted by a distributed denial of service attack - commonly known as a DDoS - against a service provider that temporarily blocked access to website-based companies on October 21.
September
Does the Internet of Things (IoT) Increase Your Risk of ID Theft?
The term "Internet of Things" (IoT) describes any "thing" that is capable of collecting and sharing data online including cars, refrigerators, thermostats and TVs.
August
Keeping information private online is difficult
Your may share too much personal information online. Your insurance records, credit records, driving records, employment records and purchasing records also are collected, saved and sold regularly.
July
ID-theft criminals love the trail we leave on social media
Most of us are guilty of telling the world personal information, such as our date of birth, or when and where we are traveling by posting vacation photos. This makes it much too easy for the bad guys.
June
Don't get ripped off by credit card skimming
When you swipe your credit or debit card, there is always a risk of giving ID-theft criminals what they need to steal your money through what is known as "skimming."
May
Phishing, hacking remain top tools for cybercriminals
A few weeks ago, I wrote that
most security breaches involve social engineering and human error. We need to add a growing threat to that list: Unsuspecting employees releasing information or giving access to an organization's data after being fooled by cyber con artists. This increasing data danger signals an increase in the ID-theft threat level for businesses.
April
Cybersecurity plan should address insider threats
Employees do it for money or to pay back a perceived wrong. Some workers commit this form of sabotage because they didn't get a raise or promotion, or to help a friend.
March
New U.S. report: Most ID theft is non-financial
Imagine criminals want to steal your household belongings and you watch only one door - even though there are three doors. If you have or are contemplating purchasing credit monitoring, that's not bad, but it absolutely won't help stop the biggest and most prevalent forms of ID theft.
February
In era of data breaches, businesses need strong document policies
As a consumer, I think about how my information may still reside with a tax preparer or doctor that I have not done business with in 10 years, especially when I read stories of a data breach because of inactive customer information being stolen from an unsecure environment.
January
Here's how to fight back against rampant ID theft, tax-refund fraud
Not just the IRS and you are preparing for income-tax filing season - ID-theft criminals are getting ready to attempt to steal and use your name and Social Security number. They want to get your tax refund and more in 2016.
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2015 Newsletters
December
Kids' smart toys are big holiday targets for hackers
ID-theft criminals may be the ultimate Grinch this holiday season as kids' smart toys create vulnerabilities for hacking, data theft and cyberattacks.
November
13 tips to prevent ID theft during the holidays
Whether you are a consumer or a business, now is the time to review your ID-theft and cybersecurity risks because the criminals are gearing up to steal your information during the holidays. They can attack as you shop online, or in the flurry of transactions during Black Friday madness.
October
Lost electronic devices can lead to data breaches
Nearly half of all data breaches occur when ID-theft criminals access information because we lost a device.
September
ID thieves use variety of tactics to steal from us
Thieves use a variety of ways to get in and steal property. They might be dressed in fake company service uniforms to avoid attention or break in during the day when you are at work. Different security measures need to be taken for both types of threats.
August
ID-theft threat after data breach goes on for years
I'm always surprised how some companies are quick to tell customers in a letter or email that while they have experienced a data breach only some information was affected and no social security numbers were stolen.
July
Are apps and social media putting your privacy at risk?
An app a minute - from hailing a car ride to adjusting the temperature of our home from 3,000 miles away - that's the world we live in. But with our addiction to social media, we open ourselves up to privacy risks.
June
Conduct a pre-vacation ‘ID-theft check-up’
So you're having a great time on vacation when you attempt to pay for a meal or a souvenir only to learn that your purchase is denied. The upcoming Memorial Day weekend is a time when millions of Americans will begin taking summer vacations, and all too many unwittingly will enable ID theft criminals to steal personal information and use it.
June
Most security breaches involve human error
Whenever I speak publicly, I always talk about how information technology and hacking are the "sizzle" that helps create the headline news for data-breach events.
April
FTC to examine privacy issues with 'cross-device tracking'
Imagine a private investigator watching your every move and listening along the way as you go about your daily activities. Welcome to "cross-device tracking," the digital investigation and tracking of our entire online lives, from social media to general Web searches, regardless of the device or platform used.
March
Data-breach alert laws vary by state
As I spoke on ID theft and data breaches at the National Small Business Association Phoenix conference last week and talked with business owners one-on-one, it was all too clear that most small businesses do not know or understand their obligations to notify customers or employees if an information breach occurs.
