Identity Theft Resource Center

The number of publicly reported privacy breaches jumped 69% in the first six months of the year from the same period in 2007, the nonprofit Identity Theft Resource Center said. Businesses saw much of the increase, reporting 37% of the 2008 breaches, up from 29% in the first half of last year. -- -- Joseph Menn

It would make for a bad separated-at-birth joke if the alleged thief hadn't stolen almost $1.4 million in an identity-theft case targeting one of Southern California's wealthiest men. A man who looks nothing like Orange County real estate magnate Donald Bren allegedly walked into the Cerritos branch of East West Bank, opened accounts in Bren's name and deposited a $1.4-million federal tax-refund check stolen from Bren, according to a criminal complaint...

It would make for a bad separated-at-birth joke if the alleged thief hadn't stolen almost $1.4 million in an identity-theft case targeting one of Southern California's wealthiest men. A man who looks nothing like Orange County real estate magnate Donald Bren allegedly walked into the Cerritos branch of East West Bank, opened accounts in Bren's name and deposited a $1.4-million federal tax-refund check stolen from Bren, according to a criminal complaint...

Identity theft may be the financial world's equivalent of a staph infection. Just when you thought you had a handle on protecting your identity from criminals, the crime has morphed into something new and far more toxic. It has become relatively easy to find and combat traditional identity theft, which involves a stranger snatching your Social Security number and other identifying information to apply for credit in your name. You simply request free copies of your credit report every three months and review them for accuracy.

Everyone is afraid of identity theft. It seems as if every couple of days there are new reports of Social Security numbers and other sensitive information stolen, lost or leaked. Just last week Countrywide Financial, which is now owned by Bank of America, said it would provide two years of free credit monitoring for customers whose confidential data were allegedly stolen by a former employee. But should you spend money to buy services that promise to protect you from identity theft?

Identity theft may be the financial world's equivalent of a staph infection. Just when you thought you had a handle on protecting your identity from criminals, the crime has morphed into something new and far more toxic. It has become relatively easy to find and combat traditional identity theft, which involves a stranger snatching your Social Security number and other identifying information to apply for credit in your name. You simply request free copies of your credit report every three months and review them for accuracy.

The medical records of more than 18,000 patients of at least five Torrance doctors were potentially accessed by cyber-thieves on a single day in September, but this is probably the first you're hearing of it. Although a new federal law requiring greater disclosure of medical-data security breaches was passed a year ago, it wasn't until recently that the Department of Health and Human Services began posting specific incidents online. And the feds aren't exactly being generous with details about people's confidential medical info being hacked or going astray.

Despite the fear of identity theft and threats from computer viruses, the use of public wireless Internet has jumped by 240% in the last 12 months, a new survey has found. The top log-in sites were coffee shops and restaurants (75%), hotels (54%) and airports (38%), according to an online survey of 377 people by the nonprofit Identity Theft Resource Center in partnership with Private Wifi, a firm that develops online protection software. Still, Internet users are aware of the risks of using public Wi-Fi.

The Internal Revenue Service may be holding a tax refund for you, but if you're getting e-mails about it, they're not from the IRS. It's a scam. Tax officials said last week that they had discovered a permutation of an identity theft scheme that the agency originally warned about in November. In this one, individuals get a brief e-mail notifying them that they're due a $63.80 refund. The recipient is urged to click on a link to fill out a claim form.

Gov. Gray Davis has signed a bill extending the time a victim of identity theft has to report the crime. Under the legislation, a victim has three years to report the crime, beginning when he or she notices the problem, instead of when the crime is committed. "This bill is critical because some victims of identity theft find out about the crime a couple months to years after it happens," said Linda Foley, executive director of the Identity Theft Resource Center in San Diego.

The medical records of more than 18,000 patients of at least five Torrance doctors were potentially accessed by cyber-thieves on a single day in September, but this is probably the first you're hearing of it. Although a new federal law requiring greater disclosure of medical-data security breaches was passed a year ago, it wasn't until recently that the Department of Health and Human Services began posting specific incidents online. And the feds aren't exactly being generous with details about people's confidential medical info being hacked or going astray.

Everyone is afraid of identity theft. It seems as if every couple of days there are new reports of Social Security numbers and other sensitive information stolen, lost or leaked. Just last week Countrywide Financial, which is now owned by Bank of America, said it would provide two years of free credit monitoring for customers whose confidential data were allegedly stolen by a former employee. But should you spend money to buy services that promise to protect you from identity theft?

The number of publicly reported privacy breaches jumped 69% in the first six months of the year from the same period in 2007, the nonprofit Identity Theft Resource Center said. Businesses saw much of the increase, reporting 37% of the 2008 breaches, up from 29% in the first half of last year. -- -- Joseph Menn

The Fair Credit Reporting Act, revised in 1999, is aimed at ensuring that consumer credit reports are accurate. These reports, which detail the way consumers handle their bills, can dictate how much you pay for a loan, whether you can get new credit or insurance and even whether you'll be hired for a specific job. Under the law: * You have the right to a free credit report if you are turned down for credit based on information in your file.

The Federal Trade Commission, in a tacit acknowledgement of the difficulty for consumers to recover from so-called identity theft, is expected to announce Tuesday a method for making it easier for victims to report the fraud to creditors. The agency's ID Fraud Affidavit, created with assistance from major card companies and consumer groups, gives consumers a standard way to dispute the debts and credit scars left by identity thieves.