Protect Newsletter 6

MAY 2010

THIS MONTH IN PROTECT

The FBI is failing in its effort to combat identity theft.

This according a new report by the U.S. Inspector General for the Department of Justice, which oversees the Bureau. The criticism in a nutshell: the FBI has no clear strategy to fight the scourge, is placing too much emphasis on prosecuting a handful of cases, and is not doing enough effort to help consumers and victims. The result is a runaway identity theft crime rate that tops all others, with some now placing the number affected at more than 11 million Americans. For the FBI, this means going back to the drawing board. For consumers — including regular readers of PROTECT — this means the responsibility remains on your shoulders to be smart, alert, careful, informed and proactive.

IT’S ON YOUR SHOULDERS

PROTECT is part of the solution. It is brought to you by the people who operate I.D. SHIELD 360, a leading service that helps shields you from the criminals determined to steal your identity. Every month in our newsletter, youʼll find useful and authoritative ideas and information to protect your most important possession – your identity.

Inside This Issue . . .

MILLIONS OF STUDENT RECORDS STOLEN

THE IMPLANT BANDIT THE NEW MEDICAL EMERGENCY AVOIDING THE

PICKPOCKET PLAGUE SCAMMERS HAVE

WORLD CUP GOAL ID THIEVES FAVORITE

AGE TARGET

MILLIONS OF STUDENT RECORDS STOLEN

Personal information of 3.3 million students and their families has

been stolen from a major student loan guarantee agency.

Educational Credit Management Corporation, a top-ten student loan guarantor and the U.S.

Department of Justiceʼs desig-

nated provider for “student loan bankruptcy services,” says the

data included names, addresses, Social Security numbers and dates of birth of borrowers.

No bank account or financial

information was compromised.

The St. Paul MN-based nonprofit says the data was on “portable media.” Details aren't being released because of the ongoing investigation by local law enforcement agencies as well as the FBI. Government officials believe this may be the biggest case of student identity theft in the nation, impacting roughly five percent of all students with federal loans, the Tribune said. Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC residents are the most effected. So far, police say there has been no indication of any data misuse. “This is old-fashioned” theft, rather than computer hacking, said a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Education.

Borrowers whose information was stolen are receiving a written notification from Corporation; the letter is said to provide instructions on how they can sign up for credit monitoring and notification, connect with fraud resolution representatives, and obtain identity theft insurance coverage. “We deeply regret that this incident occurred and the stress it has caused our borrowers and our partners and we are doing everything we can to help protect our borrowersʼ identity and credit information,” said Richard Boyle, president and CEO, ECMC Group, in a statement posted on the companyʼs website.

THE NEW MEDICAL EMERGENCY

There were nearly 300,000 cases of medical information theft last year — double the year before — with the average fraud costing just a shade above $12,000 dollars. “A trend weʼve seen over the past few years is using stolen information to file false claims,” said Louis Saccoccio, head of the non-profit DC-based National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association. Exacerbating the problem, medical identity theft is difficult to discover which, in turn, leads to longer and more costly periods of abuse.

Within the medical world, emergency rooms are a fast-growing target, as more and more patients walk through the doors pretending to be someone else in order to have their bills covered. Here, the focus is on stolen Social Security numbers and stolen or forged insurance cards. Given the breakneck speed at which an ER moves, it is harder for administrators to weed out fraud at the door. Experts also say that, increasingly, ER fraud is an “inside job” with thieves working as receptionists, bookkeepers nurses aides, and other staff members.

The problem presented by identity confusion in the emergency room is two fold. There is the monetary issue, of course. The financial losses are large, the owner whose identity has been stolen may be on the hook for money or may find out that their insurance coverage has been exhausted when they really need it or can later be plagued by lingering credit problems. Insurance companies are also at risk; if someone's stealing insurance to pay their bill, it means higher costs for the legitimate policyholders.

But there is also a crucial health and safety issue.

In virtually every medical identity theft case, medical charts get changed and medical records are compromised. Pam Dixon, executive director of the World Privacy Forum, has been quoted as follows: “We've had people who, all of a sudden, their health care record has different blood types. They have health care records with different genders and ages. Different medications. There are people weʼve talked with who, their imposter went in and had a hospital stay and put down that they were allergic to one drug, and then the real person is not allergic to that drug, but they're allergic to other drugs.”

The industry is trying to stanch the bleeding. Insurers are improving technology to spot false claims.

