Data theft targets 3.3 million with student loans, Socical security numbers..

Data theft targets 3.3 million with student loans
Social security numbers, addresses taken, but not financial information

MINNEAPOLIS - A company that guarantees federal student loans said Friday that personal data on about 3.3 million people nationwide has been stolen from its headquarters in Minnesota.
Educational Credit Management Corp. said the data included names, addresses, Social Security numbers and dates of birth of borrowers, but no financial or bank account information.
The data was on "portable media" that was stolen sometime last weekend, ECMC said in a statement. Company spokesman Paul Kelash wouldn't specify what was taken, citing the ongoing investigation, but said there were no indications of any misuse of the data.
The St. Paul-based nonprofit said it discovered the theft last Sunday and immediately contacted law enforcement, and made the theft public when it received permission from authorities. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is leading the investigation.
ECMC said it has arranged with credit protection agency Experian to provide affected borrowers with free credit monitoring and protection services. Borrowers will be receiving letters from ECMC soon on how to sign up, gain access to fraud resolution representatives, and be provided with identity theft insurance coverage.
"We deeply regret that this incident occurred and the stress it has caused our borrowers and our partners and are doing everything we can to help protect our borrowers' identity and personal information," Richard Boyle, president and CEO of ECMC, said in the statement.
ECMC is a contractor for the U.S. Department of Education to provide collection and document management services. It guarantees student loans through the Federal Family Education Loan program, and provides support services for student loans that are in default or bankruptcy. The company can act as the guarantor, loan holder or loan servicer.
Department of Education spokesman Justin Hamilton said protecting student privacy is a top priority.
"We are working with ECMC to make sure that affected individuals are provided with resources to protect their information and to provide with them with identity theft insurance," Hamilton said protecting student privacy is a top priority for the agency.
Those who believe they may be affected were encouraged to visit ECMC's Web site, or call 1-877-449-3568 beginning Saturday.
According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, more than 347 million individuals have been affected by data privacy breaches at hundreds of government agencies, universities and businesses since 2005.

ID Theft ring including wig-wearing check casher One woman drained bank accounts..Including Bernanke's

ID theft ring included wig-wearing check casher One woman drained bank accounts � including Bernanke�s � in personThe Associated Pressupdated 2:02 p.m. MT, Tues., Sept . 1, 2009MIAMI - A sophisticated identity theft ring that counted Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's wife among its victims didn't stop at stealing money electronically. Authorities said Tuesday it also sent a woman wearing a variety of wigs into bank branches to drain their accounts in person. Shonya Michelle Young, 38, of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, was being held Tuesday at a federal detention center in Miami on a charge of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. "She was a major check casher," U.S. Marshals Service spokesman Barry Golden said Tuesday. At her first court appearance Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge William Turnoff ordered Young held until Thursday, when another hearing will be held to determine when she will be transferred to federal custody in Virginia. Prosecutors said Young had been a fugitive for more than two months. Anna Bernanke�s purse stolenHundreds of victims were targeted in D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Illinois and elsewhere. Among them: Anna Bernanke, whose purse was stolen outside a Capitol Hill (Washington, D.C.) coffee shop in August 2008. Someone started cashing checks using the Bernankes' bank account days later. According to District of Columbia police, the purse contained Anna Bernanke's Social Security card, checkbook, credit cards and IDs. The amount of money stolen from the couple has not been disclosed. When Young was arrested Monday at a corporate apartment complex near Miami International Airport, authorities said she had a fraudulent New York driver's license and a Visa debit card under the name Deborah L. Taverna, along with several wigs. "She had about three wigs that she would wear to mimic her victims or change her appearance," Golden said. Young would impersonate the victims to obtain fake IDs and cash illegal checks, draining their bank accounts, authorities said. In court Tuesday, Turnoff listed numerous aliases and three Social Security numbers Young allegedly used. Ring members chargedSimilar scenes played out at bank branches across the country as other ring members used IDs, personal checks and bank information to impersonate victims, according to court documents. Ten of the alleged ring's members have been charged, and other fugitives are being sought, authorities said. The suspects were identified in an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Secret Service and D.C. police. U.S. Marshals initially sought Young at her South Carolina home, but she had fled to Miami, authorities said. Young told the court that she is an unemployed widow who supports a 19-year-old. Her federal public defender did not return a phone message Tuesday. Authorities described her as a girlfriend of one of the alleged ringleaders but wouldn't identify which one. The Federal Reserve declined to comment Tuesday because the investigation is ongoing. Last week, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke thanked law enforcement officials for working to solve the case and prevent others from becoming victims. "Identity theft is a serious crime that affects millions of Americans each year. Our family was but one of 500 separate instances traced to one crime ring," Bernanke said. From January 2007 through May, the ring allegedly stole more than $2.1 million, and the frauds involved at least 10 financial institutions, according to court documents. A suspected ringleader, Clyde Austin Gray Jr., pleaded guilty July 22 in Alexandria, Virginia, federal court. Prosecutors said Gray hired pick pockets then made counterfeit IDs for coconspirators who conducted the bank transactions. Gray allegedly took a cut of the proceeds. Another man and another woman who prosecutors say were check cashers in the scheme also have pleaded guilty.

