It goes without saying that good and evil often do exist side-by-side. And much like the Chinese concept of the Yin and Yang — contrary forces that are interconnected in the natural world — so too does this exist in the identity theft world. Each week we highlight the “Worst Person” in identity theft; while contrarily we also highlight the “Best Person.” Yes, there are many hard working professionals who work tirelessly to fight identity theft, and they deserve all the recognition in the world.

And, this week, we would like to commend Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Commissioner Gerald Bailey for leading the charge to arrest of 10 members of a criminal mortgage fraud and identity theft operation. The group i

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Protect Stored Information

Before a business can protect stored information which might be mobile and confidential in nature such as competitive business information or consumer personal information, they must know what information is vulnerable to exploitation and where they are. These are the first two steps of the Identity KAOS principles for protecting consumer identities. More people nowadays are storing confidential information, whether business or personal information, on their laptops and other types of storage devices which can be carried around for the convenience of accessing them when they are away from home or office.

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There are bargains and deals galore at online auction sites. There are also frauds galore. Avoid becoming a victim by following these 5 tips.

Tip #1 — Buy from Top-rated Sellers

If possible, buy from top-rated sellers. Most seasoned auction sites have a rating system for their sellers. For example, on EBay the top sellers have a blue ribbon by their name. This lets you know the seller has a good track record with the site and is a dependable seller.

Check the auction you’re interested in and see if they have any type of rating system or a comment section where disreputable sellers are reported.

Tip #2 — Know What You’re Bidding On

If you’re bidding on an object or product, you’re going to be familiar with it.

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Welcome to the Friday’s Food for Thought post from the ITAC blog. As many of us are counting the hours down to a long holiday weekend, we thought we would discuss the importance of this holiday weekend and how safety should be paramount – for everything including your personal data. Of course, there are many stories about firework safety and how to combat the heat, which thankfully broke on the east coast. We even found a story about BBQ safety tips.

But, alas, we did not find any stories about tips for keeping your personal data safe over the holiday weekend. So,

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Anyone using an open unsecured network risks exposing their data. There are many ways to see who’s connected on a wireless connection, and to gain access to their information. As more sensitive data has been wirelessly transmitt

Fraud Drivers

There are three fraud drivers which facilitate the execution of a fraud. They are Opportunity, Incentive and Justification. Lets briefly explore them one at a time.

For fraud to occur, there must first be an opportunity for fraudsters in order to commit fraud. Depending on the type of fraud, the opportunities might exist abundantly. For example, a cashier might see the opportunity to take money from the cash register if there is no management supervision or watchful recording cameras.

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