Protect Yourself from Internet Identity Theft

Identity theft can turn your life into a nightmare. Just this week laptop thefts at brewing giant Anheuser-Busch has placed the personal data of 150,000 people nationwide and 55,000 Californians at risk. Unfortunately the risk of identity theft isn’t relegated to corporate and government computers. Computer phishing scams that solicit personal information through bogus emails […]

Con Men ‘Phish’ for Identity Info

The old-fashioned con man hasn’t disappeared, he’s just gone phishing. Phishing scams where people receive an apparently legitimate email asking for personal information allow con men to troll for marks without ever leaving their computers. That personal information can allow phishers to steal your identity, run up charge accounts, open credit cards in your name, […]

Protect Yourself from Internet Identity Theft

In our June 25 post we noted that the majority of identity thefts result from stolen wallets and purses, stolen mail or from information exchanged during a phone or male-order sale. Internet access accounts for only 14% of ID thefts, according to a recent study by financial consulting firm Javelin Strategy & Research of Pleasanton, […]

Stolen Wallets Are Greatest Cause of ID Theft

Identity theft is a nightmare that can take months or even years to clear up. When thieves stole Gina Titus’ wallet she wasn’t prepared for the depth of the trouble it caused. “They used the checking account and credit cards before I could cancel them,” the San Francisco PR account executive complained. “Then several months later […]

Fraud, Burglary, Internet Crimes and Orange County Teens

Two teenagers in Orange County have been charged with breaking into their school and hacking into computers in order to alter their grades.  They’re accused of computer fraud, burglary, conspiracy and other charges, all of which could add up to 38 years in prison.
Allegedly, the two teens broke into their school using a stolen master key, […]

Woman Steals Thousands in Identity Theft Fraud

A 27-year-old Utah woman has been charged with defrauding people of thousands of dollars in California, Utah and Oregon. She bilked her own mother-in-law out of thousands of dollars in unauthorized credit card charges and illegally obtained loans. She swindled a California man out of $14,343 through fraudulent wire transfers to a bank account. In […]