Man charged in largest-ever ID theft scheme

Man charged in largest-ever ID theft scheme

Prosecutors accuse ex-informant of trying to swipe 130 million accounts

WASHINGTON - Federal prosecutors on Monday charged a Miami man with the largest case of credit and debit card data theft ever in the United States, accusing the one-time government informant of swiping 130 million accounts on top of 40 million he stole previously.
Albert Gonzalez, 28, broke his own record for identity theft by hacking into retail networks, according to prosecutors, though they say his illicit computer exploits ended when he went to jail on charges stemming from an earlier case.
Gonzalez is a former informant for the U.S. Secret Service who helped the agency hunt hackers, authorities say. The agency later found out that he had also been working with criminals and feeding them information on ongoing investigations, even warning off at least one individual, according to authorities.
Gonzalez, who is already in jail awaiting trial in a hacking case, was indicted Monday in New Jersey and charged with conspiring with two other unnamed suspects to steal the private information. Prosecutors say the goal was to sell the stolen data to others.
How much of the data was sold and then used to make fraudulent charges is unclear. Investigators in such cases say it is usually impossible to quantify the impact of such thefts on account holders.
Targeting chainsProsecutors say Gonzalez, who is known online as "soupnazi," targeted customers of convenience store giant 7-Eleven Inc. and supermarket chain Hannaford Brothers, Co. Inc. He also targeted Heartland Payment Systems, a New Jersey-based card payment processor.
According to the indictment, Gonazalez and his two Russian coconspirators would hack into corporate computer networks and secretly place "malware," or malicious software, that would allow them backdoor access to the networks later to steal data.
Gonzalez faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the new charges. His lawyer did not immediately return a call for comment.
Gonzalez is awaiting trial next month in New York for allegedly helping hack the computer network of the national restaurant chain Dave and Buster's.
The Justice Department said the new case represents the largest alleged credit and debit card data breach ever charged in the United States, based on a scheme that began in October 2006.
Sophisticated attackGonzalez allegedly devised a sophisticated attack to penetrate the computer networks, steal the card data, and send that data to computer servers in California, Illinois, Latvia, the Netherlands and Ukraine.
Also last year, the Justice Department announced additional charges against Gonzalez and others for hacking retail companies' computers for the theft of approximately 40 million credit cards. At the time, that was believed to be the biggest single case of hacking private computer networks to steal credit card data, puncturing the electronic defenses of retailers including T.J. Maxx, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority and OfficeMax.
Prosecutors charge Gonzalez was the ringleader of the hackers in that case.
At the time of those charges, officials said the alleged thieves weren't computer geniuses, just opportunists who used a technique called "wardriving," which involved cruising through different areas with a laptop computer and looking for accessible wireless Internet signals. Once they located a vulnerable network, they installed so-called "sniffer programs" that captured credit and debit card numbers as they moved through a retailer's processing networks.
Gonzalez faces a possible life sentence if convicted in that case.
Restaurants are among the most common targets for hackers, experts said, because they often fail to update their antivirus software and other computer security systems.
Scott Christie, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice in New Jersey, said the case shows that despite the best efforts by companies to protect data privacy, there are still individuals capable of sneaking in.
"Cases like this do cause companies to sit up and take notice that this is a problem and more needs to be done," said Christie.

Recession scams..

Recession scams
by Hasti Taghi

IDAHO FALLS - "Well my husband works for a car dealership so we didn't know where things were going there. So we just wanted a little extra income, something to put into savings, to help pay the bills," says Ellie Dahl, scam victim.

And that's what made Dahl fall for a work-at-home scam. When she saw an ad in the Post Register advertising for a stay at home job, she couldn't resist. The Company, DR LTD Mail Express asked her to be a sort of "middle-man" for shipping electronics overseas. A few e-mails later, and Dahl was an employee. In exchange for her social security number, drivers license and other personal information, she received two packages to be sent overseas. After shipping the first one, she got a call.

