By Matt Cullina, Identity Theft 911
Today I was proud to be part of a celebration honoring The Child and Family Services Act recently signed by President Obama. This law incorporates special identity theft provisions, sponsored by Rhode Island Congressman Jim Langevin, which will make a big difference in protecting the 460,000 foster care children in the United States.
By Matt Cullina, Identity Theft 911
The email below popped into my inbox this morning—and it was suspicious from the start.
What immediately caught my eye: a partially listed credit card number, a request to download information, and a threat that my card would be blocked if I didn’t input requested information correctly.
By Matt Cullina, Identity Theft 911
The Jersey Shore cast may be more relevant than you think—and it’s not the way they beat up the beat, stay fresh with GTL, or liberally apply hair gel.
Experts say that most people remember passwords when they associate them with something they do often. So if Jersey Shore is one of your shows, then Snooki, with some numbers and symbols added, may be your gal.
Creating strong passwords is key to protecting personal information. But this can be a challenge given the many websites and devices that need our protection. Think of all the places where we store sensitive information online: on websites tied to banking, financial planning, health insurance, social networks, email, and online shopping. Then there are files we keep on work and home computers, smartphones and iPads. (more…)
By Matt Cullina, Identity Theft 911
I just returned from a business trip to Puerto Rico, where the government took precautions and declared a state of emergency to prepare for tropical storm Emily.
Though Emily brushed past the island, weather forecasters are watching to see if it will pose a significant threat to Florida.
Government officials and relief agencies aren’t waiting for a news bulletin to prepare for the worst—even if Emily fades and it’s only an exercise in caution.
Meteorologists expect this to be an above-average hurricane season, according to a report from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.
The tornadoes that pummeled the South and Midwest earlier this year taught everyone a hard lesson on the need for pre-disaster records-retention planning. (more…)
Identity Theft 911 Founder Adam Levin and CEO Matt Cullina speak with DC’s WTOP radio show about the growing issue of child identity theft.
By Matt Cullina, Identity Theft 911
Our nation’s 460,000 foster children already have a rough start on life. So it’s especially heartbreaking when identity thieves cause additional problems for the children who exist foster care each year.
These young adults have a vision of becoming self-reliant productive individuals. But they’re stymied when their identities are stolen and their credit records are blighted. They can’t lease housing, secure education or auto loans, or open bank accounts.
Increasingly, identity fraud threatens all children. Victims 19 and younger accounted for 8 percent of identity theft complaints filed with the Federal Trade Commission in 2010, compared with 7 percent the previous year.
But foster children are particularly vulnerable.
By Matt Cullina, Identity Theft 911
Loving parents will do anything to protect their children. Unfortunately, many of them are unaware of the risk to their kids’ identities.
But parents can take steps to protect against identity theft. They can follow the tips below and seek out expert fraud services like ours through their insurance carrier, bank, credit union or employer.
Identity fraud is a serious risk for children. The Federal Trade Commission reports that victims aged 19 and younger accounted for 8 percent of all identity theft complaints in 2010, up from 7 percent the previous year.
By Matt Cullina, Identity Theft 911
New clients at Identity Theft 911 often ask me, “Aren’t all identity theft service providers the same?”
It may seem that way. Many promise seemingly comparable services to help victims untangle the financial and legal mess created by identity theft.
But the approaches—do-it-yourself, power of attorney and one-on-one case management—are very different from one another.
By Matt Cullina, Identity Theft 911
Hours after the announcement that Osama bin Laden had been killed, cybercriminals launched information attacks targeting news-hungry consumers.
They flooded Facebook pages with invitations to see graphic images of bin Laden’s body to capitalize on the public’s interest in the al-Qaeda leader.
President Obama said May 4 that photos of bin Laden’s body won’t be released. So, computer users who click on fraudulent links of pictures of his corpse are instead exposed to malicious software or spam.
By Matt Cullina, Identity Theft 911
Survivors of the tornadoes that killed hundreds in the South need to prepare for another threat, this one man-made: Fraudsters often target victims in the aftermath of this kind of large-scale natural disaster.
The violent storms that ravaged six states in April left thousands homeless and unable to access their personal documents. The tornadoes also scattered confidential personal information including bank and credit card statements and social security cards. This material may have blown miles away never to be recovered. Or it may wind up on a stranger’s front lawn.
The tornadoes were the country’s worst natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. After Katrina, the FBI reported a marked increase in insurance fraud in the area. Of the more than 80 billion government dollars appropriated for reconstruction efforts in the region, it is estimated that insurance fraud accounts for between $4 and $6 billion.
