Two debt brokers have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they exposed highly sensitive information about tens of thousands of consumers while trying to sell portfolios of consumer debt on a public website. The agreements with the FTC require the defendants to abide by strict new requirements to protect consumers’ sensitive information. In…
Category: U.S.
WI: Fraudulent Green Dot accounts set up using stolen identities
Katrina Cravy and Leeann Watson report that fraudsters are opening Green Dot accounts using stolen identity information. Green Dot offers prepaid Visa or MasterCard debit cards. Police departments nationwide have crime alerts on this scam including Oak Creek. “I have probably over 100 since February and I know other jurisdictions all around us are just getting inundated…
MA: Tewksbury School Committee member resigns over data breach
Remember that horrific breach by Tewksbury Public Schools that I recently noted? The Town Crier now reports that Tewksbury School Committee member Lisa Puccia has resigned from her seat, “citing the recent data breach as a factor in her decision.” Jayne W. Miller quotes from Puccia’s resignation letter: “In light of the recent breach by the school district regarding the Out…
FireEye claims discovery of 10-year hack campaign by China
Aimee Chanthadavong reports: A decade-long cyber espionage operation focused on stealing sensitive information for the Chinese government is claimed to have been uncovered by security firm FireEye. The FireEye intelligence report (PDF), APT30 and the Mechanics of a Long-Running Cyber Espionage Operation, has revealed that the group, dubbed APT30, has been maintaining an advanced persistent threat…
NY: Oceanside gym owner gets prison time for using members’ credit card info
Ellen Yan provides an update on the owner of 5 Star Kickboxing (formerly known as KOXO Kickboxing) who was arraigned in January for misusing customer credit card information. Thomas Donovan has been sentenced to 3 years in prison, 3 years’ post-release supervision, and restitution of $17,719.27 to Home Depot and $690.50 to an Oceanside scrap metal recycler. Read more on Newsday (subscription…
Former Local 17 Business Agent Pleads Guilty To Misusing NYS DMV Database
Jeffrey A. Peterson, 51, of Freedom, NY, has pleaded guilty to exceeding authorized access to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (NYS DMV) database. The plea was announced Thursday by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York. The charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison…