Are the tides turning that quickly?  Just last week it seemed that hackers had the upper hand and law enforcement, major companies and government agencies all had pie on their faces.  And now with LulzSec calling it a day, and even more arrests happening, it seems that the day of reckoning has already come?

Although not involved with the latest ‘hacktivism” trend, one notorious hacker who actually used his talents to loot consumer bank accounts, is facing 13 long years in prison.

According to PC World, Kenneth Joseph Lucas II, of Los Angeles, was one of a total of 100 people arrested by Egyptian and U.S. autho

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Definition:

Synthetic identity fraud is a method of identity theft in which criminals alter personal information for the purposes of gaining access to a consumer’s credit card or banking information.

Criminals commit synthetic identity fraud by altering some aspect of a consumer’s information. For example, a criminal might change a date of birth or a Social Security Number by one digit. The credit reporting agency recognizes that information as belonging to the consumer, but assumes a typographical error has been made in entry. Since it’s common for these types of errors to occur, credit or banking accounts can still be granted or accessed using this faulty information.

Often synthetic identity fraud goes unrecognized because incorrect information is often stored in a separate (but linked) credit information account with the credit reporting agencies.

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It happens every day. Now it’s happened to you. Your wallet was stolen, and you’ve lost your driver’s license, credit cards, ATM card, Social Security card, library card, and all the pictures of your kids. You’re worried about identity theft. What do you do?

Contact your bank immediately. An ATM/debit card often has a VISA/MC logo, so it can be processed like a credit card, but the money comes out of your checking account. You can dispute fraudulent withdrawls with your bank, but you only get the money back if their investigation goes your way – and that can take 60 days or longer.

If you had a check or deposit slip in your wallet/purse, open a new account and move your money. Talk with the bank manager. Let them know what has happened. You’ll find they can help a lot.

Contact your credit card companies next. Credit card fraud is a common form of identity theft.

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Q:  What happens if errors are identified on my credit report? Do credit monitoring services help to get these errors removed from the report? Is this a extra cost?

A: It depends on how full-featured the credit report monitoring service is. Some, like Identity Guard TOTAL PROTECTION®, provide both credit report monitoring and identity theft protection.  This means that if your identity is stolen while you’re a member, you’ll have the assistance of the Identity Theft Assistance Center to help reclaim your good name and clear up your credit report. There is no extra cost for this service.  Other credit monitoring services primarily monitor your credit reports and let you know if there are any changes; they don’t help to correct errors.

It’s smart to be aware of what is on your credit reports at all times. If

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Welcome to the Monday Morning News Kick Off post from the ITAC blog. All we can say is wow. The ITAC blog (like many) typically take the weekend off its a good time to rest up and prepare for the work week ahead. Though, it seems that this weekend was THE weekend to be plugged into the data breach news cycle. The IMF experienced a breach, the Turkish government made some major arrests, and (we knew this was coming) Spain was targeted by Anonymous. Thankfully we have pulled together all of these stories for you in one convenient location. Happy Monday!

Join the Club: International Monetary Fund Gets Hacked The International Monetary Fund now joins Citibank, Sony, Nintendo and other high profile targets as the latest victim of an attack by hackers. This is all starting to seem just a little ridiculous.

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Match.com has begun screening for users whose names appear on public sex offender registries. As I told the E-Commerce Times, “Doing nothing is a poor option. Also, consider that not every sex offender is tech-savvy, and some will get banned.”

My first passion has always been personal security as it relates to violence prevention. I got into this business 20 years ago as a result of violence in my own life, and began to write, speak and train in self-defense. Things are no different today, except that there are now many more ways for bad guys to ensnare their victims.

Studies show online dating and matchmaking services are growing, even in a recession. Many single men and women are signing up and attending speed-dating sessions than ever before. There are a couple of reasons for the increase in online dating’s popularity. First, it is cheaper to join a service than to spend money on countless bad blind dates. Secon

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