February
Watch your ID with online job search
It couldn't be easier to apply for a job today, with online offerings that can be viewed from anywhere and e-delivered applications sent versus snail mail or dropping off a resume or job application.
January
Tax Season Ripe for Illegally Harvesting Taxpayer IDs and Tax Refunds
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) isn't the only one excited about taxpayer season — ID theft criminals are too because it's one of their most lucrative windows of opportunity each year. Tax filing season begins on February 1st and to help you protect yourself and your family, this week's column is focused on guidance and caution in filing taxes, selecting a preparation service and increasing your awareness of IRS related scams to guard against identity theft.
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2014 Newsletters
December
Consumers beware of exclusions from ID Theft services
Consumers need to take caution in signing up for identity theft services that have hard to notice "exclusions" in the fine print of the terms and conditions.
November
Identity theft risks for small businesses include social media
While social media has created new opportunities for small businesses, social media has also created new risks including identity theft and data breach.
October
Protect your identity through your credit, medical, and motor vehicle record reports
According to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACT Act), every consumer in the United States - since September 1, 2005 - has had access to their free credit reports from
www.annualcreditreport.com.
September
Don't get ripped off by credit card skimming
When you swipe your credit or debit card, there is always a risk of giving ID-theft criminals what they need to steal your money through what is known as "skimming."
August
Don't make computer passwords a passport for ID theft criminals
I wish it was easier to create complex passwords that are difficult to crack or be able to use many different ones so if one is stolen, the ID theft damage is limited. Like most Americans, creating and maintaining multiple and complex passwords is difficult to manage.
July
Smart technology can make life and ID theft much easier
A co-worker recently bought a new and very smart car, so smart that it can change navigational directions because of a wreck or traffic jam miles away or create a personal Wi-Fi hotspot for passengers.
June
Social Networking, Privacy and ID Theft
Can you imagine giving complete strangers full access to use your personal information about your job, residence, family, financials, children and even family photos or telling a robber the best time to rob you? Stop imagining and let this be a wakeup call, because too many of us are enabling ID theft criminals in these exact ways every day.
May
Your automobile and identity theft can be one in the same
It is estimated that one-third of all motor vehicle thefts involved identity theft where the contents of your vehicle directly relate to an individual identity theft event. According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) there were 721,053 motor vehicle thefts in the U.S. in 2012, equating to 1,975 vehicles per day.
April
Secret consumer scores threaten privacy and increase risks for ID theft victims
When it comes to ID Theft and data breach, most people only think about financial ID theft and their credit scores.
March
ID Theft is the Number 1 Consumer Complaint for the 14th consecutive Year
In February of each year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) releases an annual report on identity theft and fraud complaints called the Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book.
February
How to Avoid Taxpayer ID Theft and Fraud
As many of you know, February 1st marked the start of the 2014 tax filing season.
January
Lessons Learned from Target's Historic Data Breach
The recent Target data breach should provide some basic lessons for businesses and consumers in today's cyber world.
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2013 Newsletters
December
Getting Ahead of Holiday and Tax Identity Theft
The end of each year is a great time to make new resolutions, break old habits and reenergize for a fantastic start to the New Year.
November
Consumers Rank Identity Theft the Second Highest Risk Factor
According to InfoSecurity Magazine (
please see here) ID thieves are getting more successful at leveraging stolen data for ill-gotten gains. Of the 16 million victims notified in 2012 that their payment card information was compromised in a data breach,
more than 25% of them also suffered identity theft.
October
The Risk of ID Theft and the Affordable Health Act ("Obamacare")
In September the Better Business Bureau (BBB) published a "Scam Alert" (
read the alert here) as identity theft criminals and scammers have begun to exploit the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by tricking consumers into sharing their personal information.
September
Are You Ready for October - National Cyber Security Awareness Month?
Whether you are an individual consumer or a small business owner, everyone needs to keep track of their Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and/or the PII of their small business customers and employees.
August
Why Parents Need to Read... WTF (Why Teens Fail)
The new school year has either begun or is about to begin throughout the United States so I am writing another article on Child ID theft.
July
Don't let "Breach Fatigue" Risk Your Identity When Data Breach Events Occur!
