| Brown backs biometrics
Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown has said the UK will use biometrics on a national scale for cross-border control, for anti-terrorist measures and to combat identity theft. Brown, who has in the past been silent over such issues, said supermarkets and banks will use biometrics in the future and the government would follow them. He said: "Today Californian supermarket shoppers are paying with a finger-scan at the checkout and Japanese cash machines are asking for a finger-scan rather than a PIN. The reason is simple: they are more secure against fraud and theft. "And with passports now requiring biometrics, a necessity people understand, 80 per cent of the adult population will have to register their biometrics to ensure our borders are secure and so they can travel freely across the world." But as part of his speech at the Royal United Services Institute yesterday, Brown cited inaccurate Home Office figures of �1.7bn as the cost of identity theft to the UK.
Tories take aim at identity thieves
The Conservative government will introduce legislation this fall aimed at catching identity thieves before they attack the bank accounts of Canadians. Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said new amendments to the Criminal Code will punish identity theft, regardless of whether the stolen information is ever used for identity fraud. In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Mr. Nicholson said stolen identity crimes cost Canadian individuals and businesses $2-billion a year. "I think it's a growing problem and we've got to get on it now because the technology people use to obtain information will only get better," he said. "We've got to get something on the books." The minister said the bill will close a gap in the law. Current offences are focused solely on the misuse of stolen identities through fraud, impersonation or forgery.
Feds Charge Investigator in HP Spying Scandal
A private investigator accused of illegally accessing a reporter's private phone records as part of the Hewlett-Packard boardroom spying scandal has been charged with federal identity theft and conspiracy charges. U.S. Attorney Kevin V. Ryan filed the charges on Wednesday in San Jose, Calif., federal court against Bryan Wagner. Is Your Paid Search Paying Off?Paid search spending is on the rise. Before you raise that cost-per-click, let�s determine if it�s working for you. Download this report to receive industry statistics, tips to optimize search initiatives and methods for measuring success. Get Your Free Report Today! .
Government bill attacks identity theft
OTTAWA - The federal government took a landmark step Wednesday toward battling the explosion of identity theft by introducing legislation making it illegal to collect personal documents belonging to others in order to commit fraud. "Every day the issue of identity theft affects or threatens more Canadian families and businesses," Justice Minister Rob Nicholson told a news conference Wednesday. "Identity theft is costly to banks, to retailers and consumers alike." Under the new bill, part of the government's toughened fall law-and-order agenda, it will become a crime in Canada to obtain, possess or traffic another person's passport, credit cards, drivers licences or other identity documents for the purpose of committing fraud. The legislation is meant to close a gap in the Criminal Code.
Critics question latest government report on identity theft
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Federal Trade Commission says a new analysis concludes 8.3 million Americans over 18 were victims of identity theft in 2005. That's down from 9.9 million in 2003. But consumer advocates are not convinced the numbers are accurate. One problem in getting accurate information about identity theft is that most consumers don't know it when their personal information is compromised. And the FTC acknowledges that its identity-theft survey involved such a small sample that the results are not "statistically significant." Still, there's agreement that ID theft is a monumental problem. One research firm says it cost American businesses $55 billion in 2006. And the FTC estimates the cost to consumers last year came to $1.2 billion. Copyright 2007 The Associated Press.
Reports show identity theft is a growing business, costing billions
More than 8 million Americans were victims of identity theft in 2005, as hundreds of data breaches cost businesses and consumers untold billions. Those are the findings of two reports that estimate the consequences and costs of all the electronic data losses that have put at least 215 million sensitive records into the wrong hands and spawned a new criminal epidemic of identity theft since counting began in 2005. The estimate of 8.3 million identify thefts came in a report the Federal Trade Commission issued Monday. Separately, private sector data security expert Larry Ponemon today will release the third in a series of surveys that looked closely at 35 of the nearly 310 security breaches that have been reported by U.S. companies and government agencies so far in 2007.
Clarification: FTC Identity Theft Story
In a Nov. 30 story, The Associated Press reported that the Federal Trade Commission estimated consumer fraud and identity theft cost Americans $1.2 billion in 2006. The figure came from the annual report of consumer complaints to the FTC, released Feb. 7, rather than the Nov. 29 FTC report analyzing FTC telephone surveys of consumers. .
TJX to Shell Out $41M in Data Breach Settlement
A key lesson from the TJX case may be that businesses have to do more than invest in security solutions, said Cliff Pollan, the chief executive officer of data auditing solutions firm Lumigent. "Companies need to demonstrate that proper policies and procedures are in place, are being adhered to and that they are in fact making their data more secure," Pollan told the E-Commerce Times. Rescuing Problem PPC Campaigns: 7 Metrics You Must ConsiderLearn how to optimize the effectiveness of your PPC Spend, increase relevance, reduce keyword costs, bid less, and show up higher in search results. Download the free white paper. .
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