Some interesting demographic identity theft statistics:

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Identity theft occurs when a criminal obtains and uses someone else’s personal information credit card numbers, bank account numbers, insurance information or Social Security number to purchase goods or services fraudulently. Identity theft is a state and federal crime. These Identity Theft Statistics are telling an interesting story on where we are  today.

According to Javelin Strategy & Research’s 2014 Identity Fraud Study, there was one new identity fraud victim every two seconds in the US in 2013 and the number of victims climbed to 13.1 million.

Some interesting demographic stat’s: People with social media profiles like Facebook, Twitter etc are also easy targets due to the personal information they put on their profiles; (remember in this age you have to work hard to keep things private, unlike in the past when you had to work hard to make things public)
Seven percent of smartphone owners are impacted since 62 percent of them do not use a password on their home screen and 32 percent save log-in information on their devices; (and now with NFC enabled smartphones, anyone can download FREE Apps to turn the phone into a credit card skimmer)
Nearly 3 million of the 12 million people affected by identity theft each year are deceased people; (I see dead people)
College students with clean credit scores are ideal targets;
Victims of data breaches are 9.5 times more likely to be a victim of identity theft;
Households with incomes of $150,000 or more (7.7 percent) are more likely to be victimized;

and the big one….

Thieves can steal credit and debit card information through a technology called Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), which uses radio waves. The digital pickpocket brushes a device called a skimmer close to someone’s purse or wallet and steals the information from the cards inside. The information is overlaid onto any card with a magnetic strip and used to make purchases. People can protect themselves by purchasing Armourcard the 1st Active RFID & NFC jamming device.

Isn’t it time you get protection from electronic skimming…?

BUY Armourcard NOW

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And the winner for most consumer complaint in 2013  is…… (drum roll)….Identity Theft again….!

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Another year….another huge dollar amount gets ripped off by identity theft. A lot of people still think “it will never happen to me…!”  but hell it seems to happen to a lot of people and it is again the most complained about crime in the US for the past 7 years or so.

So if you think identity theft will never cross your path, I’d be seriously looking for a rehab for  denial thinking.

Time to start believing that this is now the world we live in & you must start to take back some of the responsibility for controlling your personal privacy in this open airwaves / wireless age we live in.

It starts with Armourcard.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) Released Thursday 27th February 2014

The seemingly intractable problem of identity theft led the list of top consumer complaints once again in 2013, with U.S. consumers reporting that they lost over $1.6 billion to various types of fraud, the Federal Trade Commission said in a report released on Thursday 27th February 2014.

Identity thieves can make purchases on credit cards they do not own, make withdrawals from a victim’s bank account or take out loans in the victim’s name, among other kinds of fraud.

Florida had the highest per capita rate of fraud, with 804.9 people reporting a problem out of every 100,000 in population, the FTC said in its report for 2013. North Dakota had the lowest rate of reported fraud.

I want to implement the first line of defence….

BUY Armourcard NOW!

By Tyler Harris

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How to “TARGET” 40 million credit and debit cards with a Target Breach

The large retail chain Target (USA)  announced last week that about 40 million credit and debit cards may have been affected in a Target data breach from Nov. 27 to Dec. 15. Stolen information related to Target store cards and major credit cards, The Associated Press reported.

This breach was for in-store purchases not online according to Target.

This leads me to the reason for this post today.

Now you may or may not have been affected by this breach, but what is about to happen to the US credit cards & debit cards over the next 2 years you should be aware of.

The US plans to have all credit cards issued with the chip by 2015, many if not all as we have here in Australia will be RFID enabled.

The global roll-out of RFID (radio frequency identification) technologies used in the ‘Tap&Go’ credit cards or ePassports increases the chance of your personal data getting skimmed will be even greater.

The frightening thing is you will be not aware of it as no contact is needed to skim you nor will it be a breach of millions of credit cards, it will be yours and you will not find out until it’s too late.

As mentioned in the video, even with this know widespread breach the hassle at the very least to you as a cardholder is very real and could take some time to try and rectify the issues it has created for you.

I thought ‘chip’ or EMV cards are safer?

The financial institutions & card issuing companies tell us they are more secure than the mag stripe, which in many ways they may be, however, they have replaced one vulnerable technology with another. (yes a mag stripe card can be copied, but the criminal has to actually have the card in their possession to clone it even if for just a few seconds it takes to swipe the mag stripe, with the new RFID, enabled cards the criminal can electronically skim your card data without you ever knowing it)

This opens up an entirely new security issue as RFID enabled cards just by the nature of the technology are always open to transmitting your personal data over open airwaves & that means anyone & I mean anyone can skim it. In-fact many smartphones now come with NFC (near field communication) technology-enabled, which means they can in effect be used to skim your cards easy, just do a search in the google play store for credit card skimming apps and there are FREE ones to download.