"It turned out that they were all purchased by fraudulent credit cards," says Dahl.

Dahl know she had fallen for a scam. She called the Better Business Bureau and the FBI. Although no money was exchanged yet, her fear is, the company may open a credit card in her name. Work at home scams are some of the most popular in the current economy.

"They're falling more prey and these scams are a little more appealing. They want very much to believe it," says Donna Oe, BBB.

Other scams popping up recently, stimulus bill money scams, loan scams, and lottery scams.

"We did a large piece on Publisher's Clearing House. They're starting to get wiser, these scammers, using names that have been around for years, consumers kind of trust in that," says Oe.

So how can you protect yourself? By checking up on the company. The e-mails Dahl received didn't have any sort of address or phone number and when I google the company on line, there's nothing.

"Ask questions, lots of questions. If it's legitimate, they'll be only too happy to give you that information, if it's not, you'll get hung up on," says Oe.

"So when they see something like this that sounds too good to be true, what should they think?" asks reporter Hasti Taghi
"That it's too good to be true," says Dahl.

Fake check scams spread

Fake check scams spread
1.3 million Americans have fallen for this trick, according to CFA report
By Herb Weisbaum

updated 4:04 p.m. MT, Wed., May 27, 2009
To a con artist, cash is king. International scammers have developed a deviously clever way to trick people into sending them cash. The crooks mail out counterfeit checks or money orders and come up with a creative story to get their victims to wire back thousands of dollars.
According to a survey released Wednesday by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), nearly a third of all adult Americans have been approached with fake check scams and at least 1.3 million have fallen for it.
“They didn’t realize the pitch and the check were both phony until they wired off the money,” says Susan Grant, CFA’s director of consumer protection. She says the average victim gets taken for between $3,000 and $4,000.
Sally Greenberg, executive director of the National Consumers League, puts the yearly loss at $20 to $60 billion a year. Her group runs the Web site fakechecks.org. “These are very persuasive scams that play on people’s vulnerability,” she says.
Here’s another reason so many people get burned by these counterfeit checks: They look legitimate. “They look so real your bank teller can’t always tell it’s a fake,” says Allison Southwick of the Better Business Bureau.
It starts with that bogus check or money orderWhy did you get that unexpected check or money order for thousands of dollars? Maybe you’ve won a contest. Maybe you hit the jackpot in a lottery. Maybe it’s payment for a work-at-home job. The storylines are varied, but the con always works the same way. You need to deposit the check and wire off most of the money right away.
“Once it’s wired it’s gone, gone, gone,” Greenberg says.
The CFA survey pinpoints one reason why this scam is so successful. Most people (59 percent of those responding) mistakenly believe that when you deposit a check or money order, your bank confirms that it is good before letting you withdraw the money. Forty percent believed they would not be held responsible if the check or money order turned out to be counterfeit. Wrong!
Many victims tell me they asked their bank if the check “cleared” before they wired the money and were told yes. Here’s the deal: When a bank says a check has cleared, it means you have access to those funds. It does not mean the check is good.
If the check bounces – which could take a few days or many weeks – you are responsible to repay your bank for any of the money you withdrew.
Bogus checks can be used for almost anything. All the bad guys need to do is concoct a story about why they sent you a sizeable check and why you need to cash it and wire them money.
Here are some of the most common fake check scam scenarios:
Prize and lottery scams“Congratulations!” the letter says. You’ve won a bundle of money in a contest, sweepstakes or foreign lottery – one you never entered. The letter looks official and comes with a check for thousands of dollars. You’re supposed to cash it and wire off the money to pay for outstanding fees or taxes. Don’t do it!
Reality check: You never have to pay to claim a prize. If you’re asked to wire off any money, it’s a scam. More on this scam.
Mystery shopper scam You answer an ad and are accepted as a secret shopper. Your first assignment is to evaluate the MoneyGram payment system at a local Wal-Mart store. The letter tells you to cash the enclosed check – usually between $2,500 and $5,000 – keep a couple of hundred dollars for yourself and use the MoneyGram service to wire off the rest. Don’t do it!
Reality check: Never accept a job that requires you to cash a check and wire money. No legitimate company would ever make you do this. More on this scam.
Overpayment purchase scamYou’re trying to sell something that’s fairly expensive, maybe a car or some furniture. So you place an ad in the newspaper or online. Before long you get an e-mail from an eager buyer who is willing to send you a check for more than the asking price. You’re supposed to wire the extra money to a mover, decorator, shipping company or some other non-existent entity. Don’t do it!
Reality check: You’re being set up. No legitimate business transaction involves a check for more than the asking price with the requirement that you wire the difference to some person or company. More on this scam.
Other victimsInnocent businesses are also hurt by the fake check scam. Many of these bogus checks use the name, address and bank account number of legitimate companies.
This increases the chance the teller will accept the check. Try to deposit a big check from the El Gordo Lottery and the teller might start asking questions. But a check from Bob’s Auto Supply doesn’t call attention to itself.
“Often businesses don’t even know their checks are being used in these scams until they get angry calls from people who want to know where their prize money is,” says the BBB’s Southwick tells me.
A few months ago, I warned you about con artists sending out counterfeit Publisher’s Clearinghouse prize notices – along with fake prize checks. Some of those fake checks listed the payer as Alpine Environmental Services of Stanwood, Wash.
When the bank realized Alpine’s account number had been stolen it locked up the company’s accounts. The company’s manager, Dennis Dutoit, tells me he could not pay any bills for three days until everything was straightened out. “It created a major mess,” he says.
The bottom lineIt’s not very hard to protect yourself from these fake check scams. In fact, Carmen Christopher, an attorney with the Federal Trade Commission, was able to sum it up in one sentence. “If you get a check that requires you to wire money – don’t do it!”

