Office Depot now offers secure shredding services designed to meet the growing security needs of businesses and consumers

Office Depot and Iron Mountain Announce Secure Shredding Services Available at Nationwide Office Depot Retail Locations

Office Depot now offers three distinct options for secure shredding services designed to meet the growing security needs of businesses and consumers alike. In a new agreement with Iron Mountain Incorporated the information management company, Office Depot will now offer this expanded service to provide customers with convenient, secure shredding options for jobs of any size.

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), identity theft affects as many as 10 million Americans each year and is the fastest growing form of fraud in North America. The FTC estimates that the average victim of identity theft spends 200 to 600 hours and approximately $1,500 to restore their identity. Shredding personal and business documents and properly discarding them is an important precaution.

"Shredding has become a personal and business necessity in order to be protected from financial loss, identity theft, and more," said Kristin Micalizio, Vice President of Office Depot's Copy & Print Depot

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Universities are big targets for data breaches

August Data Breaches Strike Yale and 4 Other Schools

By Dian Schaffhauser 08/29/11

According to multiple media reports, the New Haven, CT institution accidently allowed a Google search engine to index a database containing private information about 43,000 former faculty, staff, and students who were involved with the university in 1999.

The breach was discovered June 30 when an individual in that database did a search on his own name and discovered that his Social Security number was publicly displayed.

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Common Scams Directed At Baby Boomers

Baby Boomers Are The Target Of Fraud And Scams

Founder of http://howsafeareyou.org Michael Roberts shares the list of the most common scams directed at baby boomers.

Medicare Fraud-
This is perpetrated by sending unsolicited mail to the senior requesting the medicare information in exchange for some product. Most people will give this up easily if it's a product that they want because they assume medicare will pay for it. This is a technique that thieves use to acquire social security numbers and other information.

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May I take your identity?

Former waiter charged with stealing credit card numbers

By Ruben Castaneda

A former waiter at a TGI Fridays restaurant in Laurel was indicted Thursday on charges he copied and sold the numbers of 73 credit cards, Prince George’s authorities said.

Brian K. Adams, 21, of Elkridge, was indicted on 16 charges, including theft, identity theft, and conspiracy to commit theft, State’s Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks said in a news conference outside the Upper Marlboro courthouse.

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Why in the world are banks still using SSNs as a major form of customer identification?

How Banks Are Aiding and Abetting Identity Theft

Why in the world are banks still using SSNs as a major form of customer identification?

To an identity thief, somebody else’s Social Security number is money in the bank. These nine digits unlock a world of phony credit and create a huge hassle for the poor person who actually holds that number. “The SSN remains the key that opens your life,” says Ed Mierzwinski, consumer advocate at U.S.-PIRG. “It’s the easiest way for a bad guy to pretend to be you.” So why are banks still using SSNs as a major form of customer identification?

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Don't leave home without it...Your identity!

Safeguard Personal Information While on Vacation

The Investigators of the Fraud Solutions practice at Kroll offer tips to reduce your risk of becoming a victim of identity theft when traveling or on vacation.

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Don't let this be the case for your children - Safeguard your minors

ID Thieves Target Kids

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Your child could become a crime victim, and you might not even know it until years from now! Thousands of children are being targeted each year by a new, growing form of “high-tech” child identity theft. 3 On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan explains.

The first time Axton Betz applied for an apartment, she learned that she was thousands of dollars in debt. She says, “I was devastated.”

Axton was only a child when she says a thief stole her social security number and started running up bills. With her credit ruined as an adult, she’s now had to pay a deposit just to get the lights turned on. The lowest car loan rate she could get was 18%, and the lowest credit card interest rate she could get was 29%!

“It’s been life changing and life defining,” Axton says. Read the full story now...

Identity Theft Shield - Safeguard for Minors Program

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This program provides the following services:

• Monitoring for the existence of a credit file in your child’s name
• Notification when a credit file is found to exist
• No file found notifications when no file is found.
• If fraud has occurred you will be assigned a licensed investigator

Honor Thy Parents - help to educate a generation about the risks and detection of financial exploitation

Financial Exploitation of the Elderly

Criminals target older adults for financial exploitation for a variety of reasons. Criminals find seniors susceptible to these crimes of deception because they believe that the older population has higher cash reserves and are less likely to check their credit reports or financial account statements carefully. This may be due to the fact that they are usually in a financially stable position and are not opening new lines of credit. This gives the thief the opportunity to steal a senior’s identity or money with a reduced probability of detection. Some other reasons seniors are targeted is because the thieves assume they are less aware of the crime of identity theft and various scam scenarios.

In addition, older adults living in residential facilities - or under the care of someone - are at risk because the caretakers have access to the senior’s personal records. This creates a situation which allows unscrupulous individuals to exploit those in their care.

 

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Have You Been Hacked This Month? Oh, Yes You Have

Written by Andrew Kemshall

You do everything you’re supposed to do, right? You’ve installed a firewall, you’ve got some anti-virus software, you never follow links in emails or open attachments from someone you don’t know or trust. Well, that’s all very commendable. But unfortunately it isn’t you that’s been hacked. It’s your information stored by the companies you trust that’s been compromised.

Since the start of this year, globally, there have been 365 data loss incidents involving 126,727,474 records. According to Juniper Research, 90% of organizations have suffered data breaches in one form or another over the past 12 months. Testament to this is the number of household brands that have inadvertently divulged the information of hundreds of individuals:

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