David K asked:
i’ve been studying identity theft for last few week for my school project and one think i found out that most of these identity theft is on somebodys credit card now heres my question how about if somebody has your chacking or saving account number and they order something online and send it to thier own place how you gonna track that?
i need all the information on that question.
thank you.
Facebook profiles are up for sale. In fact, a hacker known as Kirllos recently offered to sell 1.5 million of them for a hefty fee. Turns out the hacker didn’t actually have information on quite that many accounts, but he did start selling at least 1,000 accounts, priced by the number of connections. The powers that be at Facebook were able to identify the thief, but only after he sold a few thousand profiles. However, since he is located in Russia, it’s unlikely he will be punished for his crime.
Facebook has since announced increased security to help prevent this from happening again. For example, its software will let users know, either via an email or a text message, if their account is accessed from an unknown device. It will also check for concurrent log-ins and ask the user security questions if it notices them. This can help to prevent a fraudulent user from accessing the account from another computer while the legitimate user is online.
Q: How can I dispute my credit report after someone has used my social security number?
A: I’m making some assumptions based on your question, but it seems that there are actually 2 issues involved. The first is if someone used your social security number for gain, without your permission, you have been a victim of identity theft. The second is that you need to dispute an item that has shown up on your credit report due to this identity theft.
Number one, take the appropriate steps to report the identity theft and make sure it doesn’t happen again. Read our post on what to do if someone has stolen your identity, for a complete writeup on what these steps are. It would also make sense to sign up for an identity theft protection service like Identity Guard to further protect yourself.
Number two, contact each of the 3 credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian and Transunion – to dispute any items on your credit report caused by this identity theft. You’ll want to do this after step one above, as you may need to provide documentation to prove your claim. Although you only mention one credit report in your question, you need to check all 3 of your credit reports to make sure they are all accurate. Once you’ve done this, you can file your disputes online, via the links below.
Experian
Equifax
TransUnion.
Jul
It goes without saying that good and evil often do exist side-by-side. And much like the Chinese concept of the Yin and Yang — contrary forces that are interconnected in the natural world — so too does this exist in the identity theft world. Each week we highlight the “Worst Person” in identity theft; while contrarily we also highlight the “Best Person.” Yes, there are many hard working professionals who work tirelessly to fight identity theft, and they deserve all the recognition in the world.
And, this week, we would like to commend Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Commissioner Gerald Bailey for leading the charge to arrest of 10 members of a criminal mortgage fraud and identity theft operation. The group is charged with defrauding numerous financial institutions out of more than $8 million, and using the identities of unsuspecting individuals as part of the conspiracy to obtain the mortgages and properties.
According to the FBI, mortgage fraud causes an estimated annual loss of $4-$6 billion. So, we tip
Jul
dreaming of a transhuman future asked:
My government keeps billing me for all these services I never ordered, like crummy public schools and military wars in other countries. So far I’m in the hole for over $35,000! (My share of the $10.4 trillion national debt.) How can I get this matter straightened out and get a refund on all these unwanted services people keep ordering for me?
My government keeps billing me for all these services I never ordered, like crummy public schools and military wars in other countries. So far I’m in the hole for over $35,000! (My
The most common form of identity theft remains computer crimes, especially those that allow hackers to capture personal information and use a victim’s credit cards fraudulently. And yet many people don’t understand the depth and danger of computer crime — instead, they think of it as a ‘lesser’ crime when compared to face-to-face offences.
Obviously, though, perpetrators commit identity theft in secret — and that makes computer crimes the perfect approach. Here are the three most common identity theft computer crimes and what you can do to avoid them.
1. Phishing
By now most people know better than to send money to African princesses, but there are literally thousands of phishing emails out there, and some are pretty insidious. The best hackers pose as an established company, going so far as to create a plausible email address and analyze the company’s official communications to sound authentic.
Most phishing emails contain a threat so that you’ll act quickly, without thinking too much.