For Victims, Repairing ID Theft Can Be Grueling

Published: October 1, 2005

Paul Fairchild, a 34-year-old Web developer in Edmond, Okla., has never spent $500 on fine tobacco. He has never slaked a shoe fetish with $1,500 charges at Manolo Blahnik and Neiman Marcus, nor has he ever bought diamonds online, furs in SoHo, or anything at e-Luxury.com. He has never owned an apartment building in Brooklyn, and he has never peddled flesh. More....

The man whose ID was stolen by a killer

First Michael Finkel lost his job -- then things got worse

Wednesday, September 7, 2005; Posted: 9:27 a.m. EDT (13:27 GMT)

NEW YORK (AP) -- Michael Finkel was in the grip of despair in February 2002, fired from his job at The New York Times Magazine for writing a story about slavery in West Africa based on a composite character.

Little did Finkel know that his life was again about to change because of Christian Longo, one of the most wanted fugitives in America after killing his wife and three young children on the Oregon coast. Longo was tracked down that January in Mexico, where he was arrested and returned to Oregon. More.....

Michael Finkel found a wanted murderer, Christian Longo, was masquerading as him.

But, Officer, that isn’t ME

IDENTITY THEFT | A lost wallet could mean more than bogus credit-card bills. You could land in jail. By Kristin Davis

PHOTOGRAPHS BY TIMOTHY ARCHIBALD
This article is in Four Parts as DOC format. Open in MS Word
Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4

Could This Be Your Story?
When Janet Romano opened her credit card bill, she got more than she bargained for.
“I’m diligent about matching up my receipts to my bill,” Romano said. (We’ve changed her name to protect her privacy.) “Several of the charges were mysteries to me.” More…..

How To Guard Your Identity

By Lynn Brenner
Published: July 31, 2005

These days, it seems you can’t turn on the news without hearing about yet another security breach exposing consumer information to identity thieves. Due to stunningly widespread corporate carelessness, the records of more than 46 million Americans were lost or stolen in the first half of 2005 alone. Clearly, it’s up to you to protect yourself. Here’s what you need to know.

What a Criminal Does

An identity thief doesn’t just steal your credit card and go on a spending spree. He gets new cards, opens new accounts and takes out new loans, leaving a trail of unpaid bills in your name. He can even use your identity to commit crimes or acts of terrorism, says Mari Frank, a California lawyer who was an identity theft victim and is now an authority on the crime. Most victims don’t find out what has happened until long afterward, when they’re called by a collection agency or turned down for a loan. More….

How to fix it all

It may seem daunting, but dealing with identity theft should be made easier for consumers.
June 7, 2005: 5:16 PM EDT
By Michael Sivy Pat Regnier and Carolyn Bigda, MONEY Magazine

NEW YORK (MONEY Magazine) - Grinding through the D.C. sausage factory is some constructive legislation that clamps down on the use of Social Security numbers and further restricts the sharing and brokering of data. But real, permanent protection requires giving consumers more control.

ID data breaches: as rampant as it seems

A little perspective on the 40 million card breach and what companies can do to thwart hackers.
June 28, 2005: 3:22 PM EDT
By Jeanne Sahadi, CNN/Money senior writer
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) – Over 40 million card accounts potentially exposed to fraud is a big deal. But is it unusual?

Fed bank insurer's worker data breached

Personal information of thousands of FDIC employees accessed, some possibly used for fraud.
June 18, 2005: 11:44 AM EDT
NEW YORK (CNN) - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which insures many of the nation's banks, has alerted 6,000 current and former employees that personal information may have been released and that some individuals could be the victims of identity theft.

Your identity...for sale

From credit bureaus to grocers to unscrupulous brokers, there's a healthy trade in your good name.
May 9, 2005: 3:07 PM EDT
By Jeanne Sahadi, CNN/Money senior writer

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) – In the past four weeks alone, there have been reports of massive security breaches of over 2 million people's sensitive personal information.

Shoe retailer DSW says customer records at 108 stores were stolen.
April 20, 2005: 6:08 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - In what appears to be the largest breach of consumer information to date, shoe retailer DSW this week said that it estimates that 1.4 million of its customers' credit card records were stolen, as well as transaction information involving 96,000 checks.

So your employer 'lost' your information

Here's what to do if you get the bad news.
May 9, 2005: 4:10 PM EDT
By Jeanne Sahadi, CNN/Money senior writer

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Millions of employees and consumers have gotten some unwelcome news in 2005. They were told that their personal information was lost or had been stolen.

ChoicePoint: More ID theft warnings

ID company says criminals able to obtain almost 140,000 names, addresses and other information.
February 17, 2005: 1:10 PM EST

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - ChoicePoint Inc., a national provider of identification and credential verification services, says it will send an additional 110,000 statements to people informing them of possible identity theft after a group of well-organized criminals was able to obtain personal information on almost 140,000 consumers through the company.

Bank security breach may be biggest yet

Account info at Bank of America, Wachovia sold by employees; more arrests expected, N.J. police say.
May 23, 2005: 4:19 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Bank of America Corp. and Wachovia Corp. are among the big banks notifying more than 670,000 customers that account information was stolen in what may the biggest security breach to hit the banking industry.