More emergency room officials are asking patients to speak their information, which gives hospital administrators a chance to confirm it or see if a person stumbles over the words. Private clinics are starting to add patientsʼ photographs to identity cards. Also, the government recently passed legislation requiring doctors and hospitals to notify patients when their information has been exposed by a security breach, perhaps shortening the time between fraud and discovery.

Some people also argue that the move toward electronic medical records, encouraged by the economic stimulus bill and Obamacare legislation, may make fraud detection easier. Other experts note an interesting irony: in every other industry, as records are digitized, the scale of identity theft rises.

So, if there is a theme to this monthʼs PROTECT newsletter — and there is! — it is that the responsibility for detecting identity theft falls to the consumer.

Thus, the experts advise, first and foremost, that consumers monitor their medical bills and their credit reports. Moreover, to avoid potentially deadly medical complications from confused and compromised records, they should obtain a hard copy of their health care records, even if thereʼs a fee involved. That way, if medical charts are altered, there's a way to know what they used to look like.

CBS NEWS ON THE DANGERS OF MEDICAL IDENTITY THEFT

AVOIDING THE

PICKPOCKET PLAGUE

The news may be filled with high tech computer-based frauds, scams and crimes, but most identity theft problems arise the old fashioned way such as a simple pickpocketing. Indeed, the reason women are victims more than men of ID theft is that their purses have more “stuff” to steal than menʼs wallets. And as the weather turns warmer, the streets and malls fill, and travel and tourist season begins, it is pickpocket paradise for the criminals.

HERE ARE SOME SUGGESTIONS FROM THE EXPERTS FOR PROTECTING YOURSELF: 1. Remember that anyone is a potential perpetrator.

From a child to beautiful woman, to grandmother, to the wheelchair bound. Do not be lulled or fooled.

2. Be aware of pickpocket scams. Be wary of people acting drunk and bumping into you. Pickpockets may try to distract you by asking for directions while an accomplice lifts your cash. Stay alert when talking with strangers.

3. Keep wallets and document in an inside jacket pocket or the front pocket of your pants. A money belt can be useful.

4. If you keep your hands in your pocket, there is no room for the thieves to find their way in.

5. Do not keep a purse or handbag in your hand; it is too easy to strip away. Put it on a shoulder strap and weak it with the opening toward your body.

6. Do not flash money, wallet or jewelry in public, even when you need cash or change for a ticket or a newspaper or the like.

7. Keep large amounts of cash or jewelry safe at home or in the hotel safe.

8. When shopping or in a crowd, be especially alert at entrances, in elevators and on escalators, essentially anywhere crowds gather.

9. ATM machines are points of vulnerability. Look around an do not take out cash if someone suspicious is nearby, stand close and hide your activity so as to protect PIN from being skimmed, and move quickly away from the machine after the transaction is done.

10. In case of the worst case, be prepared: have copies of important documents accessible, with you if you are traveling or at home. These include credit card information, tickets and confirmation numbers, passports, and hotel reservations.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH AN AMUSING VIDEO ON AVOIDING PICKPOCKETS

SCAMMERS HAVE

WORLD CUP GOAL

Ticket scams are heartbreaking: you have looked forward to an event, maybe with your family or best friends, perhaps traveled a long distance, and when you get to the door it turns out your tickets are not legitimate. It happened big time to people at this yearʼs Super Bowl and at the Vancouver Olympics. Next up, the soccer World Cup in South Africa this Summer, around which scammers are already employing their tricks.

The FTC has issued a formal scam alert for the World Cup, and here is what the Commission and other experts are saying about how to avoid the risks: • Before buying tickets, check with the event organizer, promoter, or venue where the event will be held to learn how and when tickets are being sold. FIFIA, the international football federation has a website that discusses ticket distribution and sales. http://www.fifa.com

• Be aware that the official logo and trademarks of the event can be imitated, so a source that merely looks legitimate is not enough of a safeguard.

• Try to deal with locals you can meet face to face for ticket transactions.

It makes sense to deal with someone you can meet and pay only when you see the tickets.

• Read what others say about the seller. Search the Internet for feedback, testimonials and other peopleʼs experiences.

• Be skeptical of sites that “guarantee” tickets since it is often not the case. They tend to sell travel packages that include tickets, but do not intend to actually buy them unless they fill up the trip.

• Never wire money to anyone's account by Western Union or any other wiring service. These are probably the most common types of scams and they are the easiest to avoid. Just say no.

• Use common sense. If the ticket price or location is too good to believe, it probably is.

• If you have doubts, ask hard questions. Most scammers will not hang around to answer the tough ones.

• Always print a copy of your order for your files.