Based on my over 20 years of ID Theft and Data breach experience, I have concluded that
breach fatigue (
see definition here) has relegated most data breach news events from front page headlines to the back pages, reflecting a lesser news value and a place of insignificance.
June
Big Data, Personal Privacy and ID Theft
In 2010, I wrote an article on database marketing and data mining (
October 2010 article) and how business and organizations collect and track customer/user information as a marketing strategy by gathering, consolidating, and processing consumer data.
May
FTC identifies healthcare sector as a growing risk to Seniors Identities
Earlier this month, I attended a May 7 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hearing in Washington, D.C. that brought together experts from government, private industry, and public interest groups to discuss the unique challenges facing victims of senior identity theft.
April
Understanding the ID Theft Industry and Choosing the Right ID Theft Service Provider
It seems like a day does not go by without being inundated by radio and TV advertisements or unsolicited mail and email to sign up for some type of an ID theft protection program.
March
ID Theft is top FTC consumer complaint for the 13th consecutive year
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has released its annual ID Theft and Fraud report (
read the report here) where
identity theft is the top FTC consumer complaint for the 13th consecutive year.
February
2012 had the Second Highest Number of ID Theft Victims... Ever
Javelin Strategy & Research released it 2013 Identity Fraud Report (
see the article here) on February 20, 2013 and reported that 12.6 million Americans were victimized by ID theft in 2012.
January
IRS Struggles to Curb Taxpayer Identity Theft and Refund Fraud
In the last six years, Merchants Information Solutions, Inc. has supported its mission to educate consumers on current and emerging ID theft trends by publishing this monthly newsletter.
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2012 Newsletters
December
ID Theft and Data Breach Lessons from 2012
As 2012 comes to a close, many individuals and families will take time to review 2012 including their personal and professional goals.
November
McAfee highlights the Top 12 Scams of Christmas
As a member of the Consumer Federation of America's (CFA) Identity Theft Service Best Practices Working Group, I was invited last year to write an article providing tips on keeping personal information safe during the holiday season (
please read it here).
October
National Cyber Security Awareness Month Promotes Cyber Education to Consumers and Businesses
National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) is recognized every year in the month of October (
see the website here) to help educate businesses and consumers on protecting their digital lives.
September
IT Security Threats are a Growing Concern for Consumers
Whenever I speak on the subject of ID Theft and Data breach risk management, I usually begin my presentation with a number of questions to the audience including:
August
Risk of Child ID Theft Increases with the New School Year
Every year I write an article on how students, parents and teachers can minimize the risk of identity theft.
July
Small Business ID Theft is an Emerging Risk Management Issue
Preface: Understanding that our ID Theft Newsletter is written to educate consumers about the consumer risks related to identity theft and data breach events, it has come to our attention that a number of our readers are entrepreneurs and small business owners. Therefore, our July issue has a different educational slant - and that is how small business identity theft has become an emerging risk management issue affecting consumers and small businesses alike.
June
How Safe is Your Password?
Over two years ago, I wrote an article on password management and how "no password is unbreakable" and how every individual should be aware of and responsible for good/strong password management (
please see the article here).
May
FBI Scammers Impersonating the FBI Are Now a Leading Online Threat
I recently had the honor of being nominated to attend, and graduated from the FBI Citizens Academy 8-week program. The program brings together community leaders to experience firsthand some of the inner workings of the FBI. During the program I learned how the FBI investigates crimes and national security threats, the various tools and tactics they employ to keep our nation safe and secure and even went through two hands-on firearm exercises, swat and CSI type forensic investigation.
April
ID Theft and Deceased Americans: A Growing Trend
Two years ago I wrote an article about Senior ID Theft (
please read the article here) and how deceased individuals are a target for many ID Theft criminals.
March
Risk of Cyber Security, ID Theft and Personal Privacy Continues to Worry Consumers
Last month I referenced Javelin Strategy & Research and Consumer Reports Magazine in writing how consumer and business ID Theft continues to increase in the United States.
February
Identity Theft grows 13% in 2011; learn who are the targets and how to protect yourself
According to the February 2012
Javelin Strategy & Research Identity Fraud Survey Report (
please see an article about the report here) – consumer AND small business Identity Theft continues to increase, as 2.2 million more Americans were affected by ID Theft in 2011 than in 2010.
