| Russian hacker network goes underground
An online conduit accused of spreading vast amounts of malicious and criminal content has closed down its base in St Petersburg sparking fears that the operation will surface elsewhere. Security firm Trend Micro said that Russian Business Network (RBN) dropped off the internet last Tuesday, and has predicted its emergence in a newly reinvigorated form somewhere in Asia. Run by a shadowy figure known only as 'Flyman', RBN has been associated with a number of high-profile online crimes committed in the UK. Security firms have linked RBN to child pornography, corporate blackmail, spam attacks and online identity theft, according to a report in Times Online. "The UK has been a focus for this group and its criminal clients, and things are set to get worse," said David Perry, an analyst for Trend Micro.
New laws fight ID theft, extend health benefit
The other will prevent potentially thousands of young adults from suddenly being dropped from their parents' health insurance once they graduate from college. These are two big but very different consumer issues. Let's take them one at a time. First, the identity-theft weapon: the ability to put a "security freeze" on your credit report. Freezing your credit report prevents new creditors from looking at it. If a creditor can't see a report, it is not about to extend credit to you or anyone else trying to open accounts under your name. You can lift the freeze before applying for new credit. Maryland law requires credit bureaus to allow residents to freeze their reports, starting next month. But just weeks ago, the three major credit bureaus, which long resisted freezes, started allowing everyone to put his reports on ice.
Keep Grinch at Bay During Holidays With 12 ID Theft Tips of Christmas
With the holiday shopping season in full swing, and with the growing threat of ID theft looming, consumers may not know their identities could also be for sale. The intersection of commerce and cyber-crime could be a bumpy road for shoppers over the next month, so don't let the ID theft grinches steal your holiday cheer this year. "Wherever there's information about a person, whether it's retained by a retailer, bank, credit bureau or database, there's someone out there who has the ability to steal it," said Dan Clements, spokesman for ID Secure, a sophisticated new tool that uses leading-edge public records, Social Security number and credit card monitoring technology to fight identity theft. "The more difficult you make it for someone to rip you off, the less chance you have of becoming a victim of identity theft.
Scam alert: That's not the IRS
If you've been getting unsolicited e-mail from the Internal Revenue Service, ignore it: You've been the target of another Internet scam.The bogus e-mail claims that you are owed a refund and sends you to a Web site at which you are asked to provide your Social Security number and credit card information.Just remember this: The IRS doesn't send out unsolicited e-mail messages.Mark Hanson, IRS spokesman for the Carolinas, said the scam has the potential to confuse people, because it's modeled on a refund program that the agency conducts each year, the undeliverable refund list.The best way to avoid becoming an identity-theft victim is to press "delete," Hanson said."Don't let the idea of free money bait you into the scam," he said.Hanson said the legitimate IRS undeliverable refund list will be posted on the agency's Web page this month.
Thwart thieves by freezing credit
When it comes to keeping a thief from obtaining credit in your name, consumers have a tough weapon in the form of a so-called security freeze. When you freeze your credit report, you thwart would-be thieves by preventing creditors from checking your credit history. Few lenders will lend you – or a thief – money without first checking your credit report. Texans got added muscle in September, when a new law took effect that allows consumers to freeze their credit report without first having to have a police report. Previously, Texans couldn't freeze their credit reports unless they were victims of identity theft. .
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