• Beware of ancillary scams such as ticket lotteries; fake World Cup lottery tickets scams are already popping up in which victims are told they've won a ticket but must pay a tax or handling fee first.

FTC OFFICIAL WORLD CUP WARNING

CENSUS CONS STAGE TWO

Official U.S. Census Bureau workers will have a badge, a handheld device, a bureau canvas bag, and a confidentiality notice. When they come to visit, ask for identification and a badge prior to answering any questions. Donʼt invite anyone into the house.

Real Census Bureau representatives will not “phish” for financial data. Be suspicious if a purported Census employee asks you for a Social Security number, credit card, banking information, a PIN number and the like. That is beyond the purview of their jobs. Do not give this kind of information to anyone, even if they insist that they need it.

Now that stage one of the 2010 Census, the returnthe-form-by-mail phase, is over, the U.S. Census Bureau is engaged in stage two. That means more than 600,000 census takers are going door-to-door to count households that did not submit forms. It also means that the potential for frauds and scams has risen precipitously.

HERE IS BASIC ADVICE ON HOW TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OFFICIAL CENSUS WORKERS AND A CON ARTIST.

Legitimate Census Bureau workers are not authorized to solicit donations to any group or charity or political party. Anyone asking for donations is not from the government. This especially includes members of Acorn, the community organizer group, which has been banned from taking part in the national count.

Finally, authorize Census Bureau workers do not use email. They may contact residents by telephone, mail or in person at home, but email is off limits. Email requests for your personal information are fake. Never click on a link or open any attachments in an email that are supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau.

If you believe you have been contacted as part of bogus or fraudulent activity falsely representing the Census Bureau, call the regional Census Bureau office. In the case of an email scam, forward it to the Bureau. And if the scam comes through the mail, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service is the place to go.

See contact information below.

FIND YOUR REGIONAL OFFICE REPORT EMAIL SCAMS REPORT MAIL SCAMS

FBI STUMBLES ON STRATEGY

Recommendations of the task force included gathering of comprehensive data; greater interagency coordination; the designation

of coordinators in each of the U.S. attorneyʼs offices; re-evaluation of the monetary thresh-

olds for identify theft prosecutions; and a failure to encourage more state prosecu-

tions. None have been fully executed, says the Justice Department. Fine notes, for example, that the FBI has stopped collecting comprehensive data, that few coordinators

are in place, and that very little interagency

The U.S. Inspector General for the Department of Justice believes the FBI is coming up short in its response to grapple with the wave of identity thefts in America. The report said the department has not acted on many recommendations of a task force assembled during the Bush administration, and that there is a lack of overall strategy.

Glenn Fine, the Inspector General states, in part, “This lack of a coordinator responsible for the DOJ's identity theft efforts has led to an uncoordinated, and sometimes nonexistent, approach by DOJ components to address identity theft.”

cooperation is taking place.

The Inspector Generalʼs study goes a step

further, finding that the Justice Departmentʼs focus is too much on prosecutions, as op-

posed to assistance to victims of identity theft. Moreover, it states that the process of notifying identity theft victims of their

rights under federal law was still a matter of uncertainty and “confusion among DOJ investigators, prosecutors, and victim spe-

cialists regarding their responsibilities to identity and notify victims.” Identity theft

became a federal crime with the passage

of the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act of 1998.

DOWNLOAD PDF OF JUSTICE DEPARTMENT REPORT

TRUE STORIES AT LEAST HE始S CAREFUL

George Gomez apparently wanted to make sure his credit was secure from identity theft. According to the Highlands County Sheriff始s Office, however, he stole somebody else始s identity to do it. Gomez, 26, was arrested Monday after investigators said that he used a stolen debit card to pay the monthly fees on credit monitoring services. Det. Michael Huften reported that between June 8 and Aug. 17 of 2009, Gomez, who was listed as unemployed on the arrest report, used the stolen debit card number from the mother of his ex-girlfriend to pay for services from several credit score, privacy and identity protection programs.

IT始S A HABIT

Martel T. Kirkland, 53, of Detroit MI was sentenced to 15 years in prison for conspiracy, mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, credit card fraud, wire fraud, uttering a forged security, and aiding and abetting, in connection with an identity theft scheme involving approximately 40 financial accounts. It is his 14th criminal conviction.

This time around, stole credit card numbers and bank account information, and sold them to two co-conspirators for 50 of the amount saved each time the cards or accounts were used. The transactions amounted to more than $222,000; victims US Airways and HSBC Bank were defrauded of $30,616.

