Wipe old cell phone data when recycling your phone

Recellular is a recycling service for cell phones. You even have the option of providing the gift of phone service to servicemen. They also provide free software that will wipe all of your personal data from a cell phone should you decide to regift it to another family member or get that brand new phone under the tree.
http://www.recellular.com/recycling/data_eraser/default.asp

2 methods cons get your credit card

FTC debuts new "Cyber Mall" to highlight identity theft risks & online security awareness

The FTC has recently opened a site to spread awareness of how easy it is to unknowingly fall victim to online scams & the identity thefts risks associated with social networking sites. Some of the games & scenarios include info on how (&why) to protect your personal information, how to spot scams, including spotting advertising techniques, nigerian (419) letters, free vacations, modeling offers & much more. This is a great site with information everyone young & old can learn from.

From the FTC's news release:
"At the Security Plaza, visitors can build a social networking page and see the unintended consequences of posting personal information. They also get tips on how to keep their computers safe while they're online. In the arcade, visitors can play Info Defender 3 and protect Earthlings from Cyclorian invaders who would steal their identities. The game teaches the importance of protecting personal information, including Social Security numbers."

http://www.ftc.gov/youarehere/

ID thief tries to have informant wacked for testifying

A guy steals personal identity information, proceeds to empty victims bank accounts, gets caught & places a hit out on a witness. When that doesn't proceed as planned, he places a second hit on the original hitman, all within jail.

The guy was caught red handed in the process of transferring $440,000 from one victims account to his paypal as cops busted through his door. He then attempted to elude police by jumping off his buildings roof onto another building 1 floor below. Needless to say, he was caught.
http://www.justice.gov/usao/cac/pressroom/pr2009/142.html

10 Bizarre cases of identity theft

These examples are a little extreme but they do represent some of the lengths that people are willing to pursue when it comes to identity theft.

Some examples are:
* a guy who became a doctor

* a 33 yr old mother who wanted to go back to high school & become a cheerleader

*"Neighbors from hell" who took around 30 different identities to maintain their lifestyle

* a guy arrested for stealing his own identity after faking his death

Proceed to Listverse for all 10 stories

http://listverse.com/2009/09/05/10-bizarre-cases-of-identity-theft/

T'is the season....

Being wired can unknowingly open oneself to identity & physical theft

With the proliferation of networking & social services (twitter, facebook, myspace, etc...) people can unknowingly provide a thief with all the info they need to steal a person blind. The internet never forgets. Something you mention casually may piece together a complete picture of your life over the course of a year.

For instance, the iPhone & new "droid" phones have built in GPS/Geotagging features . The holidays provide opportunity for people to take lots of photos of Christmas presents, family functions, home interiors & so on. Combine that with the instant upload features of Twitter or Flickr & you have just shown the world that you have a 50" TV hanging on your wall along with your address where it can now be picked up. Should you decide to ever leave the house for a vacation or,.....uh,...... ever, you have just shown that your house may be empty for them to come by & pay your valuables a visit.

With the holidays being in full swing there will be plenty of digital locations where a person may post something about their family online. It can be easy to provide family members names, locations, birthdays, pet names, favorite cars, etc.... giving a complete guide to all of the favorite security answers that may be asked should one forget their password to an online account. Remember, this could be something that you may not even do. Your nephew, niece, cousin, etc... who visits may even do this not realizing the implications of their actions. It is very simple to associate family members making it childsplay to get all the info a thief needs to access your online identy & claim your physical one as well.

http://www.augmentedplanet.com/2009/11/do-you-care-about-privacy/

http://www.mobile-spy.com/

http://iphone.iusethis.com/app/gpstracker