Immigrant sentenced for fake ID sales in Idaho Falls.

Immigrant sentenced for fake ID sales

A 52-year-old illegal immigrant will spend 16 months in prison for four counts of document fraud.

By HEATHER WELLS hwells@postregister.com

An illegal immigrant from Mexico has been sentenced in federal court for selling phony identification cards in Idaho Falls and Blackfoot.

Ernesto Santillanes-Escoto, 52, will spend 16 months in federal prison for four counts of document fraud.

Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Santillanes-Escoto to be subjected to immigration-removal proceedings once he's released from prison.

A federal grand jury indicted Santillanes-Escoto in July, three months after the Idaho Falls Police Department began investigating him, Sgt. Phil Grimes said.

Shortly thereafter, undercover IFPD detectives and officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement bought several counterfeit Permanent Resident cards and fake Social Security Administration cards from Santillanes-Escoto.

He also was selling the counterfeit documents to several individuals in the area, who cooperated with authorities, Grimes said.

"We get a lot of fake IDs around here," Grimes said. "We were able to solve this case with a lot of evidence."

Santillanes-Escoto was arrested in September in Southern California and was brought to Idaho to face the charges.

Santillanes-Escoto pleaded guilty in February and was sentenced Friday.

It's a legal victory for illegal immigrants in Utah and across the United States.

Illegal immigrants score Supreme Court victory
May 5, 2009



SALT LAKE CITY -- It's a legal victory for illegal immigrants in Utah and across the United States.

The U.S. Supreme Court voted unanimously in favor of a Mexican immigrant living in Illinois, saying prosecutors can't charge undocumented workers with aggravated ID theft unless they can prove intent to commit fraud.

That ruling comes in Flores-Figueroa v. United States on Monday. Proyecto Latino de Utah director Tony Yapias was thrilled with the 9-to-0 vote. "5-to-4, we would have said, you know, ‘Wow! … That's a good victory.' But 9-to-0, it's unprecedented," he said.

Yapias says prosecutors have used ID theft as the justification for several immigration raids, including here in Utah, but he says in many cases, the illegal immigrants have no idea they're buying a Social Security number that belongs to someone else.

"Here it is, the Supreme Court of the United States has just said unanimously that this law has been misused by prosecutors," Yapias said.

To him, there's a big difference between the kind of accidental ID theft that someone undocumented and looking for work might commit, compared to the kind committed by someone who rummages through garbage or mailboxes, knowingly stealing someone's identification with the intent to commit fraud.

U.S. Attorney for Utah Brett Tolman says this week's Supreme Court ruling should not affect the way he goes after illegal immigrants. "In anticipation of this very issue, we have been operating under this heightened or higher standard for the last two years. So, our prosecutions have been consistent with what the Supreme Court has now ruled on," he said.

Tolman says, as a result, it should not affect cases like the raid on the Swift meat packing plant. "If you take, for example, the Swift case, what we … we were one of the few that were concerned at the outset, that anyone we prosecute for identity theft needed to know that they were actually stealing the identity of someone," he said.

The Utah Attorney General's Office says it is subject to separate Utah laws rather than the federal statutes affected by the ruling.