Matthew Cella reports: Schools are putting children at risk of identity fraud by obtaining their Social Security numbers when it is not required by law and often unnecessary, the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General has concluded. Some school systems in at least 26 states collect the nine-digit identifiers when students from kindergarten through…
Author: Dissent
(follow-up) AU: Alleged hacker pleads guilty to data theft
ABC News in Australia reports: An alleged computer hacker has confirmed guilty pleas to charges of theft of personal information. South Australian police alleged Anthony Scott Harrison, 21, infected more than 3,000 computers worldwide with software designed to capture bank and credit card details and had potential to infect up to 74,000 computers. Harrison has…
PA: Credit Card Scam
Ben Russell reports: The scammer posed as both a local and federal police officer. The incidents began last Friday when a man called several restaurants along the Carlisle Pike in Hampden Township. In one instance, he said his name was Officer Miller and that he was doing a fraud investigation. For the investigation, he needed…
(follow-up) NZ: Celebrities hit in Hell Pizza hack
As I’ve often argued, even just acquiring a home address in a breach can be problematic. The Hell Pizza breach may have created potential privacy problems for a number of celebrities, it seems. A pizza company’s customer database has been hacked and the details of several celebrities stolen. DJ Mike Puru, Target presenter Brooke Howard-Smith,…
University of Texas Arlington server containing medical records and SSN hacked
From UTA’s web site: The University of Texas at Arlington recently learned that one of its file servers had been compromised, which potentially exposed the prescription records of approximately 27,000 individuals to an unauthorized source. Federal and state authorities have been notified, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Texas Department of…
FL: Major Fraud Case Broken in Wakulla County
Mary Katherine Westmark reports on a second ring that has been broken up in Florida: Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office investigators, with assistance from state and federal law enforcement agencies, have captured two men who were allegedly involved in a massive scheme to defraud hundreds of victims across the United States and other jurisdictions of millions…