|
•
|
 1.
Feature Story /
Protecting Your Privicy from ID theft and
costly/time consuming FICO Credit Reporting SCAMS
-- is big business for personal OnLine information
disseminators
•••
Not only that, the
Associated Press reported that U.S is number
ONE source of Credit infomation fraud, and a "FICO
score is part of the money making problem in
printing out reports on people," says, the
government sezure study group, NBS100.com.
•••
"Imagine 1-Million reports a
day @ $10.00 each.
Fair Isaac
Corporation (NYSE: FIC), was founded in 1956 by
engineer Bill Fair and mathematician Earl
Isaac.
•••
California was a pioneer in allowing a resident to
freeze access to credit reports, thus dramatically
curbing the unauthorized creation of new
accounts.
•••
The first-of-its-kind law, which went into effect
in 2003, directs that for $30, an individual can
bar the three major credit bureaus from giving out
any credit history information. It's unlikely any
bank, card issuer or lending institution will open
an account without that data.
•••
It can be awkward, however, when the person who put
the chill on the reports has a legitimate reason
for that information to be shared -- say for buying
a car, applying for a mortgage or getting a new
credit card. Then it costs as much as $30 to
temporarily make the credit data available.
TYPES OF
$$ PROTECTION FOR THE CONSUMER
•••
One type of theft offers more protection than other
types of theft against unauthorized users, say the
enforcers of the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act,
(FFCRA) of the U.S. MORE
FFCRA
STORY
/ For
more information about your rights as a
possible victim of identity theft, visit the FTC's
Web site at
www.ftc.gov/idtheft.
•••
In the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls case, you didn't get
just low prices on their merchandise at the T.J.
Maxx outlets during the holidays, 2006 -- you also
had a good chance of getting your credit card
information and other personal data stolen.
•••
You can hardly live in a "pay-as-you-go" society
without a good "Fair Issacs" - FICO credit score
and a few credit cards these days, but there are
steps that can be taken to ward off the perils of
identity theft. Most of these thefts are initiated
by those companies, malls, associations and rental
agencies, whom use private clearing houses and
intermidiary "credit experts."
•••
Once the credit card financial information is
gathered together by the card swipe machine and the
Pin number of the card holder is punched in TeleKey
board, the a giant information leaks start to
happen. The bank information goes directly to both
the banks-clearing house, and some remote,
windowless computer or job / rental refering center
for the finanancial personal information
grabbag.
•••
The stakes are high. Nationally, fraud losses to
existing credit and debit card accounts totaled $20
billion last year, according to Javelin Strategy
& Research.
•••
In the latest major breach, TJX Cos., the parent of
T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, has said that at least
45.7 million credit and debit card numbers -- a
record -- were stolen from its computers in 2005
and 2006.
 •Part
02 -
/
WHAT CAN A PERSON DO TO PREVENT ID THEFT?
• For Shoppers,
the
first step in protecting personal data has to do
with the answer to the perennial supermarket
checkout question, "Credit or debit?" or the
questions answered by a prospective buyer or a
rentor of a condo, or job applicant.
•••
"We tell people to stop using debit cards for
shopping," said Beth Givens, director of the
nonprofit Privacy Rights Clearinghouse in San
Diego. "If you are a victim of someone who uses
your debit card data, the money comes immediately
out of your bank account."
•
For Buyers and Rentors of Real Property,
who are
asked to fill out several pages of financial
infomation to rent a condo or stand alone house,"
said a spokesman for the Westside Home Service in
California, "make sure both landlord and tennant
are aware of the Federal Credit Reporting Act and
the fines passed on to those who violate the rules
laid out by the FCRA.
•••
"If you are a victim of someone who passes on your
person infomatiion to a third party intermediary,
who then uses your financial data to defame your
name or discredit your finanancial or personal
habit record, he/she can be prosicuted and heavily
fined."
•••
In some cases, a thief can gain access to more than
credit card numbers . . .
•••
Recently, The Federal Communications Commission
proposed a $100,000 fine against Amp'd Mobile Inc.,
a Los Angeles-based wireless phone company aimed at
the youth market, and two other companies for
failing to protect consumers' personal call-in
financial records from thieves.
•••
In another case, (March 26, 2007) -- several laptop
computers were stolen from Los Angeles County
offices. The 244,000 people in the child support
system were notified that personal data, including
Social Security numbers, could have been exposed to
third party intermediaries whose profit for dollars
scheme could end up as a catastropy for parents
named in child support system data base. "Image, 5
years from, the effects of the sales to the credit
/ health disseminator.".
•••
Not only could that information can be used to
create new accounts in a victim's name, but it
could effect the child's insurance and jobs
opportunities, when he/she becomes and adult.
•••
This type of crime -- which was responsible for
nearly $18 billion in losses last year, according
to Javelin -- is particularly insidious because the
victim might not even know that the fraudulent
accounts have been created.
•••
The first indication often doesn't come until
collection agencies start calling to demand payment
for items the victim has never heard of.
•
Part
03 /
CREDIT
AND DEBIT CARD HOLDERS -- BEWARE!
•••
As for credit cards holders that are issued a line
of credit, they are safer to use than the debit
card holder. The debit card holder is responsible
for losses of as much as $50 if the financial
institution is notified of the theft within two
days of it being discovered. After that, the user
is responsible for losses of as much as $500.
•••
And if the theft isn't reported within 60 days, the
debit card holder is legally responsible for all
losses after that period.
•••
In contrast, the maximum loss that the victim of a
credit card theft will suffer is $50, as long as
the loss is reported within 60 days.
