[jonasdatum]

Hello.

I finally had the time correct some issues on my credit report. The Experian one. Hopefully they will correct all of it. They should send me confirmation documentation within the next thrity days.

I tried calling the Detective last night but I missed him.

Any new data out there?

[pimpster]

What lol they still identitys. sense when lol, I had no idea that happened. ha. Maybe I should Post a link. NAAA, that would just get me in more trouble with FLrman!! HEHE

[jonasdatum]

Hello.

I finally got in contact with the Cop that is investigating my case. He said that basically they've hit a brick wall! Remember the phone number on my report that I never had? And the two addresses I dicovered related to it? Well the Cop said that "the didn't exist." WTH? LOL, knowing my luck there are terrorist using my personal information to conduct their buisness.

Also, the detective told me that Sprint wouldn't give up call-records!
Yea, this really sucks.

[jonasdatum]

Hello.

Does anybody know how I can sue the company to get the phone records?

[jonasdatum]

Hey people. Long story short, I was going through my credit card information online, and behold somebody made a charge to a credit card I have not used in 6+ months. Now I have to dispute it with my credit card company. However, I will use my acquired knowledge to try to discover where and/or who this person is. Time to kick some identity thieving A*$$$$!

In all probability it is the same person(s) who got a cell phone in my name. As a precaution I'll change that online-banking password a.s.a.p.

[Rockn]

How is it that YOU keep on having your credit card information, phone number, etc. stolen from you? Seems you are obviously doing something that is leaving this information wide open to whomever wants it.

[jonasdatum]

Originally Posted by Rockn

How is it that YOU keep on having your credit card information, phone number, etc. stolen from you? Seems you are obviously doing something that is leaving this information wide open to whomever wants it.

Hey. I haven't had any other problems lately. Except this I believe it is the same person(s) who stole it the first time. Other than that I've been clean since it happened. Remember I have not used the card in over half a year. I change passwords often, I always scan my system for viruses, keyloggers, etc, and I only shop at reputable sites (that have proven to work before).

I personally know people who have "no credit history" who have had their identity stolen. Also, I know people who have had it happen to them more than once. And these people are "cash users."

I guess they love me because my credit is good?

[coderitr]

My brother sent me this:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few helpful hints regarding identity theft.

A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his company:

The next time you order checks, omit your first name and have only your
initials and last name put on them. If someone takes your check book they will not
know if you sign your checks with just your initials or your first name but
your bank will know how you sign your checks.

When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOT put
the complete account number on the "For" line. Instead, just put the last four
numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number and anyone who
might be handling your check as it passes through all the check processing
channels won't have access to it.

Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have
a PO Box use that instead of your home address. Never have your SS# printed on
your checks (DUH!) you can add it if it is necessary. But if you have it
printed, anyone can get it.

Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine, do both sides of
each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and
all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel.

Keep the photocopy in a safe place. I also carry a photocopy of my passport
when I travel either here or abroad.

We've all heard horror stories about fraud that's committed on us in stealing
a name, address, Social Security number, credit cards, etc.

Unfortunately I, an attorney, have firsthand knowledge because my wallet was
stolen last month. Within a week, the thieve(s) ordered an expensive monthly
cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, had a credit line approved
to buy a Gateway computer, received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving
record information online, and more.

But here's some critical information to limit the damage in case this happens
to you or someone you know:

We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. But the key
is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom
to call. Keep those where you can find them easily.

File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where it was stolen,
this proves to credit providers you were diligent, and is a first step toward an
investigation (if there ever is one).

But here's what is perhaps most important: (I never even thought to do this).

Call the three national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a
fraud alert on your name and Social Security number. I had never heard of
doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me an application for
credit was made over the Internet in my name.

The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information
was stolen and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit.

By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft, all
the damage had been done.

There are records of all the credit checks initiated by the thieves'
purchases, none of which I knew about before placing the alert. Since then, no
additional damage has been done, and the thieves threw my wallet away this weekend
(someone turned it in). It seems to have stopped them in their tracks.

