| Beware: Christmas Shopping Season Equals Identity Theft Season
The statistics on identity theft are staggering. According to the firm id Alerts 13.3 people per minute across North America become victims of identity theft, that works out to 799 people per hour and 19,178 people per day. As a reporter, I've covered the identity theft issue pointing out that it could happen to anyone. It's one thing saying that, it's another living it. I lost my wallet recently at a large downtown Ottawa hotel with thousands of people floating around. When I realized it was lost and went back to find it, no one on staff had seen the wallet or the coat it was tucked inside of, now also lost. Did I mention I lost my wallet and all my ID after attending a news conference on identity theft? It's okay you can laugh at me, everyone else has. But at least I had just spoken to some of the best experts in the business of protecting your vital data.
Identity fraudsters are watching you
Some months ago major supermarkets put out a notice warning its loyalty cardholders to watch out for devious operators with intentions of swindling them. Apparently some con artists masquerading as sales representatives were attempting to get bank account information from card holders by sending hoax text messages informing them of having won prizes from the supermarket chain. "Smart Card holders must exercise caution before releasing any information to any party and beware that Nakumatt does not seek any bank account information from any customer," warned one of the alerts. The Nakumatt caveat was just one of the many similar forewarnings that consumers are becoming accustomed to as cases of fraud become rampant. Identity (ID) theft or fraud, which is one of the bloodless forms of crime, is slowly taking root in the country.
Identity theft makes couple helpless
CLIFTON -- Identity thieves are lurking this holiday season -- online and off -- so be on the alert. According to the Federal Trade Commission, as many as 10 million Americans a year suffer from identity theft. A person's identity is stolen when someone uses information such as name, Social Security number, or credit card number without permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. .
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Posted in city buses, it was part of a great reduce-the-despair-of-bus-riders initiative, called "Poetry in Motion." I used to marvel at how the poem had a rhythm of its own, like the bus that would lurch to and fro. It crystallizes a single moment in time, beginning with: A woman I have never seen before Steps from the darkness of her town-house door At just that crux of time when she is made So beautiful that she or time must fade. In investing, balance sheets crystallize a single moment in time, too. And some of them can make a savvy investor weep. Look at BerkshireHathaway's (NYSE: BRK-A) cash hoard over the years -- fiscal 2003: $40 billion; 2004: $48 billion; 2005: $45 billion. Look at Wal-Mart's (NYSE: WMT) income statement -- revenues in fiscal 2004: $259 billion; 2005: $288 billion; 2006: $316 billion.
Mounting Peer-to-Peer Pressure for Comcast
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