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Fact Sheet, Operation E-Con: Cracking Down on Internet Crime, released by the DOJ on May 16, 2003. “Since its inception, Operation E-Con has conducted over 90 investigations involving 89,000 victims and estimated losses of more than $176 million….To date Operation E-Con has executed over 70 search and seizure warrants that have led to 130 arrests …
The FTC issued a press release today announcing the filing of 45 criminal and civil actions (state and federal) in conjunction with the SEC, the Postal Service and other state law enforcement agencies, in an aggressive and wide ranging campaign against “Internet scammers and deceptive spammers.” Links are provided to the full-text copies of the …
PCWorld reports on a scam used against Bank of America customers which lured them via an unauthorized e-mail message to a fake site used to capture their personal data. The article also references a site that collects links to fake banks and examples of bank scam e-mails from around the world, called Scam o Rama.
The Federal Trade Commissions Bureau of Consumer Protection announced its sponsorship of new workshops on “Technologies for Protecting Personal Information” to be held on May 14 and June 4, 2003. “The workshops are intended to explore the role of technology in helping consumers and businesses to protect consumer information.” The agenda for the May 14 …
Judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr., U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia, granted EarthLink an injunction and a $16.4 million judgment against Howard Carmack, who engaged in ID theft and fraud to deliver over 800 million spam e-mails last year via the hundreds of accounts he established with the ISP. How much EarthLink can expect …
Building Trust on the Web, Consumer WebWatch’s First National Summit on Web Credibility, April 24, 2003. Presentation topics include: Health Web Sites, Search Engines, Guidelines & Best Practices on the Web, Scams & Schemes: Why Don’t Consumers Trust the Web?, and Toward a More Credible Web. See this link for Jim Guest’s opening remarks.
The New York Times reports on a New Jersey program, beginning this summer, to implement digitized security features on the state’s driver licenses to prevent theft and fraud. The features will include “holograms, a bar code and digital signatures.”
The South Carolina Senate approved The Consumer Identity Theft Protection Act (S. 222) on April 16. The bill provides for the creation of an identity theft database by the Attorney General, expedited court proceedings for victims of ID theft, stricter verification of card holder identification by credit card companies, and blocks the distribution of inaccurate …
From ABATechShow 2003, here is an updated version of my annotated bibliography (pdf) of federal, state, and advocacy resources on ID theft and fraud. Included are links to pending federal legislation, dozens of topical guides published by federal agencies and state AGs, and links to selected news about recent, high-profile cases of ID theft. Please …
Internet News reported on April 3 that the FTC “has finalized its Gramm-Leach-Bliley Safeguards Rule, which requires financial institutions under the FTC’s jurisdiction to develop and implement appropriate physical, technical, and procedural safeguards to protect customer information. The rule becomes effective on May 23.” In related news, this press release, The FTC Targets Security to …
On March 31, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) introduced S. 745, “A bill to require the consent of an individual prior to the sale and marketing of such individual’s personally identifiable information, and for other purposes.” Her press release states that the legislation seeks to establish a national standard for the protection of personal information, including …
In what can only be described as a huge step backward in the fight against ID theft, the Sacramento Bee reported that the California State University’s computer system has for some years had a “glitch” that allows users to view the social security numbers and personal data of students and employees. State Senator Debra Bowen, …