Although NFC means you have to me ‘Nearer’ the mark (person your skimming) that usually is not an issue, think being in a shopping mall on an escalator in close proximity to others, bang a perfect way to use your NFC phone to skim the person wallet in there back pocket. Pretty scary when you think of how many smartphones are out there & how now not even harden ID thieves but opportunistic persons could skim your data that easy.

Now back to RFID technology (which allows you skim from a greater distance) you can buy a RFID off say eBay or Amazon for under $100, then its pretty easy to find a way to dial up the power on the reader and antenna strength (just google search how to do it) and now you can skim people from further away & if they are using ‘passive’ protection lets say like an RFID wallet or wrapping your credit cards in sleeves they can often still be penetrated by these hi powered reader (at the best they may limit the distance you get skimmed but you still could be skimmed)

The best defence is active defence.

1. Don’t just believe it will never happen to you

2. Don’t just blindly believe the institutions who issue these cards have your security interests in the best interest.

3. The time has come for you to be responsible for protecting your personal data, clearly, these breaches and the new wave of electronic skimming shows you that your personal data needs to be protected by you first. Gone are the days of working to have your data public when needed (PR) now you have to work to keep your personal data private.

It starts with ARMOURCARD the #1 Active RFID & NFC Protective device.

BUY ARMOURCARD NOW!

Debunking Identity Theft Myths – A guide to opening your eyes!

Really interesting article written by Neal O’Farrell from Identity Theft Council Blog that answers some of the common myths surrounding iD theft. Well done Neal & the IDTC.

Identity Theft Myth #1

• IDENTITY THEFT IS MORE HYPE THAN REAL

Truth

Identity theft may be the single greatest crime epidemic in the history of America. According to research firm Javelin Strategy and Research, identity theft claimed an average of more than a million victims a month in 2012. The Department of Justice recently put the total number of victims at more than 16 million last year.

That means there were more victims of identity theft last year that there were burglaries, attempted burglaries, assaults, robberies, arsons, vehicles thefts, purse snatchings, pickpocketings, check fraud, and shoplifting combined.

Identity Theft Myth #2

• IDENTITY THEFT VICTIMS ARE NOT REALLY VICTIMS BECAUSE THEY GET THEIR MONEY BACK, SO IT’S NO BIG DEAL

Truth

The biggest cost for victims of identity theft is the long-term emotional harm. If a thief has your Social Security Number, or a grudge, as a victim you can be fighting for your identity for years. Victims often talk about the emotional harm being the worst the worry, the harm to their credit, their lack of trust, their feelings of betrayal, wondering when the next shoe will drop, if it will impact their credit worthiness, their job, etc.

Identity Theft Myth #3

• ZERO LIABILITY MEANS I HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE EVEN IF I AM A VICTIM

Truth

If you lose a small amount, say a few hundred dollars, your bank, credit union, or credit card companies is likely to reimburse you. But if it’s more than that, or you can?t explain how the money was removed from your bank account, banks will often either deny your claim outright or tell you they will need to launch an investigation which can take months.

And you may be in even bigger trouble if your debit card is copied through skimming. The thieves will have your card and pin, without your knowledge, and banks will often us that as an excuse to blame you, the victim.

Identity Theft Myth #4

• I FROZE MY CREDIT SO MY IDENTITY IS SAFE.

Truth

A freeze is helpful but only protects against new account creation. It doesn’t?t stop a thief misusing an existing account or credit card, prevent skimming, emptying a bank account, check fraud, using your identity to file fraudulent tax refunds, Social Security fraud, employment fraud and many other types of identity theft. And in a troubling trend, identity thieves are turning to payday lenders as a way to get around freezes, fraud alerts, and monitoring, because payday lenders often don’t run credit checks.

Identity Theft Myth #5

• I SHOULD BE MORE WORRIED ABOUT MORE COMMON CRIMES LIKE BURGLARY, PURSE SNATCHINGS AND PICK POCKETS

Truth

You are 6 more times more likely to be a victim of identity theft than burglary, and 500 times more likely to be a victim of identity theft than purse snatching.

Identity Theft Myth #6

• I CAN JUST GET A POLICE REPORT TO PROVE I’M A VICTIM.

Truth

A police report is vital if you need to defend yourself against claims from debt collectors or victimized businesses. But they’re not always easy to get, in spite of the fact the victims are entitled by Federal law to a police report.

Common excuses victims receive when they try to file a police report are: You need to file the report in the jurisdiction where the crime was committed and you’ll need hard evidence before a police report can be filed. Neither is true but you may still have to be patient when trying to get a police report.

