Breadcrumbs
Home  Digital Dirt Blawg
|
Digital Dirt ~ The CFD Blawg
|
Written by Administrator
|
|
Monday, 05 May 2008 14:31 |
|
When people donate their life's work to Boston University's Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center to be preserved alongside Martin Luther King Jr.'s letters or Bette Davis's scrapbooks, director Vita Paladino has one request: Print out the e-mails.
more stories like this
* EMC begins tender offer for Iomega shares
* Nintendo's profit surges on strong sales of Wii, DS
* EMC revenue up for key products, shares rise
* EMC faced 'challenging' first quarter in soft economy
* EMC prevails in Iomega deal
*
It's the ultimate irony of a digital world. |
|
|
Written by Administrator
|
|
Monday, 05 May 2008 14:30 |
|
Three people were arrested over the weekend on charges they solicited children for sex on the Internet, law officers say. A fourth person was booked for failure to register as a sex offender.
Advertisement
Jack Wilson, 53, of the 100 block of Harvest Lane in Haughton, was arrested by the Northwest Louisiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force on charges of computer solicitation of a minor, indecent behavior with a juvenile, possession of schedule III narcotics with intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of child pornography, Bossier City Marshal Johnny Wyatt announced at a news conference Monday. |
|
Written by Administrator
|
|
Monday, 05 May 2008 14:28 |
|
It had been a pleasant Saturday afternoon until I got the dreadful cellphone call. The woman on the other end said she was from Bank of America. I immediately thought she was going to offer me another credit card. I told her I was busy.
This Story
*
Identity Theft Gets Personal
*
Tuesday, 1 p.m. ET: Identity Theft
*
Special Report: Identity Theft
Wait, she said. Are you at a Pacers Running Store in Arlington trying to buy $812.18 worth of merchandise?
No, I said.
Someone claiming to be you is there doing just that, she told me. My heart raced. The rent was due soon -- this was not a good time for money to disappear.
Suddenly I was a personal-finance writer whose finances were a mess thanks to an identity thief.
I took solace in the fact that millions of other people have had the same sinking feeling. In fact, 8.3 million, or nearly 4 percent, of American adults were victims of identity theft in 2005, according to the latest figures from the Federal Trade Commission, which enforces identity theft laws. Of those victims, 1.8 million had accounts opened or other types of fraud committed with stolen information. The rest had their credit cards or other financial accounts hijacked.
It is one of the nation's fastest growing crimes, so pervasive that President Bush has established a task force to combat it. That group issued recommendations last year, including reducing the unnecessary use of Social Security numbers by federal agencies and creating a National Identity Theft Law Enforcement Center to help local agencies coordinate investigations. Federal lawmakers also have taken notice, introducing legislation to protect Social Security numbers.
"Unfortunately, the way things are set up today, there is way too much information available in way too many places," said Adam Levin, chairman of Identity Theft 911 and a former director of New Jersey's Division of Consumer Affairs.
Theft Trail Leads to Debit Card
While there is much the federal government can do, and much the private sector should do, I realized that there was also much that I could do to better protect myself. I set out to figure out how this happened and how I could keep it from happening again.
In my case, it was a debit card that was compromised. In my unsuccessful quest to keep myself debt-free, I avoid using credit cards whenever possible. So I end up using my debit card for purchases big and small. That way, I have reasoned, I am spending money I actually have. When I want to indulge in a new purse or treat a friend to dinner or buy a latte, I whip out the debit card. Apparently, that's not the wisest thing to do if you want to protect your bank account.
I also learned that if someone fraudulently uses your credit card, you are reimbursed for nearly all the money lost. That may not be so with a debit card, especially if you do not notice it right away. According to the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, your liability is capped at $50 if you notify your bank in the first two business days. After that, you could lose up to $500. If you wait 60 days, you could lose it all. "You are more protected with credit cards than debit cards," said Levin, whose San Francisco company specializes in identity-theft prevention and consumer education.
Luckily, Bank of America seemed willing to work with me. During that initial, alarming phone call, the employee put me on hold while she talked to the Pacers Running Store merchant. The store clerk had grown suspicious when a woman showed up to pick up a phone order and could not produce the debit card. The clerk called my bank. |
|
|
Written by Administrator
|
|
Monday, 05 May 2008 14:27 |
|
Social networking site MySpace has agreed to take steps to help protect child users from online sexual predators.
The US-based site has agreed a deal with 49 US states that will see it establish a taskforce of industry professionals and look for better ways to verify users' ages.
Under the pact with US state attorneys, MySpace agreed to develop safety enhancements that include letting parents submit children's e-mail addresses to prevent profiles from being created using them, and to respond within 72 hours to complaints of inappropriate content.
Also under the agreement, profiles for users under age 16 will be set to private so no strangers can get information from their profile; users can block anyone over 18 from contacting them; and people over 18 cannot add anyone under 16 as a friend in their network unless they have their last name or their e-mail address.
MySpace, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, has more than 200 million registered users worldwide, and social networking rival Facebook claims more than 61 million active users. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
