Over the past few months there’s been a growing hue and cry over reports that some employers ask job applicants for their Facebook login and password information as part of the vetting process. They are hardly alone, though it’s not easy to know just who’s doing it and who’s not. But this is not new–some state and local government agencies, particularly law enforcement agencies, have been doing it for years.
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.
A group of privacy and consumer organizations called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Facebook for recent changes that they say could endanger citizens’ privacy and violate federal privacy laws. In a letter from the Electronic Privacy Information Center and nine other groups, advocates warned that Facebook’s new policies threaten to share too much personal information with advertisers.
The new features offer a “treasure trove of personal information can also provide a tempting target for stalkers, government agents, or employers,” according to the letter.
(more…)
By Betty Chan-Bauza, Identity Theft 911
For many of us who thought we had left cringe-worthy moments behind in middle school, social media has revived that old pit-of-the-stomach “What did I just do?” feeling.
That’s because, while we would never intentionally expose a friend to embarrassment, identity fraud, or worse, it’s shockingly easy to commit these five common online blunders: (more…)
By Eduard Goodman, Identity Theft 911
An interesting Appellate Court opinion was recently issued that, while limited in scope, requires us to acknowledge the expanding realm of our own identity footprints and the need for evolving views of how we define identity theft. The case, PEOPLE v. ROLANDO S., stemmed from a Juvenile Court case in Kings county California. The case involving teenagers was based on the following facts:
Rolando S., a minor, was one of several recipients of an unsolicited text message containing the password to the victim’s email account. Rolando, who apparently had been in trouble with the law before, used this information to gain access to the victim’s email account. Once he was in, he accessed her Facebook account and profile. Then Rolando proceeded to post vulgar, sexually oriented comments on the walls of a couple of the victim’s male Facebook friends pretending to be her. He even modified the victim’s profile adding additional sexually oriented comments.
It’s the season every parent of a teenager dreads—summer—when sons and daughters have nothing but time on their hands…and they spend most of it online. Parents can’t supervise their teens around the clock—not that most would listen to what Mom and Dad have to say about their Internet activities anyway. So how can you protect your fiercely independent, world-weary, tech-savvy teen—the one with the bad case of selective hearing—from trouble online?
(more…)
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
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.