THE IMPLANT BANDIT

A California woman convicted of using a credit line in someone else's name to obtain $12,000 in plastic surgery was sentenced to six months in jail. Yvonne Jean Pampellonne, 30, of Laguna Beach CA dubbed the "Breast Implant Bandit," pleaded guilty to burglary, grand theft and identity theft for using another woman's personal information to obtain surgery including breast implants and liposuction. Pampellonne was sentenced Monday in Westminster, Calif., to 180 days in jail, three years of probation, and she was also ordered to pay back the money for the implants.

Police tracked down Pampellonne in March 2009 using the serial numbers from her old implants, which she had removed when the new ones were installed.

PRETTY SICK

The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has sent out letters to more than 2,4000 patients whose financial data could have been breached. Katina Rochelle Candrick is suspected of accessing credit card and banking information while employed by a contractor for the Medical Center. U.S. Marshals arrested Candrick this winter on the unrelated identity theft charges. During that investigation, agents found documents with sensitive information belonging to UTMB patients. In a twist, Candrick got the job in the first place using a stolen identity in the first place from MedAssets, a contractor for third-party collection.

polo equipment weeks after Elwin's death.

Elwin's girlfriend reported him missing in May 2006 after he traveled to the Philippines to meet Calucag. Philippine authorities later found Elwin's body with gunshot wounds in the back and back of the head. It had been dumped in a driveway in a province outside Manila.

BOGUS TAX RETURNS

A Baton Rouge LA woman has been charged in a continuing federal investigation that already has exposed the theft of more than $240,000 from the Internal Revenue Service. Clarissa T. Ayo, 33, was accused of conspiracy, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in the routing of more than $12,000 from the IRS to her bank account. Ayo allegedly supplied the names and Social Security numbers of four NO GOOD DEED “residents at a nursing home … where the The Hawaii state Intermediate Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction and prison defendant was employed” to co-conspirators who filed bogus tax returns, and collected the sentence of Henry Calucag Jr. for stealing the identity and land of a Kauai businessman refunds. The refunds were routed to Ayoʼs account were later shared among the conwho was found slain in the Philippines. A spirators, her charges allege. The government state judge sentenced Calucag, 60, to 30 years in prison for forging a warranty deed to believes that, once the investigation is comsteal title to land belonging to John Elwin, and pleted, another couple of hundred thousand dollars will be attributed to the scam. for using Elwin's credit cards to purchase

LICENSE TO STEAL

33-year-old California man was arrested by the Nevada state department of motor vehicles for using personal information of an East Coast man to obtain a driverʼs license. James Lei Tene was arrested in Reno branch with the help of its facial recognition system that flagged his record as suspicious. Investigators have learned that Tene he was using the personal information of a Pennsylvania man since the early 1990s to obtain California and Nevada documents. California has been notified of the fraud as well.

THE NEW

FAVORITE TARGET

Which age group is the most vulnerable to identity theft?

If you guessed senior citizens, or the relatively wealthy middle aged, you would be‌ wrong. Millennials, the young adult demographic group whose core is aged 18-24, is the favorite target of identity thieves.

According to a report by Javelin Strategy & Research, which studies such things, there are several reasons why this is so.

First, Millennials are digitally hip. Their lives and information is on the computer to a greater degree than other groups, and they often put their life stories out their with few safeguards.

While sites like Facebook and Twitter are wonderful sources of shared information, seemingly innocuous information such as your gender, zip code, birth date, likes and dislikes, can be mined and misused.

Second, young adults are either (a) in school, sharing space with roommates, dorm mates and others, where their information is vulnerable or (b) they are just out of school, and are especially busy getting jobs and opening bank accounts and seeking apartments. In both cases, there is a theme: it is a time of life when information

is out there for the taking, but you are likely to be unaware or unfocussed about the dangers of leaving information exposed.

Circumstances, attitudes and experience combine to make it a risky moment.

Third, the study shows that Millennials take nearly twice as long to discover fraud, compared to other age groups, and thus are victims for longer periods of time. They are less likely to monitor accounts regularly and the least likely group to take advantage of monitoring programs offered by financial institutions.

On the plus side: once the fraud is discovered, this is the most likely group to take action such as switching banks or forms of payment. But the rule of thumb: the longer the fraud it undiscovered, the more the damage is done and the less likely the thieves are to be caught.

If you are a Millennial — or are the parent or grandparent of one — here is some basic common sense advice. Be careful how much personal information is shared on social networking sites. Use as many of the privacy controls as possible and limit access to online accounts. Monitor financial and bank accounts regularly, pay attention to credit card statements, balance the checkbook. And think long and hard about a credit monitoring service: it may be the best gift a Millennial can get.