January
Be Aware of Taxpayer ID Theft in 2012
As I received my W-2 last week, along with millions of people throughout the United States in accordance with the federally-mandated January 31st deadline, it reminded me of how the IRS has created a Taxpayer Guide to Identity Theft (
View the guide here).
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2011 Newsletters
December
Identity Theft Trends You Need to Know in 2012
Nearly five years ago, I wrote an article published in the Arizona Bankers Magazine on how "identity theft has become so lucrative that criminals have turned away from individual targets and are focused on obtaining complete files of personal information from business entities."
November
ID Theft and Data Breach in the News
October
October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month and October 16th-22nd is National Protect Your ID Week
Did you know that the month of October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month and that October 16th through the 22nd, 2011 is National Protect Your ID Week?
September
Medical Identity Theft - A Hackers New Best Friend
According to a new research report from accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) (
see article here), "medical identify theft is the fastest-growing form of identity theft, affecting 1.42 million Americans in 2010 and costing more than $28 billion."
August
Back To School Safety Needs to Include Internet Security and Safety Tips
As students, parents and teachers begin the new school year, a common topic of discussion is school safety and school safety tips.
July
Your 2011 Summer Vacation Threat: RFID Fraud
Last month I wrote about how you need to increase your awareness of credit/debit card skimming – especially when you are traveling away from home during summer vacation.
June
Your 2011 Summer Vacation Threat: Credit/Debit Card Skimming and RFID Fraud – Part I
In just the last six weeks, a breathtaking number of data breach events have taken place including some of the most well-known corporate names in the United States including Anthem Blue Cross, Bank of America, Citigroup, Delta Dental, Lexis-Nexis, Michaels Stores, Regions Bank, Sony, Sun Trust Bank, and the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission).
May
How to Protect Yourself from ID Theft and Job Search Scams
Just two months ago (
in my March 2011 ID Theft article), I reported on how "imposter scams" by ID Theft criminals pretend to act as family, friends, businesses, charities, or government agencies, in an attempt to defraud consumers.
April
Did You Receive an Epsilon Data Breach Notification Letter?
On April 15, the Obama administration released the final version of the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cybersapce or NSTIC (
read the article here).
March
ID Theft is The Number One Consumer Complaint 11 Years in A Row
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released its annual Consumer Sentinel Network (CSN) report on March 8th (
please read here) where the list of top consumer complaints showed that
identity theft was the number one consumer complaint in the United States for the 11th consecutive year.
February
ID Theft, Your 2011 Taxes and Your Tax Preparation Service Provider
According to a January 12, 2011 Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC) posting on "Tax Season Tips to Protect Your Privacy" – your information return form is a primary target for identity theft thieves who are committed to stealing your sensitive information including your social security number.
January
ID Theft and the Military
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2010 Newsletters
December
Everyone Knows About Credit Scores; but Do You Know About Consumer Scores?
I have always viewed the end of each year as an opportunity to create and execute new plans and dreams to support my family, workplace and community.
November
ID Theft Protection Tips for Your 2010 Holiday Season
The Holiday Season is prime time for deceit by identity theft criminals looking to garner your personal information - and 2010 is no different. That said, I have listed my Top 15 ID Theft Protection Tips including action items which you can do yourself for free.
October
How to Protect Your Personal Information from the Internet and Database Marketing
This morning (October 18, 2010) I read an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal (please see
here) on how Facebook users' personal information via popular applications (or "apps") was being transmitted to advertising and Internet tracking companies.
September
Protect Your Identity Week and National Cybersecurity Awareness Month are in October
If you are like me, you have probably read, heard about and/or participated in some type of industry group or national cause through the years that supports an annual "national theme of the month" promotion.
August
What You Need to Know About Social Media and ID Theft in the New School Year
As the 2010-11 school year begins for middle school, high school and college students throughout the United States – parents, teachers and students need to know and/or be reminded of the risks related to social media.
July
The Internet was Created For Convenience and Reliability, Not ID Theft and Data Breach Events
The Internet was created for convenience and reliability, NOT your security where ID Theft and Data Breach events have become commonplace in almost every business, across every industry group.
June
Your Personal Privacy - Are You in Control?
Your personal privacy is not so private anymore based on the use of rapidly changing technology, social media, and laws - which makes all of our information more and more available - and more and more vulnerable.
