Welcome to Fraud Busters -- help take a bite out of crime -- what to do!
Some great resources for combatting identity theft, credit card fraud, and online scams! Help take a bite out of crime -- join fraud busters! When I wrote my other lens, To Catch A Thief in under 40 Days, I researched what other lenses were available on Squidoo that could complement that lens. What I found were many great resource lenses for help with identity theft, credit card fraud, fraud, phishing, and scams. At that time, we didn't have GROUPS, so I decided to create this lens as a compilation of those great lenses. Hopefully you will find the information you need if you have been a victim of identity theft or other such crimes.
The Shocking Truth "Oh My" graphic seen here is courtesy of http://www.idtheftsecrets.blogspot.com and http://www.idtheftsecrets.com.
How do you feel about identity theft?
Identity theft at a glance
This is a great source of info ...
Identity theft is a term used to refer to fraud that involves someone pretending to be someone else in order to steal money or get other benefits. The term is relatively new and is actually a misnomer, since it is not inherently possible to steal an identity, only to use it. The person whose identity is used can suffer various consequences when he or she is held responsible for the perpetrator's actions. In many countries specific laws make it a crime to use another person's identity for personal gain.
Identity theft is somewhat different from identity fraud. However, the terms are often used interchangeably. Identity fraud is the result of identity theft. Someone can steal or appropriate someones identifying information without actually committing identity fraud. The best example of this is when a data breach occurs. There has been very little evidence to link ID fraud to data breaches. A Government Accountability Office study determined that "most breaches have not resulted in detected incidents of identity theft".http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07737.pdf A later study by Carnegie Mellon University concluded that "the probability of becoming a victim to identity theft as a result of a data breach is ...around only 2%".http://www.heinz.cmu.edu/research/241full.pdf More recently, one of the largest data breaches ever accounting for over four million records resulted in only 1800 instances of identity theft.http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=256153
Identity Theft Laws
Identity Theft Laws, if you or a loved one has been charged with identity theft, it is critical to review the information in this module.
About the Lensmaster: Darren Kavinoky is a Los Angeles-based criminal defense lawyer who practices throughout California. He is the Managing Shareholder of The Kavinoky Law Firm, an 11-lawyer criminal defense firm that handles criminal defense matters exclusively.
Darren has provided legal commentary on Larry King Live, the Today Show, Celebrity Justice and many other TV and radio programs. He is a nationally-renowned lecturer and author who delights in sharing his experience with others. More information about Darren and The Kavinoky Law Firm can be found at www.NoCuffs.com.
Note: Darren Kavinoky has a number of related lens on the topic of identity theft.
A special lens: Identity Theft Laws
by Darren Kavinoky
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Identity Theft Laws
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If you or a loved one has been charged with identity theft, it is critical to review the information in this module. If you have any further questions, please contact a skilled criminal defense attorney as soon as possible.
Identity Theft Secrets
Identity Theft Secrets. Want to see what thieves do to steal your information? Check it out!
About the Lensmaster: Jonathan Kraft. The Strive4impact philosophy: We're all, globally, going to need to come to an understanding that the human heart is the same around the world. When we learn to stop focusing so much on this idea that it's somehow 'them versus us', as individuals, as groups, as religions, as races, and as countries, we will learn how truly similar we are. This will allow us to celebrate our differences, and work towards a more common, peaceful, and practical future.
Two new product offerings that will further secure LifeLock's position as the industry leader in identity theft protection.
eReconTM: With the amount of information being illegally traded or sold online increasing, LifeLock's eRecon technology patrols the Internet, monitoring over 10,000 websites, bulletin boards and chat rooms that are used by criminals to illegally sell and trade identities. If a member's information is found online, they will be notified immediately by phone.
TrueAddressTM: Additionally, the United States Postal Service reports that 45 million change-of-address forms are filed annually. These change-of-address forms are often used by identity thieves to obtain your personal information. With LifeLock's new TrueAddress, members are alerted if any new address information is associated with their name in address databases nationwide.
A special lens: Identity Theft Secrets
by Jonathan Kraft
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Identity Theft Secrets
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Identtiy Theft Secrets is the site that Identity Thieves don't want you to see!
Identity Theft Articles
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byArt Crimes
Art Crimes, a lens about the theft (and, sometimes, the recovery) of art and cultural artifacts around the world.
About the Lensmaster: Barbara Andrade is a writer, lawyer, and generally curious human being.
A special lens: Art Crimes
by Barbara Andrade
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Art Crimes
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This is a lens about the theft (and, sometimes, the recovery) of art and cultural artifacts around the world. Note: This lens is undergoing a major renovation. Thanks for your patience.
Click fraud at a glance
Click fraud is a type of Internet crime that occurs in pay per click online advertising when a person, automated script or computer program imitates a legitimate user of a web browser clicking on an ad, for the purpose of generating a charge per click without having actual interest in the target of the ad's link. Click fraud is the subject of some controversy and increasing litigation due to the advertising networks being a key beneficiary of the fraud.