The numbers are:

Equifax:1-800-525-6285

Experian: (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742

Trans Union:1-800-680-7289

Social Security Administration(fraud line):1-800-269-0271

[poochee]

Thanks for the information. It will help people who are not aware.

[AKA Arizona]

I answered 3 of the poll questions, Someone tried to steal my identy I have known many people who have had there identy stolen and The people that stole my identy have been caught, the goone squad just happen to be in Chicago doing some business when I called and sent them to Saint Louis the two morrons actually used a random SS# and it was mine, go figure I have been using the credit alert from lending tree for years it finally paid off, they open a checking account in there real name and address my SS# at 9:00 in the morning when the bank opened by 10:00 I had my alert I called the bank they gave me "My new address" 2 1/2 hours later the goone squad was at there front door, 8 hours later the squad had them in a holding cell in my jail, (that reminds me I have got to check on them, make sure there still breathing that sort of stuff)..............

My set of circumstance are not typical this is the Xtreme.

[jonasdatum]

Originally Posted by AKA Arizona

I answered 3 of the poll questions, Someone tried to steal my identy I have known many people who have had there identy stolen and The people that stole my identy have been caught, the goone squad just happen to be in Chicago doing some business when I called and sent them to Saint Louis the two morrons actually used a random SS# and it was mine, go figure I have been using the credit alert from lending tree for years it finally paid off, they open a checking account in there real name and address my SS# at 9:00 in the morning when the bank opened by 10:00 I had my alert I called the bank they gave me "My new address" 2 1/2 hours later the goone squad was at there front door, 8 hours later the squad had them in a holding cell in my jail, (that reminds me I have got to check on them, make sure there still breathing that sort of stuff)..............

My set of circumstance are not typical this is the Xtreme.

Hello all. Thanks for the recent update. I've been on the look out for a while since my ordeal. Also, you might want to consider doing some checks of your driving record(s), car registration(s), and/or title record(s). No, titling a car and registering are not the same thing. At least under "most curcomstances."

Another check you should do is federal or state inmate/arrest/criminal checks on yourself. You won't believe how many convicted-people have the same name or almost the same name as yourself. In some cases you might need to go to the distributor of the records in person. LOL, just make sure that you tell everybody where your going so if they find you have something pending... You'll be missing work for a while.

"Certified passport records people." They cost, but they will reveal much.

You might also want to try limiting your credit card data online. Try to use only one card. Try to make sure it is limited in terms of credit allotment and cash advancment. If you use online stores that ask you for your credit card number each time... GOOD. Also try to make sure of virtual card numbers. Yea time consuming it is, but safer you be.

On a side note... don't have to many credit cards. Thats how so many people foolishly get into credit card debt (amongst many other reasons). Also, it effects your credit score and history to have too many cards. Even if they all have "0" balance. My personal suggestion is no more than two or three depending your travel needs.

Encryption, safes, passwords. If you have all your personal information on a computer it isn't the best place for it. Try to keep it on a few backup media. There are a few instances when you try to backup a file to disk, but the disk is too durity or damaged to use before or after. Thus your data is lost or backup is stalled. Make sure you encrypt the file. Don't use common words or phrases. Alpha-numeric people 6 or more characters I believe is the standard. Check your backup media before erasing/deleting the original files.

[jonasdatum]

Originally Posted by Rockn

How is it that YOU keep on having your credit card information, phone number, etc. stolen from you? Seems you are obviously doing something that is leaving this information wide open to whomever wants it.

No I don't. As for that $10 incident. It was more than likely a clerical error. I haven't used the card in almost a year. So it wouldn't be on radar. I've just become paranoid. Criminals are everywhere and would do anything to get what they want. It is our job to make it impossible so they can be stopped.

Besides, so much of our information is publically available. License abstracts, reciepts people foolishly discard, criminal store clerks, criminal bankers, criminal credit employees, criminal everything! Everybody you don't know almost like the back of your hand is a protiential criminal. Even those you know could simply be lying to you.

[MSM Hobbes]

By coincidence, while I'm here in SF at a engineering convention, there is also a convention hosted by RSA in another part of the convention center here. Talked w/ a few of these people during lunch while we were all friendly fighting over the same tables . They all said that its a mess out there, and for every positive step they make, there are a multitude of steps in the negative direction by the mal-people. Anyhow, can check out the host's web site: http://www.rsasecurity.com/ Many M$, Verizon, and other IT folks here attending.

