Cabinet witholds resources from employees

with the highest rates of reported identity theft were Phoenix/ Mesa/Scottsdale, Ariz., Las Vegas, Nev. and Riverside/San Bernardino, Calif., according to www.ftc.gov. Also, bank fraud and electronic funds transfers were the most frequently reported forms of identity theft in the United States.

The FTC also gives information on what to do when an identity is stolen. The commission says that if financial accounts are stolen, credit card and bank accounts should be closed right away so a thief does not have the chance to get to funds. Also password changes are necessary so companies can monitor the use of the card or account in order to catch the culprit.

“When I shop online, apply for a credit card or apply for a job, I always thought that the information would always be kept confidential. Now I know that there are people all over just waiting to get a glance of my social security number to against me or they could be watching how I hold my bag and steal my wallet when I’m not paying attention,” Maria Trigueros, a freshman business administration major, said.

One of the most popular forms of identity theft happens in the workplace. “Business record theft” happens when informational files of employees, students, customers and patients are taken. These files usually contain home addresses, social security numbers and other personal information a thief can use against their victims.

Another popular form of identity theft is the tampering of mail. Athief will steal a mailing address and then get a change of address form from the post office. The crook then has their victim’s bank statement and credit card statements. This is a problem not only because they have your personal information, but their prey doesn’t realize that they are not getting their mail until it is too late.

“There is no way to stop identity theft. It happens all the time. Even with the security that your bank and credit card companies promise you, there are still ways to get around it. When I go to a store, they don’t check if my signature matches. My friend writes ‘See I.D.’ on the back of his cards and cashiers don’t ask for it, so how are we supposed to have our identities protected when no one asks if we are the true card holder?”Amoroso said.

The Israeli cabinet agreed Sunday to immediately put a hold on monthly tax and customs payments, which it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, a day after the extremist Islamic group Hamas took over Palestinian parliament. The move showed severe warnings from Palestinian officials who said the government would most likely not be able to pay a great deal of the employees salaries at the end of the month. This decision was part of a group of measures with harsher options not being included.

Pentagon officials ignore warning

The Navy’s general counsel advised Pentagon officials two years before the Abu Ghrab prison embarrassment that disregarding agreements on torture and detainee’s treatment would invite abuse, according to a published report. Asecret memo obtained by the New York Times for an article in their Feb. 27 issue stated that legal theories granting the president the right to allow abuse despite the Geneva conventions were unlawful. Aspokeswoman from the Pentagon stated yesterday that she in fact had not yet read the article in question.

Engineers looking into levee breakage

The Army Corps of Engineers investigation into the flooding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina is failing to notice one of the most important issues: organizational failures, according to an outside engineering group working with the corps. The corps is spending $20 million or less to understand the existing causes of the levee obstructions that left more than 75 percent of New Orleans flooded. The engineering group stated, however, that the corps should also be concentrating on the “discontinuity and chaos” in the building and maintenance of the levees, according to a letter from the group to Lt. Gen. Carl A. Stock, the chief of the corps.

Ambassador to Iraq gives strong warning

The American ambassador to Iraq issued a very strong warning about the need for Iraq’s political groups to come together, suggesting for the first time that the U.S. would not be willing to support institutions weighed down by sectarian agendas. The ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, spoke as a new wave of violence was occurring. Asequence of bombing attacks, including one inside a crowded commuter bus in Baghdad and another in a restaurant in northern Iraq, leaving 26 people dead and more than 60 injured, making it the bloodiest day in Iraq in about two months.

Iran wants violence overcartoons to end Iran’s foreign Minister asked Monday for an end to violent protests over the Prophet Muhammad cartoons that have left at least 45 people dead in the Muslim world in the last month. Pope Benedict XVI also tried to lessen the aggression, saying religious symbols must be respected, but violence can never be justified. Malaysia’s prime minister then cautioned that mistrust and fear of Islam is growing everyday in the West. The Iranian Foreign Minister said they do not support violence and thus this should cool down. He also added that freedom of expression must be done with sensitivity to others and full respect of other’s value’s and beliefs.