Use of a computer to commit this type of Internet fraud is a felony in many jurisdictions, for example, as covered by Penal code 502 in California, USA, and the Computer Misuse Act 1990 in the United Kingdom. There have been arrests relating to click fraud with regard to malicious clicking in order to deplete a competitor's advertising budget.
Click Fraud
Click fraud is an activity plaguing pay per click advertisers, and can occur at many levels and for many reasons. In essence, click fraud can be described as the malicious clicking of an advertiser's pay-per-click ads without the intent of researching or purchasing an advertiser's goods and services.
About the Lensmaster: Rich Gilmour. Husband, dad, programmer, surfer guy. I've been writing code since the age of 14, and have been using the Internet since before it was publicly available. I've been developing web applications and practicing search engine optimization and internet marketing techniques for over 10 years.
Credit rating at a glance
A credit rating estimates the credit worthiness of an individual, corporation, or even a country. It is an evaluation made by credit bureaus of a borrower's overall credit history. Credit ratings are calculated from financial history and current assets and liabilities. Typically, a credit rating tells a lender or investor the probability of the subject being able to pay back a loan. However, in recent years, credit ratings have also been used to adjust insurance premiums, determine employment eligibility, and establish the amount of a utility or leasing deposit.
A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan, and thus leads to high interest rates, or the refusal of a loan by the creditor.
Credit Rating
Credit Rating discusses why Credit Is Important; Individuals & Corporations With Poor Credit Will Have Difficulty Finding Financing, & Will Most Likely Have To Pay More Due To The Risk Of Default.
About the Lensmaster: Justin Good. I am a Mortgage Banker, part time M.B.A. student, and a die hard fan of Squidoo. I am obsessed with the sea creature Squidoo (like most other lensmasters on this site). I enjoy creating lenses that provide viewers with interesting, fresh, and informative content.
A special lens: Credit Rating
by Justin Good
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Credit Reports
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Credit Is Important Since Individuals & Corporations With Poor Credit Will Have Difficulty Finding Financing, & Will Most Likely Have To Pay More Due To The Risk Of Default. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/creditreport.as...
Some Recommended Resources
Investigating Identity Theft: A Guide for Businesses, Law Enforcement, and Victims
Amazon Price: $19.47 (as of 07/14/2009) 
Perfect Passwords: Selection, Protection, Authentication
Amazon Price: $19.46 (as of 07/14/2009)
Phishing Exposed
Amazon Price: $44.95 (as of 07/14/2009)
Safeguard Your Identity: Protect Yourself With A Personal Privacy Audit
Amazon Price: $12.44 (as of 07/14/2009)
Credit card fraud at a glance
Credit card fraud is a wide-ranging term for theft and fraud committed using a credit card or any similar payment mechanism as a fraudulent source of funds in a transaction. The purpose may be to obtain goods without paying, or to obtain unauthorized funds from an account. Credit card fraud is also an adjunct to identity theft. According to the Federal Trade Commission, while identity theft had been holding steady for the last few years, it saw a 21 percent increase in 2008. However, credit card fraud, that crime which most people associate with ID theft, decreased as a percentage of all ID theft complaints for the sixth year in a row.http://www.ftc.gov/sentinel/reports/sentinel-annual-reports/sentinel-cy2008.pdf
The cost of credit card fraud reaches into billions of dollars annually. In 2006, fraud in the United Kingdom alone was estimated at £535 million, or US$750?830 million at prevailing 2006 exchange rates.USDGBP=X: Basic Chart for USD to GBP ? Yahoo! Finance
Focus On Fraud - Mortgage & Real Estate
Focus On Fraud - Mortgage & Real Estate. Closing the Door on Mortgage Fraud. Making a false statement on a loan application is a crime
Don't Commit Mortgage Fraud Report It! Begin Your Fraud Prevention Program Today!
About the Lensmaster: Michael S. Richardson is a President/CEO, Loan officer, Real Estate Agent, or Author depending on the day or even the time of day. An entrepreneur since 1980, Michael has started and successfully sold seven companies, of which two were mortgage companies. They say when one door closes a window typically opens, giving you a chance to turn failure into opportunity or, as they also say, lemons into lemonade. But they don't say anything about the size of the window that needs to open when not just one but ALL the doors shut, or when all the doors shut, the walls fall down, and the roof caves in on the very same day.
A special lens: Focus On Fraud - Mortgage & Real Estate
by Michael Richardson
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Mortgage Bailout-Who is going to perform the due diligence?
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What are the major types of loan modifications I can expect? Reducing your interest rate Fixing your interest rate Extending the Term of your loan Giving you a short term interest-only payment to get you back on your feet Reduce the principle loan ba...
How To Get Free Credit Reports
How To Get Free Credit Reports disclaimer: All the information found in this lense can be found in it's complete form at YourFinancialUniversity.com.
About the Lensmaster: Edward Sanchez. My goal is to create a lense that is fun and informational. I hope you learn a lot from the information on this lens.
