Feds Bust $2 Million Fraud Scam

Bank Insiders Key to Alleged ID Theft Scheme        

By Tracy Kitten, December 22, 2011

U.S. federal authorities have indicted 55 suspects for their alleged involvement in an identity-theft and financial crime ring that used insiders at banks, a non-profit institution, a high-end car dealership and a real-estate management company to steal personally identifiable information from more than 200 individuals and organizations.    
      

According to charges filed by the Manhattan District Attorney, stolen names, dates of birth, addresses, Social Security numbers and financial information were used through a variety of schemes to defraud victims and financial institutions. Between May 2010 and September 2011, the New York crime ring is accused of stealing more than $2 million from JPMorgan Chase Bank, TD Bank, Citibank, Discover and American Express. The charges include conspiracy to commit grand larceny, grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, identity theft and criminal possession of a forged instrument.

The 18-month investigation, which relied on court-ordered eavesdropping, physical surveillance, computer forensics and analysis of credit card, banking and phone records, remains open.

"Today's indictment reveals another tool of organized identity thieves - insiders who betray their employers and prey on clients," said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance in a statement about the case. "These insiders used their positions to gain access to client data, and then sold that data to make money for themselves and their accomplices."

To read the entire article, click here: http://www.bankinfosecurity.com/articles.php?art_id=4350&rf=2011-12-22-eb&elq=2089d9f1275c4a69a721677f9c7f3d06&elqCampaignId=1034

Prevent ID Theft: What's In Your Wallet?

By Rob Douglas, Identity Theft Expert                                               

While methods used by identity thieves to steal personal information have grown increasingly sophisticated over the last ten years, older methods of stealing personal identification documents through crimes of opportunity – including theft of wallets and purses – remain common.  And, while you can’t prevent a high-tech identity thief from hacking a computer database of a company that has collected your personal information, you can control what you carry with you on a daily basis.

Most people slowly accumulate vast amounts of personal information in their wallets and purses without giving much thought to whether they need to carry all that information every day.  From credit and debit cards; to Social Security, Medicare and health insurance cards; to voter registration and frequent flyer cards; to lists of passwords and personal identification numbers (PINs) for all the cards and accounts they use, their wallets and purses contain treasure for the opportunistic identity thief.

So, what should you carry in your wallet or purse?  

The truth is there is no one-size-fits-all answer as each individual requires different types of personal identification documents on different days.  Depending on your daily activities, job and lifestyle, you may need to carry more or less personal information in your wallet or purse than another individual.

However, there is a simple rule of thumb that everyone can use to reduce the amount of personal information and identification documents they carry and thereby reduce their risk of identity theft. Only carry personal information and identification documents you need that day.

To read the entire article, click here: http://www.identitytheft.info/whatsinwallet.aspx