In September, a laptop computer was stolen from the car of a Baylor Health Care System’s employee. This laptop contained health information on some 100,000 patients, all of whom were notified by mail of the missing data. Law enforcement officials notified the hospital that it is rare that identity theft results from data loss such as this. We think it depends totally on the motive of for the theft. Was it to obtain a laptop or was it to obtain the information on the laptop.
Baylor Health Care System is offering a $1,000 reward for the missing laptop. The manager who was in possession of the laptop at the time it was stolen was fired for breaking protocol.
Baylor is offering free credit-monitoring services for those patients who may have been affected. This is the second medical data breach that has occurred in North Texas, with the last one occurring one year before. The breach, which occurred at Texas Health Resources Inc, involved credit card information of about 8,000 patients.
This isn’t the first time the Bank of Ireland has been a victim of lost client data this year, but hopefully, it will be the last.
The morning of November 4th, it was discovered that a USB data storage device was missing. This USB drive contained account numbers and personal addresses of almost 900 customers of the Bank of Ireland. The Data Protection Commissioner is launching an investigation, as possession of unencrypted data on external devices is prohibited by the Bank of Ireland’s policies and procedures.
This is one of many “missing device” data breaches in Ireland within 2008. Laptops went missing from Bank of Ireland Life, leaving 31,000 accounts exposed. A laptop stolen at a bus stop contained 390,000 welfare recipients’ information, and another laptop was stolen in New York, which contained information of around 175,000 blood donors from the Irish Blood Transfusion Service. Laptops, discs and BlackBerrys have been stolen throughout the country and has left thousands of personal details out in the open, most were not encrypted.
Unfortunately, Ireland does not have
Thousands of parents in the Phoenix area are worried about their children’s information being used in identity theft practices. This is because hard drives were stolen from the Department of Economic Security’s storage unit last month.
The information on these hard drives is invaluable. With the information of almost 40,000 children in their “Early Intervention Program,” these hard drives contain several years of data, and the personal—and medical—information of the children enrolled. This is thought to include names, home addresses, medical insurance information, disability information, date of birth and Social Security numbers.
The thieves broke into the public storage unit that housed the DES’s back-up files. Fortunately, the DES stated that the hard drives were password protection, so the probability of the information being accessed is fairly low. Regardless, families affected have been notified. No arrests have been made at this time. Identity theft protection for children can be purchased through LifeLock for $22.50/year if you have a membership or through Debix at $20/year. TrustedID only offers child identity protection as part of their family plan.
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When you hear the term identity theft, you may wonder what it means. It can be hard to picture since it is somewhat of an abstract concept. It gets its name from the fact that an individual takes your personal information and pretends to be you, thus, in effect, stealing your identity. You are still as much you as you always were, but there is another “you” running around spending your money or running up credit charges –without your knowledge. Well, until you get the bills and collection notices or your credit rating gets dumped in the gutter.
So how can an identity thief access your account or open new accounts in your name? All he or she needs is a couple pieces of personal information: an account number, an address, a password, etc. The big one is your Social Security number since it can unlock the most doors for the thief. With this information at hand, the crook can impersonate you perfectly on the Internet, over the phone or through the mail. He or she can also sell or trade your information to other identity thieves, creating a domino effect.
It’s pretty scary if you think about it. This happens to millions of Americans every year, and identity theft is not going anywhere anytime soon. But there is no reason to start panicking. You just have to beat the thieves by protecting yourself.
The first thing you should do to catch identity thieves or prevent them from striking is order a copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus. If you go to annualcreditreport.com you can order a copy of each one for free. Check your reports for inaccuracies and let the credit bureaus know of any corrections immediately by following the instructions included in your report.
Once that’s done, and was hopefully quick and painless, you need to change some habits you might have that could make you a prime target for identity thieves. For example, do you dump your old bank statements in the garbage can intact? Thieves have no qualms about picking through your trash. Always, always shred them first.
Second, how safe is your Internet surfing? Do you have the same password for every account? Is it the last four digits of your Social Security number or something else people can easily guess? Change it now and change it often. Once a month is a good plan. And while you’re on the Web, delete any emails you get asking for personal information without responding to them in any manner whatsoever. In the overwhelming majority of cases, these are from identity thieves looking to “phish” your information by convincing you to log on to legitimate looking websites that are actually fakes they have created.
Now, think about identity theft insurance plans. Even as you begin to take more precautions, your identity could be compromised through a situation that’s beyond your control, such as a data breach at your local bank. Identity theft protection can help to mitigate the risk and keep your money where it belongs – in your own pocket.