A special lens: How To Get Free Credit Reports
by Edward Sanchez
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How To Get Free Credit Reports
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A credit report contains details about your financial behavior and some personal identification. This information is gathered from many sources, mostly from creditors that have extended you credit. Lenders, landlords, and other service providers buy i...
Phishing at a glance
In the field of computer security, phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT Administrators are commonly used to lure the unsuspecting public. Phishing is typically carried out by e-mail or instant messaging,
and it often directs users to enter details at a fake website whose look and feel are almost identical to the legitimate one. Even when using server authentication, it may require tremendous skill to detect that the website is fake. Phishing is an example of social engineering techniques used to fool users, and exploits the poor usability of current web security technologies. Attempts to deal with the growing number of reported phishing incidents include legislation, user training, public awareness, and technical security measures.
A phishing technique was described in detail in 1987, and the first recorded use of the term "phishing" was made in 1996. The term is a variant of fishing, probably influenced by phreaking,
and alludes to baits used to "catch" financial information and passwords.
Phishing - Who Do I Tell?
by J. Einstein
Phishing - Who Do I Tell? discusses how there are thousands of places to tell you how to avoid 'phishing,' but I have found that it is usually difficult to simply report emails that I get. I am slowly compiling a list so I don't have to go to the FAQ of every single bank in the US as I get phished for information that I don't even have.
About the Lensmaster: J. Einstein. I am from California, but live in New York.
A special lens: Phishing - Who Do I Tell?
by J. Einstein
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Phishing - Who Do I Tell?
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Have you been getting those emails that seem a bit off, but have you nervous anyway? The ones telling you that you have just made a payment of $455.92 to Michael Gonzales from your paypal account or that there is suspicious activity on your credit ca...
Security Awareness
Information Security professionals tend to hate people. Why? Because people represent the greatest risk to a secure information environment. You can't patch the Marketing Department to address a known flaw in their security.
About the Lensmaster: Jeff Zwier. I help people and organizations develop messages and reach out to people to help them succeed in the workplace. That means a lot of work in managing change, crafting executive communication that makes sense, and teaching people to leverage communication solutions in a way that makes sense and stimulates change. It also means lots of writing, negotiating, persuading, and generally facilitating the flow of information through large companies.
My mission: To help companies market services, ideas and people in a way that helps demonstrate their value. You can find me in Chicago working for ABN AMRO's Group Shared Services - Information Security.
Fraud Links
- Fraud Watch International
- FraudWatch International combines education, monitoring and detection services, and preventative software solutions to consumers and corporate clients.
- FWI Fraud Shield
- The FWI Fraud Shield is powerful security software that works in conjunction with your Microsoft Internet Explorer web browser; it will warn a user if they navigate to a Website that is determined to be fraudulent.
More helpful resources on Identity Theft
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by
Identity theft in the news
- Okla. Residents Claim Identity Theft Stems From Web Docs ...
- SHAWNEE, Okla. -- Some Pottawatomie County residents claim they are the victims of identity theft, a...
- PROTECT YOUR IDENTITY: MEDICAL IDENTITY THEFT IS REAL!
- The Identity Theft thieves are now targeting your medical records and health information to use to g...
- Identity Theft With Social Security Numbers
- One of the most damaging types of identity theft is more common than you think. Do you make sure you...
- One You Blog » Blog Archive » Is Identity Theft Insurance worth ...
- Are you familiar with identity theft insurance? Even if you don't have this type of coverage, you ma...
My other lenses that you may find helpful ...
Including a LOTD winner!
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SOS -- Stop Online Scammers
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Precautionary note to anyone buying and selling online. This is an S.O.S. -- as I personally am Sick Of Scammers -- Do not sit back and let a scammer take advantage of you -- help Stop Online Scammers! If you buy or sell online, ultimately...
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To Catch a Thief in Under 40 Days!
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This is a true story--my story! How I helped authorities catch a couple of bad guys and what you too can do! Perhaps you have been a victim of fraud or know of someone who has experienced it. Certainly the internet has opened up the opportunity of vi...
Drop me a line ...
Have you been a victim of identity theft or credit card fraud or know of someone who has? Any ideas on how to combat identity theft and credit card fraud? Are you sick and tired of all those spam and phishy emails?
GAR_63 wrote
I also have a lens if you care to take a look. It is about preventing E-Mail fraud.
http://www.squidoo.com/askaboutfraud
check it out and help stop this thieving madness!
thanks!!
Posted December 02, 2008
rose08 wrote...
Amazing, so many squidoo awards you have gotten:) Great lens, congratulations for your efforts which have produced such a wonderful lens. The way you have presented your thoughts on the subject indicates how interested and well versed you are in this field. You're really an expert on the topic of Anti-Fraud! Thanks for sharing all of the well organized information and knoweldge with great resources. I would like to share with you an interesting and informative site about biometrics, including biometric signature, biometric safes, which can help protect your real or virtual estates from techonology perspective.
Posted July 27, 2008
Books on Identity Theft
Learn how to be a fraud buster
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