The Federal Trade Commission will begin enforcing its Red Flags Rule on November 1st. The Red Flags Rule has been delayed three times now give entities additional time to prepare.
The Red Flags Rule require creditors and financial institutions with covered accounts to implement written programs to detect early warning signs of identity theft in their [...]
Posts from ‘October, 2009’
Red Flags Rule Go into Effect November 1st
FBI Wants Federal Data Breach Notification Law Passed
There are currently 45 states that have their own data breach notification bills. The Chief of the FBI’s Cyber Criminal Section, Jeffrey Troy believes this should be a Federal Law for all states.
“A data breach notification bill would help us tremendously, particularly in terms of efficiency in conducting investigations,” said Troy.
“If U.S. businesses were required [...]
ChoicePoint Pays $250,000 Fine After 2nd Data Breach
ChoicePoint Inc. one of the world’s largest collectors of consumer data has agreed to pay $275,000 to federal regulators Monday as a result of a second data breach which occurred last year. The data breach exposed the Social Security numbers and other personal information of 13,750 people.
This agreement settles a case by the Federal Trade [...]
1.3 Million Dollar Identity Theft Ring Busted
Miguel Bell, a 34 year old Philadelphia con man ran an identity theft ring through banks including Citizens, PNC, Wachovia, M&T, Provident, SunTrust, Commerce and Sovereign. He would convince bank employees to give him the confidential information he needed. Three of the employees were women he started relationships with.
Bell and his co-conspirators would use the [...]
Governor Schwarzenegger Vetoes Updated Data Breach Disclosure Bill
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed a bill that would have updated the state’s data breach disclosure law.
The new bill would have required that breach notification letters contain specifics of the incident. This would include the type of personal information exposed, a description of the incident, and advice on steps to take to protect oneself [...]
Hospitals Trying to Reduce Medical Identity Theft
Medical identity theft is when another person uses your personal information or insurance information to receive medical treatment. When the bill comes you are held responsible. Even worse the wrong information is recorded on your health records such as blood type.
Starting in November hospitals will require a driver’s license or other official form of identification [...]
850,000 Blue Cross Blue Shield Doctors at Risk of Identity Theft
A Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) computer was stolen that contains personal information of nearly every doctor who accepts the popular health insurance plan.
That amounted to between 800,000 and 850,000 doctors, spokesman Jeff Smokler said. The data on the computer file — which was stolen out of a parked car in Chicago over the [...]
FBI Indict 50 People in Phishing Scheme
More than 50 people have been indicted in Southern California, Las Vegas and Charlotte, N.C., in connection with a “phishing” scheme to steal bank account information from thousands of victims in the United States, authorities said Tuesday.Â
The three alleged ringleaders, all California residents, were identified by the FBI as Kenneth Joseph Lucas, 25, of Los [...]
New Virus Targets Bank Accounts
Computer security researchers discovered a new type of Trojan-horse software that is being used to steal money from consumers’ bank accounts.
Finjan Software Ltd. told CNET the software is designed to bypass systems that usually detect unusual transactions. The new software used by identity thieves determines how much is available in an infected computer user’s bank [...]
