One ID Pro Blog

A Missouri supermarket chain recently discovered the data on about 2.4 million credit and debit cards used by customers may have been exposed. Schnucks, a St. Louis-based supermarket chain that owns 100 stores and 96 in-store pharmacies in a five-state region in the Midwest announced that it had found and contained the data breach.

According to the company, only card numbers and expiration dates appear to have been exposed, not the cardholder’s name, address or identifying information.

Schnucks warned the data breach affected cards used by customers between December 2012 and March 29, 2013.

Identity theft has been the top consumer complaint to the Federal Trade Commission now for the last 13 years.

The FTC’s annual look at its Consumer Sentinel Network database of complaints found that 2012 was the first year the agency got more than 2 million complaints overall, and 369,132, or 18%, were related to identity theft.

Here is the list of the top 10 complaints:

1. Identity Theft
2. Debt Collection
3. Banks and

The Better Business Burerau offers the following tips to keep your identity secure:

1. Carry only the cards you need at the time. Minimize the identification information and the number of cards you carry in your wallet or purse. Do not carry your Social Security card unless you need it.
2. Cut up old or expired credit cards. Be aware of inactive credit card and bank accounts. Check them periodically for suspicious activity.
3. Choose

With the wireless technology today, it is has become very easy to become a victim of identity theft.

Just recently, a stay-at-home mom named Jennifer Baker agreed to a hack-test. Until now her Internet security never really crossed her mind.

“I had just figured that we were secured,” Baker said.

A man called Tim was brought in by News Channel 10 in California to see if he could hack… Continue reading

Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt issued a warning on Monday for seniors to be aware of criminals targeting them for identity theft.

“Identity theft has increased with our older population and it is important that Oklahomans know how to protect themselves,” Pruitt said.

Older residents can be more susceptible to identity theft because of the amount of personal data they give for health care or in-home assistance. Many seniors can… Continue reading

TD Bank has informed the Attorney General’s Office that it lost unencrypted back-up tapes containing personal information of more than 73,000 Massachusetts customers.

The personal information included on the tapes may have included names, addresses, Social Security numbers and account numbers.   Also birthdates and driver’s license numbers.

“The loss of these tapes potentially puts the personal information of thousands of Massachusetts consumers at risk, and we remind consumers to take… Continue reading

The Better Business Bureau and Police and are warning of a new text message scam, where the sender claims to be from a major bank such as Bank of America. 

Under this latest scam, customers are told there’s a problem with their debit cards, and then directed either to a website or phone number to resolve the issue.

When victims call the number, an automated message claims their debit card… Continue reading

The University of South Carolina announced Tuesday that their web server had been hacked.  This was discovered back in June by school officials.

Approximately 34,000 students, staff and researchers at USC were exposed.   Information included names, addresses and Social Security numbers recorded as far back as 2005. 

On June 6th, the school received an alert that the web server of its College of Education had been compromised.  School officials are… Continue reading

According to Treasury Department investigators, the Internal Revenue Service may have delivered more than $5 billion in refund checks to identity thieves in 2011.

They also estimate it is possible for another $21 billion to be stolen by identity thieves over the next five years.

The IRS is detecting far fewer fraudulent tax refund claims than actually occur, according to a government audit that warned the widespread problem… Continue reading

The Better Business Bureau issued is warning of a new scam claiming President Obama will pay your utility bills through a new federal program due to the extreme heat waves.

Victims have been contacted through phone calls, fliers, social media and text messages.

To receive the money, the scammers ask for personal information including Social Security and bank routing numbers.  In return, customers are given a fraudulent bank routing… Continue reading