[jonasdatum]

Cell phones are dangerous! Hackers could be inviltrating your phones or phone services right now and you wouldn't even know it. At the mall, in the movie theater, out in the street or in the club.

Hilton Cell Phone Numbers Posted on Net
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=521156
============
Hilton Cell Phone Numbers Posted on Net
Report Says Numbers From Paris Hilton's Cell Phone Were Posted on Internet by Computer Hackers

The Associated Press

Feb. 22, 2005 - Paris Hilton is finding more than her body exposed on the Internet after computer hackers posted phone numbers online that had been stored in her cell phone.

The New York Daily News reported Monday that it was unclear how the numbers got posted on the Internet, but the incident happened just days after a 22-year-old man pleaded guilty to breaking into a cell phone company's protected computer and gaining access to records for millions of customers.

Some of Hilton's friends were besieged with calls.

"I got 100 calls in two hours," Victoria Gotti told the newspaper. "I didn't want to take the phones off the hook because my oldest son was out on a date."

Gotti, who appears in her own reality television show, says she disconnected the phone for a few hours only to find it ringing nonstop when she reconnected it.

"It's driving me insane," Gotti said.

A telephone message left Monday by The Associated Press with Hilton's publicist was not immediately returned.

Hilton, a hotel chain heiress whose sex tape with an ex-boyfriend became a cyberspace novelty, stars on the Fox TV reality show "The Simple Life" with Nicole Richie, daughter of R&B singer Lionel Richie.


Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Copyright © 2005 ABC News Internet Ventures



Wireless Devices Vulnerable to Tampering
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/WNT...=545734&page=1
========
Wireless Devices Vulnerable to Tampering
Viruses Not Just for Computers Anymore

By NED POTTER

Mar. 2, 2005 - It's Sunday night at the Oscars, and the place is crawling with security people. A police helicopter circles overhead. Steven Spielberg, Paris Hilton and Prince get into limousines, but one can barely see them from behind all the barriers.

To John Hering, though, the place is like a sieve.

"Most people are worried about physical security," he said. But electronic security is another matter -- Hering's, actually. "As every single celebrity, VIP and executive drives by us, we're going to be able to scan their mobile phones."

Hering and three college classmates have started a software security firm called Flexilis Inc. They couldn't care less about computer software, though; they say the next wave for hackers and virus creators is the wireless phone.

That is why the Flexilis team turned out on Oscar night, carrying a laptop with a small antenna hidden in a backpack. They wanted to see how many vulnerable cell phones they could detect.

"Cell phones are becoming digital wallets," he said. "Ten years ago, no one kept the kind of vital information that they do today on them."


Paris Hilton's Sidekick
Computer security giants such as IBM have been putting out repeated warnings about the rise of threats to mobile devices. But the issue finally got some attention this winter because of socialite-turned-reality-TV-star Paris Hilton.

Strictly speaking, it was not her cell phone -- a T-Mobile Sidekick II -- that was hacked. Someone did, however, get their hands on data sent from her Sidekick to a T-Mobile server, and pretty soon the private numbers of all her Hollywood friends were all over the Web.

One can chuckle at Hilton's misfortune, but Hering says that, in a roundabout way, she did the world a favor. Her case served warning that a cell phone is less than safe.

"The device is in range," said Hering from the roof of Flexilis' office building in Los Angeles. He pointed a shotgun-shaped antenna at the street below.

Interception of cell-phone signals is illegal, but Hering and his co-workers offered us a demonstration of how easy it is to tap into the Bluetooth connection many high-end devices have. (Bluetooth is a technology that allows short-range signals to travel between, for instance, a cell phone and a wireless headset.)

"Did you enable the attack?" Hering asked.

"It's going," said his comrade, Kevin Mahaffey.

"Perfect," Hering replied.

A workmate from Flexilis walked along the sidewalk below them, pretending to be an unsuspecting victim. In a few seconds, the laptop connected to Hering's antenna was displaying data from it.

