identity theft

(get it in RSS or Atom)

Yahoo's going to boot us off our deadbeat accounts, but who is going to grab them?

Yahoo's going to boot us off our deadbeat accounts, but who is going to be picking them up?

Get thee to your unused Yahoo account before July 15 if you don't relish the thought of somebody taking control of your handle and doing heaven knows what with whatever email gets sent to it.

'Food porn' Instagram photo of fancy steak/mac and cheese dinner leads IRS to identity thieves

'Food porn' Instagram photo of fancy steak/mac&cheese dinner leads IRS to identity thieves

Identity thieves can't help but brag about all the food they consume with the money they're stealing... Too bad their smarts aren't as big as their appetite.

Lack of Chip and PIN technology leaves US shoppers and diners at risk from hackers

Lack of 'chip & pin' technology leaves US shoppers and diners at risk from hackers

Despite being one of the biggest economies for the retail and 'food and beverage' industries, the US lacks basic card protection that could prevent data thieves from Americans' bank accounts.

Spring ushers in US tax scam season

Spring ushers in US tax scam season

To remind taxpayers to be on the lookout for scams ranging from identity theft to return-preparer fraud, the IRS posted its Dirty Dozen list of tax scams for 2013.

Bill Gates's social security number, address, credit report and more... published by hackers

Bill Gates's social security number, address, credit report and more... published by hackers

Bill Gates is the latest celebrity to have had his personal information published on a website that has exposed the social security numbers, addresses and personal financial information of a number of people in the public eye.

Equifax and Transunion say hackers stole celebrity credit reports

Equifax and Transunion say hackers stole celebrity credit reports

After the social security numbers, addresses and financial details of some of the USA's top celebrities were posted online, top credit bureaus have come forward and acknowledged that fraudulent and unauthorized access to their records has taken place.

Mega-hack of celebrities exposes social security numbers, credit reports, and more...

Mega-hack of celebrities exposes social security numbers, credit reports, and more...

Beyoncé, Michelle Obama, Paris Hilton and more public figures have had their personal information exposed on the internet.

But who is behind it?

"STD-like" virus killing off Borderlands 2 video game characters

"STD-like" virus killing off Borderlands 2 video game characters

Gearbox, the maker of the popular game Borderlands 2, is warning Xbox 360 users to be careful of who they play with, following a rash of reports of unexplained character deaths.

The culprit: a software flaw that appears to be spreading, "STD-like", from Borderlands 2 "modders" to other law-abiding players.

Monday review: the hot 20 stories of the week

Monday review: the hot 20 stories of the week

Here you go. All the stories we wrote in the past seven days, in case you missed anything (or just want to read them again).

Should you lie on Facebook? [VIDEO]

Should you lie on Facebook? [VIDEO]

A senior government official has advised users of social networks such as Facebook on how to better protect their privacy.

Don't tell social networks the truth.

Bogus Apple Store discount card offer attempts to steal users' identities

Apple updates iOS fixing 27 vulnerabilities and TURKTRUST revocation

Spam messages have been sent out by cybercriminals claiming to reward loyal Apple customers with $100 of credit to spend in-store if they just buy a $9 discount card.

It's a wonder that Apple makes any money with marketing campaigns like this! (Or rather it would be, if the email could be trusted).

Would you insure your Twitter or Facebook account against trolls and hackers?

hacker_thumb

Would you pay a small, monthly fee to help cover the costs to restore your reputation, get your stolen identity back, and bury the most noxious content manufactured by trolls to torment you?

Need a debit card? Twitter account exposes photos of debit and credit cards

credit cards_thumb

Identity thieves of the world unite... a Twitter account has just made things a whole lot easier for you.

How internet revenge by an ex-partner can lead to horrific violence

evil-man-thumb

There are some truly horrific stories about how jilted boyfriends have used the internet to get their (sometimes violent) revenge on former partners.

Are the authorities, and sites such as Craigslist, doing enough to protect us?

US man confesses to part in $1.3M bank and payroll phishing scam

phishing-250sq

A 31-year-old US man from Atlanta, Georgia, admitted last week that he and his gang stole more than $1.3 million USD by phishing confidential account information from e-commerce sites.

Ellen DeGeneres fans targeted in bizarre Facebook scam

Ellen DeGeneres fans targeted in Facebook scam

Facebook fans of American talk show host Ellen DeGeneres have been targeted by a scammer posing as her manager, offering the chance to appear on the top-rated TV show.

Socialbot Network finds it easy to harvest data from Facebook users

Socialbot Network finds it easy to harvest data from Facebook users

Researchers have claimed that Facebook's inbuilt security systems are "not effective enough" at stopping automated identity theft, after running a large-scale infiltration of the network using Socialbots.

National Identity Fraud Prevention Week shares some good tips

shredding-thumb

A survey released to tie in with National Identity Fraud Prevention Week reveals that 7% of UK residents, or 4 million of us, have been victims of identity fraud, with the average cost of this being just above £1000.

Hackers steal credit card details at Wisconsin and Tennessee Wilderness resorts

vacationland-thumb

Bad news if you have been on vacation at one of the Wilderness resorts in Tennessee and Wisconsin in the last couple of years - hackers may now have your credit card details.

There may be up to 40,000 victims of the hack - which could lead to identity theft.