Warding
off theft / Fighting ID fraud
•••
• Carry only the credit, debit and
identification cards that you use regularly.
•••
• Don't carry your Social Security
number.
•••
• Replace paper invoices, statements and
checks with electronic versions.
•••
• Protect accounts with personal ID
numbers and passwords that are difficult to
guess.
•••
• Never give personal information unless
you initiated the contact.
•
Freezing your credit report
•••
Send a letter and $10 to each of the three credit
bureaus. If you are a victim of identity theft, the
freeze is free; include a copy of the police report
instead of payment.
•••
•
Equifax:
Send a
letter by certified mail to Equifax Security
Freeze, P.O. Box 105788, Atlanta, GA 30348. Include
full name, current and former addresses, Social
Security number and birth date. You may pay by
check, money order or credit card.
•••
• Experian: Send a letter by
certified mail to Experian Security Freeze, P.O.
Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013. Include full name,
addresses for the last five years, Social Security
number and birth date. Also send two proofs of
residence. Pay by check, money order or credit
card.
•••
• Trans Union: Send a letter
(need not be certified) to Trans Union Security
Freeze, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790.
Include full name, addresses for the last five
years, Social Security number and birth date. Pay
by credit card only.
•••
Sources:
Javelin
Strategy & Research, California Department of
Consumer Affairs
The United States generates more
malicious computer activity than any other country,
and sophisticated hackers worldwide are banding
together in highly efficient crime rings, according
to a new report.
•
•
Researchers at Cupertino,
Calif.-based Symantec Corp. also found that fierce
competition in the criminal underworld was driving
down prices for stolen financial information.
•
•
Criminals can buy verified
credit card numbers for as little as $1, and they
can buy a complete identity -- a date of birth and
U.S. bank account, credit card and
government-issued identification numbers -- for
$14, according to Symantec's twice-yearly Internet
Security Threat Report, to be released today.
•
•
Researchers at the security
software company found that about a third of all
computer attacks worldwide in the second half of
2006 originated from machines in the U.S.
•
•
As a breeding ground for
threats such as spam and malicious code, the U.S.
easily surpasses runners-up China, which generates
10% of attacks, and Germany, which generates
7%.
•
•
The U.S. also leads in "bot
network activity." Bots are compromised computers
controlled remotely and operating in concert to
pump out spam or perform other nefarious acts.
•
•
The legitimate owner of the
computer typically doesn't know the machine has
been taken over. The phenomenon is largely
responsible for the increase in junk e-mail in the
last six months.
•
•
Spam made up 59% of all
e-mail traffic Symantec monitored. That's up 5
percentage points from the previous period. Much of
the spam was related to stock picks and other
financial scams. MORE
STORY ON FICO - Money Side Stories
Who,
Where and What is a FICO score - and why was the
power of financing given and by
whom?
4.
Related Stories /
What
is a FICO
score?
•••
• FICO® is an abbreviation
for Fair Isaac and Company, which pioneered the
development of credit scoring models for credit
grantors. There are many types of credit scores in
use today, some of which incorporate rules and
methods developed by Fair Isaac; others developed
by third-party companies or by credit grantors
themselves. The FICO score is one of the most
recognized scores and it is often used by credit
grantors in their decision process.
•••
• The FICO score attempts to
summarize in a single number and at a particular
point in time the level of credit risk associated
with a particular consumer. FICO scores range from
300 to 900, with higher scores being associated
with low credit risk. MORE
STORY ON FICO - Money Side Stories
Who,
Where and What is a FICO score - and why was the
power of financing given and by
whom?
Collateralized debt obligations
with a home mortgage, or CDOs, have been a hot
product with many big investors for many years:
says Troy Cory-Stubblefield, co-author of "BOA, The
Tortfeasors".
"In fact, in
recent years Hedge Funds Collateralized by China
U.S. Treasury Bonds have been used to help
monitized the mortagage pools, and why not? It's
their money. --SEE
MORE ABOUT The Tortfeassors, AND MELVIN BELLI
STORY.
•••
The California Public Employees' Retirement System,
for example, has steered clear of CDOs in recent
years, said Curtis Ishi, a senior investment
officer at the pension fund.
•••
"We need to understand the management and how they
produce returns," Ishi said. CDOs, he said, require
"quite a bit of analysis."
•••
CDOs - "Collateralized Debt
Obligations", or MORTGAGE POOLS are home mortgages
used as collateral, and in the 80s created a
$600million dollar fiasco, which sent many mortage
heads to prison. "Getting a handle on CDOs is a
complex challenge," reports the LA
Times.
MORE
CDO MORTGAGE POOL STORY.
 •
SPRING
MADNESS -
CDOS
•
SPRING
MADNESS - 01 /
FICO
•
SPRING
MADNESS - 02 /
Tricks
More
Articles • Converging
News MARCH 2007 / TeleCom BuyOuts,
Spinoffs
and Asset Seizure Boom
Respectfully
Submitted
Josie
Cory
Publisher/Editor
TVI Magazine
•
• TVI
Magazine, tviNews.net, YES90, Your Easy Search,
Associated Press, Reuters, BBC, LA Times, NY Times,
VRA's D-Diaries, Industry Press Releases, They Said
It and SmartSearch were used in compiling and
ascertaining this Yes90 news
report.
•
• ©1956-2007.
Copyright. All rights reserved by: TVI
Publications, VRA TelePlay Pictures, xingtv and Big
Six Media Entertainments. Tel/Fax: 323
462.1099.
We Preserve The
Moment
Return
ˆ
To
Top
|
m
|