"We just pulled off the phone book entries and the text message inbox and the sent messages off the phone, without the user of the phone ever knowing what happened," said Mahaffey.


More to Come
Most cell phone users today only use their phones to make calls. But the largest market growth is in data transmission and storage. More people are using wireless devices for text messaging, and to store private information -- everything from addresses to bank account passwords.

"The problem is only going to get worse," said David Moll, CEO of Webroot Inc., a security firm in Colorado.

Moll said abuse of wireless signals is likely to follow the same path that users of desktop computers have seen since the late 1980s: First come the hackers and the pranksters who write viruses, but eventually they will look for a way to make money from security lapses. So be prepared, he said, for the wireless equivalent of pop-up ads on your cell phone.

"I think that this is a problem that is in its early stages, but it frankly has some harbingers in the wired world that don't make me very confident that we're up for a good future here," he said.

John Hering agrees. On Sunday night at the Oscars, he and his cohorts counted at least 50 Bluetooth-equipped cell phones into which they could easily have hacked.

Copyright © 2005 ABC News Internet Ventures

[jonasdatum]

Hello I've been probing the web for useful data regarding this issue. Ran across this CBS News article. If you check the entire thread you'll see that this is a case in point that the Detective made.


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/...in674526.shtml
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/...le674526.shtml

ID Theft Suspect Not Talking
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 18, 2005

A Nigerian man was sentenced Thursday to 16 months in prison after pleading no contest to charges that he participated in a massive identity theft scheme involving stolen consumer information from data warehouser ChoicePoint Inc.

Los Angeles County prosecutors said the case against Olatunji Oluwatosin, 41, is part of a "much larger investigation" into allegations of fraudulent access to the data-gathering company's personal information database.

Oluwatosin, of North Hollywood, did not admit to any wrongdoing and did not agree to help authorities with their investigation, said attorney Michael R. Enger.

"He's not cooperating in any way," Enger said. "There's nothing that he believes he has of any value to offer them."

ChoicePoint is notifying 145,000 people that their personal information may have been stolen. The company was formerly a division of the credit reporting agency Equifax, but has been a separate company since 1997.

ChoicePoint acknowledged this week that thieves apparently used previously stolen identities to create bogus businesses and open 50 accounts with ChoicePoint, which is based in Alpharetta, Ga. The thieves obtained volumes of data on consumers, including names, addresses, Social Security numbers and credit reports.

The ring, which operated for more than a year before it was detected, has defrauded at least 750 people, The Los Angeles Times reported, quoting a sheriff's detective.

Oluwatosin was arrested in a police sting in October. He was found with five cell phones and three credit cards - all in other people's names, prosecutors said.

A district attorney's spokeswoman declined to provide more detail, citing an ongoing probe.

At a midmorning court hearing, Oluwatosin entered the plea to a single count of unlawful use of personal identification, court officials said. He had been charged with multiple counts ranging from making a false financial statement to possessing a fake driver's license.

Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Paul Enright gave Oluwatosin credit for 180 days served in custody.

ChoicePoint initially notified only 35,000 people in California of the identity theft threat because the state has a law mandating the companies possession personal information must notify people if it is compromised.

The company said it decided to expand its warnings beyond California after learning that the fraud ring appeared to be a national operation.

ChoicePoint, has databases with approximately 19 billion public records, spokesman Chuck Jones said recently.

The company compiles and sells personal information on U.S. residents, such as motor vehicle and credit records, car and boat registrations, liens and deed transfers and military records.

The identity thieves used documents with the names of real people with clean criminal records to set up accounts with the company, according to ChoicePoint marketing director James Lee.

The identities they used had not been reported stolen, so red flags were not initially raised, Lee said.

The company eventually caught on by tracking the pattern of the searches the suspects were doing, he said.

"Quite obviously, someone who is intent on fraud will go to extraordinary lengths to create the trappings of legitimacy," Lee said.

The ChoicePoint attack could galvanize support for a federal law protecting consumers from corporate security breaches. New Hampshire, New York and Texas are considering similar bills, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., reintroduced legislation last month for a national version of the California law.
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