May
ID Theft and Fraud in the News... Last Week, This Week and Next Week
On occasion, most individuals who write a regularly scheduled column or news article have what is called "writers block." For example, I write a monthly ID Theft article for our business clients that have a combined 4 million employees and customers.
April
Preventing Senior ID Theft and Financial Fraud
The senior population in the United States is a growing segment in our society which is living longer and as a result is at risk of Senior ID Theft and Financial Fraud.
March
Fast Facts on the IRS and Cyber Tax Day
According to the IRS (
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=217790,00.html), most taxpayers and tax preparers will take advantage of the IRS e-file to file federal tax returns. At the same time, the IRS e-file will also be used as a resource to request for an extension to file a tax return.
February
Data Breach Events and ID Theft Continue to Rise
According to a newly released Javelin Strategy & Research 2010 Identity Fraud Survey Report (
http://www.javelinstrategy.com/), the number of identity fraud victims in the United States has jumped by 12 percent to 11.1 million adults - the highest increase to-date since the survey started in 2003 - while the total overall fraud amount increased by 12.5 percent to $54 billion.
January
Password 101 and a New Year’s Resolution: Making Sure Your Password is Difficult to Break
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2009 Newsletters
December
2010 Advice: Know Program Details and Exclusions of any ID Theft Program Before You Buy
My primary objective in writing my last consumer ID Theft newsletter article in 2009 is to communicate the premise that NO ONE COMPANY can PREVENT you (or any family member) from EVER becoming a victim of ID Theft.
November
Consumer Alert: Protect your Identity, Wallets, On-line Purchases, Cars, and Luggage from Holiday Thieves
According to new research conducted by Merchants Information Solutions, Inc, protecting your identity and the identity of family members is the number one consumer concern with the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and year-end Holiday events taking place.
Based on a consumer survey of 200 teenagers and adults ranging in ages from 16 to 83 years old, the Top five consumer concerns relating to Holiday thieves include the following
October
Identity Theft versus Identity Fraud
Since 2005, I have written numerous articles about identity theft and information security with the purpose of educating individual consumers about consumer risk management and educating businesses about information security and data breach risk management.
September
Merchants Warns of 2010 Census and Small Business ID Theft Scams
In the almost three years I have written a monthly newsletter article on the topics of ID Theft, Consumer Risk Management and Data Breach events, I have never mentioned my company (Merchants Information Solutions, Inc.) which is a leading ID Theft Management Services and Background Screening company in the United States or the leadership of our company in any way – as this newsletter is designed to support ID Theft education and consumer risk management.
August
Students and ID Theft: How to Protect Their Personal Information
As the end of August brings us closer to Labor Day – which is a national holiday in honor of working people – I began to think about the beginning of the school year for my two daughters.
July
Is your Doctor, Dentist, Home & Auto Insurance Agent (and other creditor relationships) prepared for the new FTC Red Flags Rule?
While you and your family, as individual consumers are not required to be very familiar with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Red Flags Rule (which goes into affect on November 1, 2009), you should be responsible with respect to knowing whether or not the companies and organizations that you have a “creditor” relationship with are prepared and in compliance with the new Red Flags Rule.
June
Protecting Yourself from ID Theft While on Summer Vacation
Now that June 21st – which is known as the Summer Solstice, longest day of the year, the first day of summer, and Father’s day (when the third Sunday in June falls on the 21st day) – has arrived, it is a good time to think about the continuing trend and challenge of identity theft when most families in the United States are on summer vacation.
May
Non-Financial ID Theft is a Trend You Need to Know About
According to the February 2009 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Consumer Sentinel Report (see
http://www.ftc.gov/sentinel/ for more information), ID Theft and fraud related events are much more than a financial event – where only 35 percent of ID Theft is related to your credit card, debit card, checking account, savings account, auto loan, personal loan, etc.
April
ID Theft and Safeguarding Your Child's Identity
In the February 2009 Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Consumer Sentinel Report – which reported on identity theft and fraud complaints for the year 2008 (see
click here to read the full report) -- most parents should know that seven percent of children (19 years old and younger) are at risk of having their social security numbers stolen and their identities compromised.