The beginning of November started badly for the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Portland, Oregon. The VA discovered that personal information of over 1500 patients was posted online, and allowed access to Social Security numbers and personal information. No personal medical information was disclosed on the website, nor were all Social Security numbers and full patient names posted. The information, posted at USAspending.gov, allowed public access to search for government contract and spending histories.
The Portland VA Medical Center is offering the affected patients free credit monitoring services and fraud alert services, which is required by a Congress law passed in 2006 after a previous data lapse. This same law requires the VA to centralize its information system and use encryption for protection of personal data.
The IRS has gotten a bad rap for years for being shady and untrustworthy, just as have those who choose not to pay their taxes properly. But now there is a real reason not to believe what you hear from this government agency – at least if it comes in the form of an unsolicited email.
Mark Hanson, an IRS spokesperson, recently told North Carolina’s Salisbury Post, “We’re getting reports of people getting an e-mail that appears to come from the IRS telling recipients to respond to get their 2008 Economic Stimulus Refund.” You can bet that this response comes with a request for personal information, such as a Social Security number or account number.
This is just yet another example of phishing, an email scam identity thieves have been using for years now. It happens when the thieves send a phony message while pretending to represent a legitimate organization. Unfortunately, it can be hard to tell whether an email message is real or spoofed. You can’t tell by the logos, since identity thieves can easily copy them. You can’t tell by the wording, since it’s easy to make it sound legitimate. You can’t even tell by the website it sends you to, since URLs can be spoofed as well.
Some ways that you can tell are, first of all, by the fact that it’s unsolicited. A legitimate company would not be sending around messages asking for personal information. The company will already have this information in its records. Yes, this includes your username and password. It doesn’t just vanish when you sign up for the account. Another way is if the information doesn’t seem relevant to you. For example, you get an email from the “IRS” saying you need to fill out a form to get your stimulus check when you already got your check several months ago. Lastly, if you contact the organization and no one has a record of the email. This is a dead giveaway. Always use verified contact information though, not info in the potentially fake email. This information can be faked too after all.
If it’s too late and you’ve already fallen for one of these scams, there’s no need to panic. Simply contact the legitimate organization and ask to have your password, account number, etc., changed immediately. If it’s a credit card company, also ask to have a fraud alert added to your account. Then, request a copy of your credit report so you can check for any errors an identity thief may have caused.
Next, promise to be more alert next time. Don’t click on links asking for personal information ever, ever again. Sure, you might miss one in a thousand that has some legitimacy to it. But you can sort that all out when you contact the organization. It’s better than handing over your identity on a silver platter.
Want to do more? Identity theft insurance is a good way to go. Find out more about this very affordable identity theft protection option.
Due to an e-mail sent back in February of this year, 5,000 employees of the Seattle School District in Seattle, Washington are worried about personal identity theft.
The district sent an e-mail to the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 609, who requested the information for medical benefits. Social Security numbers and home addresses did not need to be disclosed, but were included in the e-mail sent.
The school district notified all of those affected by mail around the first of November. Local 609’s business manager stated that only two officials in the office had access to the e-mailed information before it was destroyed. Seattle Public Schools has offered to provide free credit monitoring services for up to one year to those who request it.
Data breaches are up for the year 2008 – way up – according to the IdentityTheft Resource Center. As cited in the center’s statistics, there were at least 449 breaches in the first eight months of the year alone. This is compared to 2007’s number of 446 for the entire 12 months of the year coming from the same source.
This increase in data breaches can be attributed to several things: lax company security, smarter identity thieves, and maybe just better reporting of the incidents that occur. No matter what the story is, there’s no doubt that this should be a cause for concern for consumers. Even if just one company has its data leaked to unscrupulous sources, this makes all the difference in the world if that data happens to be yours. And as the number goes up, so do the odds that this will be the case.
Instead of simply worrying about data breaches and feeling helpless to change the situation, you could think of this as your wakeup call to finally sign up for that identity theft protection service that you’ve been thinking about. It won’t just protect you in the case of one breach but will provide ongoing safety as the numbers continue to grow.
Not sure which plan is right for you? Don’t worry. We are here to help, with product reviews, ordering information and discounts on plan pricing. Educating yourself on identity theft and taking action on what you learn is the key to protecting your family both now and for years to come. Don’t wait until that number reaches 1,000 per year to take necessary action. Unfortunately, if trends continue, it will happen soon enough.
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