Identity Theft – Common Consumer Errors

The major problem that consumers face today is a fundamental lack of understanding of what identity theft actually is. Most people think of identity theft as when someone uses your credit card without your permission. Fraudulent credit card use is certainly a multibillion dollar problem, but it’s only one small part of the identity theft [...]



 Introducing Robert Siciliano – Identity Theft Expert and McAfee Consultant

Growing up in and around Boston, Massachusetts, I encountered enough urban crime to understand the importance of self-defense from an early age. I studied several forms of defensive training and soon began a career helping others improve their own personal safety. My life became a study of the fundamental principles of personal security, particularly in [...]



 Data Breaches Persist In Health Care

In September 2009, the Obama administration’s Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act went into effect, requiring hospitals and other health care organization to beef up client data protections. Despite this, a recent study found that health care data is still hemorrhaging from peer to peer networks.
A peer-to-peer, commonly abbreviated to P2P, [...]



 Online Dating Liar Liar is 5’4, not 5’10

But who cares? Apparently the dude with the 6 inch height difference did. And he figured the lady he was about to meet via chatting in an online dating service cared as well. Maybe she did, maybe she didn’t. Either way he started out in the relationship lying.
Many single people have been turning to [...]



 Summer Heat: Online Dating Scams

Love online. 20 years ago it wasn’t even a thought. 10 years ago it was weird. 5 years ago it was new and exciting. Today it’s as normal as milk and bread. If you are looking for a mate online you will eventually hit pay dirt. Most of my friends who tried it, succeeded at [...]



 Replacing Stolen Passports and Credit Cards

Travel season is upon us. Summertime is all about exploring new and exciting places. It’s the season of planes, trains, automobiles and…criminals. When you are out of your element and unsure of your surroundings, you are at a higher degree of risk. Travelers need to be on high alert for property crimes and identity theft.
Years [...]



 Mortgage Fraud and Identity Theft: Like Chocolate and Peanut Butter

Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert
You don’t need to own a house to become a victim of mortgage fraud. Heck, you don’t even need to be older than 3 to be a victim. As long as the thief has a Social Security number, they can apply for loans in your name.
Lexis-Nexis Mortgage Asset Research Institute [...]



 Mobile Phone Becoming Bigger Target For Hackers

Identity Theft Expert Robert Siciliano
Mobile Internet access and mobile service usage is growing rapidly and cyber criminals are expected to pay more attention to this sector. Mobile device platforms compete for innovation created by application developers and other content creators who are increasingly demanding more device access. As their requests grow in numbers and they [...]



 Want Privacy? On Facebook? Shut Up!

Identity Theft Expert Robert Siciliano
There seems to be a groundswell of people who are anti-Facebook today.
Google “Facebook” and “Privacy” and 761,000,000, that’s seven hundred and sixty-one million results come up in a quarter second. WHY? BECAUSE THERE IS AN OBVIOUS ISSUE WITH FACEBOOK AND PRIVACY. The major issue here is not that Facebook isn’t private, [...]



 Criminal Hackers Had Their Best Year

Identity Theft Expert Robert Siciliano
The FBI reported that last year, organized criminals made double what was reported in 2008. Phishing emails containing the name and logo of the FBI were one of the top money makers for scam artists.
Successful scams included auction scams where products were bought and paid for but product was not [...]