| 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.
New bill boosts war on identity theft
The federal government took a landmark step toward battling the explosion of identity theft by introducing legislation yesterday making it illegal to collect personal documents belonging to others in order to commit fraud. 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 licence or other identity documents for the purpose of committing fraud. The legislation is meant to close a gap in the Criminal Code. While it's currently illegal to commit fraud with another person's credit card or other personal information, police have no ability to take action against criminal rings collecting documents belonging to others. That gap has severely hindered the ability of police to catch criminals who engage in identity theft and related fraud, because such crimes are often perpetrated electronically or over the Internet by large groups that the police have difficulty tracking down.
'Tis the Season for Financial Crimes Against Seniors
Not everyone is full of goodwill during the holidays. Unfortunately, the holidays are a prime time for financial crimes like identity theft, robbery and fraud -- and seniors are often the target."Consumers are reminded to shred, sign up, suppress and be sensitive," says Steve J. Bernas, President/CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois. To safeguard against financial crimes this holiday season the Chicago Better Business Bureau offers these timely tips for seniors and those who care for them:-- Hang on to your personal information. Do not give any personal information over the phone or Internet to an unfamiliar company or caller. This includes your credit card numbers, but also the credit card expiration date, your Social Security number, driver's license number, bank account numbers, and personal information, such as your mother's maiden name.
Cyber-crime 'worse than burglary'
Identity theft has become one of the most feared crimes in the UK, according to a study of more than 1,400 regular internet users, outranking burglary, assault and robbery. Around one in three respondents to the survey indicated that they had been the victim of some form of cyber-theft, including phishing emails, credit card fraud and unauthorised bank transfers. The research, commissioned by internet security software maker AVG, revealed that individual financial loss ranged from a few pounds to several thousand pounds. Some 90 per cent of respondents had threat protection software installed on their PCs, but a third remained unconvinced that these were adequate measures to protect them from cyber-crime. Liverpool topped the list of UK cities most afraid of cyber-theft with 93 per cent highlighting their concern.
ID Theft Hit 8 Million Americans in 2005 Federal Trade Commission
Dec 04 2007 : Identity theft affected 8.3 million adults, or 3.7 percent of the adult U.S population, in 2005, according to a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) study. The report is based on 4,917 telephone interviews with a random sample of American adults. For the study, the FTC categorized ID theft victims according to specific Federal U.S. laws. It estimated that 3.3 million American adults, or 1.5 percent of the adult population, experienced the misuse of one or more of their existing non-credit card accounts in 2005. This fraud category included checking, saving or telephone accounts. Based on the study, the FTC also estimated that in 2005 there were 3.2 million fraud victims in the category of �existing credit cards.� In addition, there were 1.8 million victims in the category of �new accounts and other fraud,� where fraudsters opened new accounts in the victims� names, or committed other frauds using their ID.
Surfers still too careless with ID, says BT
BT has said UK web surfers are still doing too little to protect themselves against identity theft and has released a web user guide in an attempt to stop the problem escalating even further. The 10-point guide has been put together by BT in association with CPP, LloydsTSB, the Met Police and Yahoo! as well as the Get Safe Online initiative. Ray Stanton, head of security at BT Global Services, said identity theft is still on the rise, dubbing it a "silent part of fraud in the UK". Stanton cited figures from the UK government which suggest fraud accounted for �1.7bn in the UK last year. Although those figures have subsequently been subject to serious doubts, it's undeniable that identity theft is a major problem. BT also claims that eight per cent of UK PC users fall victim to online fraud and said too few are taking even basic steps to protect themselves, such as not handing over credit card numbers to unidentified third parties.
Yuma lawmaker victim of ID theft
State Sen. Amanda Aguirre, who has made identity theft prevention one of her legislative priorities, says she became a victim of the crime earlier this month when a credit card of hers was used fraudulently. "My immediate thought was this couldn't be happening," Aguirre said. "It's a reality check that anyone can be a victim of identity theft." Aguirre said she received a call earlier this month on her cell phone from her credit card company, which wanted to confirm whether she had bought some shoes. The following day, she got another call asking whether she had bought what appeared to be clothing. Both transactions, which were made online, were done using her credit number. In total, the purchases amounted to more than $3,000. The purchases were ordered from stores in North Carolina and California and supposed to be mailed to addresses in those states.
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