Miscellaneous

• Internal Revenue Service Misplaces Over 500 Laptop Computers

  Staff Writer | April 05, 2007 4:39 PM | 0 CommentsPhoenix, AZ

  According to the United States Treasury Department Inspector General, the Internal Revenue Service has had some problems protecting sensitive taxpayer information. Apparently between 2003 and 2006, almost 500 laptop computers belonging to the Internal Revenue Service were lost or stolen which may have exposed personal information of approximately 6000 taxpayers to identity thieves. Amazingly,...

• TJX Companies SEC Filing Details 47.5 Million Possible Identity Theft Victims

  Staff Writer | March 29, 2007 9:20 AM | 1 CommentPhoenix, AZ

  TXJ Companies has finally come clean with some more details about the number of possible identity theft victims as a result of its failure to abide by credit card processing standards. Discussing this data security breach, in a regulatory filing with the Securities Exchange Commission, the TXJ Companies indicated, Discovery of Computer Intrusion. On December 18, 2006, we learned of suspicious...

• Your Identity Could Cost Just Fourteen Dollars

  Staff Writer | March 26, 2007 10:13 AM | 0 CommentsPhoenix, AZ

  I just learned from an article in the on-line publication Infoworld that your identity and all sorts of personal information associated with it may be available for purchase on the internet for just fourteen dollars. A research report generated by the Symantec Corporation suggests that identity theft criminals can purchase confidential personal information as follows:U.S.-based credit cards...

• State Farm Insurance CEO Pay Rises Eighty-Two Percent

  Staff Writer | March 20, 2007 10:00 AM | 2 CommentsPhoenix, AZ

  Congratulations to State Farm Insurance Company! Its profits rose almost sixty-four percent (64%) to $5.32 billion dollars last year from $3.24 billion dollars in 2005. In my opinion, during this time, I do not think that State Farm acted like very much of a good neighbor to victims of Hurricane Katrina or to other policy-holders who timely paid premiums thinking they would be protected in...

• Copy Machines May Contain Identity Theft Risks

  Staff Writer | March 15, 2007 3:28 PM | 0 CommentsPhoenix, AZ

  If you thought that we have been exposed to way too many risks of identity theft, think again. According to the Associated Press, simply using older model photocopiers may present risks of identity theft: That's because most digital copiers manufactured in the past five years have disk drives - the same kind of data-storage mechanism found in computers - to reproduce documents. As a result,...

• Subprime Lending Woes and Mortgage Fraud

  Staff Writer | March 14, 2007 12:58 AM | 0 CommentsPhoenix, AZ

  Today, the stock market dropped considerably over continuing concerns about the stability of the so-called sub-prime mortgage lending market. Discussing consumer sub-prime mortgage market woes, the Associated Press described recent lender problems as follows:Investors, bracing for a wilting economy, fled the already deflated subprime mortgage sector on more news that lenders New Century...

• Mortgage Fraud Problems in Valley Lead to Indictments

  Staff Writer | March 09, 2007 8:53 PM | 0 CommentsPhoenix, AZ

  Today, the Arizona Republic reported on a series of indictments alleging real estate fraud against five people who work in the real estate industry. These criminal charges may signal some fallout from the once high-flying real estate boom experienced in Arizona these past few years. The Arizona Republic recently reported on several fraudulent schemes which have been used to inflate real estate...

• America On-Line Version of Tort Reform Incomplete and Inaccurate

  Staff Writer | March 06, 2007 7:04 AM | 2 CommentsPhoenix, AZ

  Today I discovered an interesting and entertaining page on the America On Line web site. Discussing so-called frivolous lawsuits, America On-Line lists as news several lawsuits without real attribution or legitimate discussion about corporate accountability for wrongdoing. Setting aside the issue of whether these lawsuits are in fact real or a political effort to encourage tort reform...

• Public Records Containing Social Security Numbers Readily Available in Arizona

  Staff Writer | March 01, 2007 9:48 AM | 2 CommentsPhoenix, AZ

  Yesterday News Channel Five reported that some county records containing social security numbers and other confidential information are readily available for inspection by anybody with internet access which unfortunately presents criminals with an invitation to commit identity theft. How would you feel if your social security number has been published on the internet because it has been...

• TJX Company Data Breach Leading to New Legislation

  Staff Writer | February 25, 2007 6:33 PM | 0 CommentsPhoenix, AZ

  The fallout from the data breach involving confidential data stolen from the TJX Companies continues. In Massachusetts, legislation has recently been introduced to shift the cost of a data breach onto retailers who do not follow security standards designed to prevent identity theft. Banks and credit cards currently protect consumers against fraudulent credit card use. However, according to...