thefts

GAO: Lots of data breaches, not a lot of fraud

Sometimes it feels like every day, there's word of another incident involving lost, hacked or pilfered personal data stores--and dire warnings about the potential consequences.

But according to a report just released by the Government Accountability Office (PDF), only a small fraction of those recent episodes have actually resulted in clear signs of identity theft.

After scrutinizing the 24 largest data breaches that got media attention between January 2000 and June 2005, the GAO found that only three of the incidents indicated fraud on existing accounts. One pointed to evidence that new accounts had been created based on the … Read more

Before you activate your iPhone, read this!

I was casually cruising the news sites yesterday when I came across a story about porting "ineligible" numbers to AT&T and iPhone. I clicked on the story because I know some of the people who lobbied for and won the rights to treat phone numbers more like personal property you own than corporate property you rent. I was right with the author until he said (without comment or outrage):

On that screen, enter your name, Social Security number, and your current billing information and home telephone.

Say WHAT!?

Apple and AT&T are demanding customers reveal SSNs to activate their iPhones. That should be the lead of every technology and business article written this week. If you don't believe me, read on.… Read more

Credit agency suffers 'misappropriation' of 2.3 million consumer records

Florida-based Fidelity National Information Services on Tuesday announced a "misappropriation of consumer data" by a former employee of its Certegy Check Services subsidiary.

The former employee allegedly sold 2.3 million consumer records to a data broker who, in turn, sold the information to various marketing organizations. The records contained information on 2.2 million bank accounts and 990,000 credit card accounts, according to FIS.

"We have no reason to believe that the theft resulted in any subsequent fraudulent activity or financial damage to the consumer, and we are taking the necessary steps to see that … Read more

Grand Theft Auto mod virus uses YouTube to spread

Someone is using a Grand Theft Auto mod video as a way to trick viewers into infecting themselves. Although YouTube videos remain safe to view, that hasn't stopped criminals from finding new ways to entice YouTube viewers to get infected with the latest Trojan horse. The latest example is a Grand Theft Auto video for a mod called Hood Life. According to Chris Boyd, Director of Malware Research at FaceTime Security Labs, the graphics in the mod are lame. He says the images used in the video are circa 1986, crudely rendered, not up to the high standards of … Read more

While helping others, IBM confronts its own data theft

IBM has acknowledged that in early 2007 a third-party contractor misplaced a tape containing the personal information of current and former IBM employees. The tape was lost in transit to its Armonk, N.Y, headquarters some time in February. Recently, IBM was in the news as one of the companies helping to investigate the massive data breach at TJX.

Big Blue started informing affected employees last week, and as compensation the company is offering one year of free credit monitoring. The exact number of affected employees is not known but it's thought to include personnel who worked for the … Read more

Technology that 'fingerprints' valid credit cards, flags bogus ones

The way the particles land on a given credit card's magnetic stripe are as unique as individual snowflakes or human fingerprints--or so says a Magtek, the company that developed, MagnePrint, which records the unique magnetic media signature for all credit and debit cards scanned through its readers. The first scan by a MagnePrint reader creates a template against which all subsequent scans are compared.

MagnePrint is designed to prevent "skimming." Online carders buy credit-card information from a black-market database, then copy that information onto a blank physical card using a machine that costs about $250. The skimmed … Read more

IBM loses tapes with employee data

IBM, one of the leading companies providing services to help manage and protect data, has apparently lost computer tapes containing personal information about its employees.

The tapes were being transported between IBM facilities in Westchester County, N.Y., on February 23 when they fell out of a contractor's vehicle. An IBM spokesman told the Associated Press that company representatives went to the scene of the loss but could not locate the tapes, which contained information mostly on former employees.

The loss of the tapes came to light recently when the company's human resources department mailed letters to the … Read more

'Grand Theft Auto IV' teaser hits the Web

Rockstar Games took the wraps off the teaser trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV yesterday afternoon, giving gamers their first look at the highly anticipated sequel. While only about a minute long, the trailer offers some key details about the new game. The graphics have gotten a big next-gen upgrade, the setting is clearly a skewed version of New York City, and the game puts you in the shoes of an Eastern European protagonist. Tor Thorsen over at GameSpot offers some additional details, but the big news is that all of the footage in the trailer was captured "in … Read more

How to deter theft with a head of lettuce

Remember in Jurassic Park when that nerdy bad guy played by Wayne Knight hid those stolen dinosaur embryos by stashing them in a shaving cream can? Well, this is kind of the same idea, except we hope you won't hide stolen dinosaur embryos in this. Gizmodo has alerted us to an innovative anti-theft solution that allows you to hide your valuables in what appears to be a head of lettuce. You then would presumably stash the "lettuce" in your refrigerator where it would look like just another veggie, and hope that if a burglar comes to your … Read more

All Jack, all the time

No sooner did we post an item about Jack Bauer's watch than we heard from our friends at Uncrate, who pointed out an entire lot of 24 gadgetry that they had diligently assembled.

In addition to the watch, Uncrate identified Jack's phone, weaponry, pocket scope, vest and even his (gasp) messenger bag, as well as other odds and ends. For Crave's purposes, we were most interested to see that he dumped his Treo 650 for a Motorola i880. But there's no word on what kind of roaming plan he has.

(And remember, repeat after us: No Lightsabers.)… Read more