March
Be Alert to ID Theft When Filing Your 2009 Taxes
According to the February 2009 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Consumer Sentinel Report (see
http://www.ftc.gov/sentinel/ for more information), government documents/benefits fraud is now the second most common reported type of identity theft after credit card fraud. Fraudulent tax return-related identity theft, a subtype of government documents/benefits fraud, has increased nearly six percentage points since 2006!
February
ID Theft and Your Online Job Search: Things you should know
Based on the current economic climate combined with unscrupulous cyber criminals, online jobseekers need to be cautious when using employment websites and even more cautious in screening for fraudulent job listings.
January
Consumer Risk Management: Protecting You and Your Family from ID Theft in 2009
Whenever I speak or write about ID Theft trends and scams, I talk about how targeted attacks from professional thieves, organized crime, current and former employees, and/or current and former vendors break through internal controls to steal and sell sensitive employee and customer information.
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2008 Newsletters
December
Lesson Learned in 2008: No One Can Protect Your Information From Being Lost or Stolen
Question: What does a federal government agency (FEMA), state government agencies (New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Louisiana Department of Revenue, Central California Appellate Program, Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation), the university and college system (Ohio University, University of North Carolina, Austin Peay State University, Oregon Health & Science University, Cal Poly Pomona), the medical industry (Cedars-Sinai Medical Center), the auto dealership industry (Bill Dube Ford/Toyota), the movie theater industry (Zyacorp Entertainment Cinemagic Stadium), and the computer industry (Hewlett-Packard/Symantec) all have in common?
August
Protect Your Identity Through Your Credit, Medical, and Drivers License Reports
According to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACT Act), every consumer in the United States – since September 1, 2005 – has had access to their free credit files disclosure or credit reports from www.annualcreditreport.com.
May
Schools Out, Summer Vacation Is In and ID Theft Risks Increase
Now that the school year has either ended or is ending for most families across the United States, it might be a good time to think about the growing trend of identity theft.
March
ID Theft and Tax Preparation; Did You Know?
As I was preparing to write this month’s column on identity theft and tax preparation, it occurred to me that everyone could learn something from three personal and real life stories that made me scratch my head and say, "Huh!"
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2007 Newsletters
December
Embrace the New Year and Your Financial Health by Protecting Your Identity in 2008
According to Wikipedia (the free encyclopedia), " a New Year’s resolution is a commitment that an individual makes to project a habit, often a lifestyle change that is generally interpreted as advantageous. The name comes from the fact that these commitments normally go into effect on New Year’s Day and remain until the set goal has been achieved, although many resolutions go unachieved and are often broken fairly shortly after they are set."
October
Synthetic Identity Fraud: A Growing Trend In ID Theft
Most consumers think of identity theft as a financial related event including their credit and debit cards, checking and savings accounts, and/or their personal, student, auto or home loans.
August
A New School Year Brings More Opportunities for ID Theft
As the school year begins in many areas of the country during the next few weeks, I was reminded of how children can become victims of identity theft – as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has estimated that about 400,000 children have their identities stolen each year.
June
ID Theft Is Bigger Than The Headlines
Since February 2005 – when the watershed ChoicePoints data breach event took place – there have been over 450 data breaches (that we know of) affecting over 140 million records containing sensitive customer and employee information.
March
The Difference Between ID Theft Insurance and an ID Theft Program
There have been some recent news articles questioning why an individual consumer would or should purchase an identity theft insurance policy.
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2006 Newsletters
December
A Resolution You'll Want To Keep
If you’re like me, then you know how the end of each year brings out the best intentions in all of us. Every year, I take inventory of the past 12 months, plan how I’m going to better my life and then charge forward with some ironclad New Year’s resolutions. No matter how hard I try, however, a few of my resolutions from last year always seem to end up on this year’s list.
October
A New Perspective On Identity Theft
While I knew identity (ID) theft could happen to me, I always believed that my odds of becoming a victim were small; after all, helping businesses and consumers protect themselves from ID theft is my business. When both my wife and I became victims of ID theft on three separate occasions in the last three years, however, I came to the conclusion that our personal information and the information of every consumer is not as secure as we may think.
July
Eliminating the Threat of Identity Theft? A Modern Fairy Tale
Identity theft is a serious crime with damaging consequences: loss of credit, problems obtaining a loan, renting an apartment, constant calls from bill collectors… the list goes on. Victims of identity theft often spend more than 100 hours making phone calls and filing documents in an effort to repair the damage.
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