As the opening of tax season approaches, concern for the identity protection increases – and new reports confirm that the risk for tax identity theft is real.According to the Associated Press, The IRS has reported a significant increase in the number of identity theft cases in 2013. AP quotes the agency, saying “[As of] Tuesday [...]
At the start of 2014, Texas passed a law enabling parents to create a security freeze on their children’s consumer and credit files. Texan residents 16 and under will be protected under this new legislation, which aims to prevent children from becoming victims of identity theft or credit card fraud.KVUE’s Jim Bergamo quoted Texas Senator [...]
A recent inspector general’s report released information that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sent $4 billion in fraudulent tax returns last year to identity thieves. Many fraudulent returns were sent to Miami, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, Houston and overseas countries, including Bulgaria, Lithuania and Ireland.The IRS increased efforts this past year to combat tax fraud, Associated [...]
The number of medical identity theft victims increased by over 300,000 cases since last year, according to a report from the Ponemon Institute’s 2013 Survey on Medical Identity Theft. The fourth year of the study revealed that medical identity theft is a costly crime and on the rise.While data breaches are still a concern, the [...]
Summer is a prime time for traveling, and travelers are prime targets for identity thieves. Why? Because they typically carry more personal identifiable information with them than usual, including passports, airline tickets and extra credit cards. Additionally, people on vacation typically travel with more money in their bank accounts, making identity theft a high priority [...]
This June, organizations across the country are celebrating National Internet Safety Month, a nationwide effort to spread awareness on Internet dangers and provide resources to educate children, teens and adults on preventative measures.National Internet Safety Month was passed as a resolution in 2005 by the U.S. Senate to raise awareness of the need for online [...]
Yahoo announced that they are planning to “recycle” inactive email accounts in order to free up old email addresses for active users. Security experts are worried that this move will allow criminals to claim identities of the inactive account’s previous owner.Mat Honan, senior writer at Wired who was attacked by hackers last year, called this [...]
One in 10 children are targeted for identity theft. This rate is often higher for the 380,000 children in the foster care system. As May is National Foster Care Month, it is important to recognize that foster children are prime targets for identity theft for a number of reasons. Their Social Security Numbers go with [...]
This blog post comes from Adam Kennedy, Product Analyst at Experian. With the rise in social networks and the increasing desire to share personal data in public forums, it’s no surprise identity thieves are targeting Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to steal your identity.What are they after?Your Facebook page and Twitter profile page will show your [...]
This post comes to us from Anne Livingston, the creator of the KidsPrivacy blog. She is writer and speaker with a passion for teaching parents and kids how to manage life online. Follow her on twitter @kidsprivacy.When I talk to my kids about what not to post online, I focus primarily on information that would [...]
