Posted by: Neal OFarrell in: ● July 13, 2011
Research firm Javelin recently released its 7th Annual Card Issuer’s Identity Safety Scorecard, an annual report that takes a detailed look at all the precautions and steps the nation’s top credit card issuers take to protect their customers from identity theft and fraud. And the results were definitely mixed. Javelin’s methodology uses a points system [...]
Posted by: Michael Stanfield in: ● March 21, 2011
In Part One of Footprints of a College Graduate, we advised college graduates to take an objective look at their Social Media profiles with a particular focus on their updates, photographs, and commentaries. Now we turn the focus to credit profiles and the relevance they play in job searches, new purchases, and house rentals or [...]
Posted by: Neal OFarrell in: ● January 18, 2011
Sierra Madre is a small Southern California town in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains that has been suddenly thrust into the national spotlight as a crazy story about an ambitious skimming scam has law enforcement focused on one of the city’s few gas stations. What probably drew law enforcement’s attention to this quaint [...]
Posted by: Neal OFarrell in: ● September 1, 2010
It’s got to be one of the easiest scams around. Invest a few hundred dollars in creating a slick web site offering dozens, if not hundreds of beautiful vacation villas for rent around the world. Load it with enticing images of immaculately furnished interiors and stunning views, with a supporting cast of glowing testimonials, and [...]
Posted by: Neal OFarrell in: ● August 19, 2010
In a recent story on the growth of one of the most dangerous computer Trojans every discovered, tech magazine, Network World, opened with the line “Banks and antivirus powerless to stop attacks.” It’s been almost a year since I first started warning about the dangers of Zeus, a powerful banking Trojan that was wreaking havoc [...]
Posted by: Neal OFarrell in: ● July 20, 2010
If you haven’t already heard of skimming, I hope you don’t find out about it the hard way. In a nutshell, skimming is a scam where the thieves “skim” a copy of your credit or debit card information when you think you’re paying for something legitimate. For example, skimming is a growing problem at restaurants, [...]
Posted by: Neal OFarrell in: ● July 16, 2010
As you prepare for your long-awaited, and probably well-deserved summer vacation, be aware that thieves are looking forward to your vacation, too. The New York Times recently did a story that highlighted a little known fact about credit card thefts – that hotels held the Number 1 spot for credit card hacking last year, more [...]
Posted by: Anne Wallace in: ● November 16, 2009
For years I’ve said that identity theft is a complex problem that requires cooperation between consumers, business and law enforcement. In June, 2010, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will begin enforcing the “red flag” rules on thousands of businesses and organizations with consumer accounts. The rules are designed to prevent identity fraud and require businesses [...]