Identity Theft Myth #7

• I TEND TO SHOP ON SMALL BUSINESS WEBSITES BECAUSE THEY’RE TOO SMALL FOR HACKERS.

Truth

Most security experts believe that small businesses are now the number one target for hackers, mainly because of lax security. Web security firm SiteLock reports finding up to 5,000 new small business websites every single day that has already been comprised with malware waiting to infect visitors and shoppers.

Identity Theft Myth #8

• I USUALLY USE A DEBIT CARD BECAUSE IT’S MUCH SAFER.

Truth

A credit card is a much safer bet than a debit card. A debit card connects directly to your bank account. If it?s compromised, the thief is stealing your money. If your credit card is compromised, the thief is stealing the bank?s money. Which would you prefer?

Identity Theft Myth #9

• I HAVE GOOD ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE THAT?S ALWAYS UPDATED, SO I DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT CYBER THREATS.

Truth

Antivirus software is very important but it’s only one layer of protection. A study by the University of Alabama found that most of the popular antivirus programs in use today only catch about 25% of malware. A test in December 2013 by security firm OPSWAT found that out of 44 of the most popular antivirus products on the market, only one could detect a keylogger.

Identity Theft Myth #10

• I GUARD MY PERSONAL DATA BETTER THAN FORT KNOX ?

Truth

It’s not you, it’s them. No matter how well you guard your personal information, others will betray you. For example, there has been an average of one reported data breach in the U.S. every single day for the last five years, exposing more than 500 million personal records. Up to 80% of those records may have included Social Security Numbers. Could yours have been one of them?

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To Catch an ID Thief part 2

To catch an ID thief is a telling report on how these criminals obtain your personal details.

This is frightening to see how fast your identity details can be purchased and used all over the world.  It’s now even easier with the global roll-out of RFID & NFC technologies found in your tap&go credit cards, passports & smartphones.

Watch this to catch an ID thief report below and be prepared how easy it is to get your personal data.

Start protecting yourself today with ARMOURCARD!

‘To Catch an ID Thief’ part 1 – MNBC report

A great undercover report well worth a watch from MNBC

Part 2 is coming tomorrow and is even more disturbing at how easy it is to buy & sell your personal identity information.

Isn’t it time you started to protect yourself  – It starts with ARMOURCARD

Smartphone users still unaware of identity theft threats

Four in ten (40%) smartphone users in the United States agree that they don’t understand cybersecurity well enough to know how to protect themselves, according to LifeLock.

The online survey, conducted in August by Harris Interactive, asked more than 2,000 smartphone users about their smartphone security habits and assessed their knowledge of and participation in potentially risky behaviour.

Many smartphone users reported sharing data that can leave them susceptible to identity theft and other identity fraud dangers. Users are engaging in several compromising behaviours that may leave them at risk to fraudulent activity:

• 44% of smartphone users have a personal banking or finance app on their smartphone.
• 35% of those who have a social networking app on their smartphone allow the app to know the GPS location of their phone when downloading the app.
• 36% of those surveyed have not utilized protection such as a PIN, tracking software, and/or remote wiping capabilities for their smartphone.

It’s clear that the majority of those surveyed don’t take simple steps to secure their devices,? said Neil Chase, Vice President of Education with LifeLock. ?And it varies with age. The survey found that people ages 18-34 are significantly more likely to use the same password for every app than those who are 35-54, and people 55 and over are even more careful.

Despite the prevalence of identity theft, users don’t see their smartphones as the biggest risk. Seventy-one per cent of users agrees that losing their wallet is a bigger risk for identity theft than losing a smartphone. Further, 36% of participants believe they are more likely to have their car stolen than their identity stolen. However, based on an annual survey published by Javelin Strategy & Research, identity fraud affected 12.6 million adult consumers in 2012, while, according to the FBI, fewer than one million cars were stolen in 2012.

LifeLock recommends the following actions to secure a smartphone:
Protect the device with a strong password. Do not use a date of birth or banking PIN as a password.
Do not allow downloaded apps to access GPS location.
Ensure all apps use different usernames and passwords.
Wipe all personal information from the device before replacing or upgrading.

ARMOURCARD also recommends the following actions to secure a smartphone:
If your phone is NFC (Near Field Communication) enabled to be sure to watch what apps you download as if a Trojan is embedded in a ‘FREE app’ that activates your NFC your smartphone could become a remote credit card skimmer.
To protect yourself you can use Armourcard alongside your phone and it will jam the NFC signal.

Buy ARMOURCARD now

Protecting your Identity has never been more important

A great article by Adam Levin of IDT911 (Identity Theft 911) featured on US TV ABC-15 who puts forward some really good advice to protecting your Identity while your travelling. Although Adam is not aware yet of ARMOURCARD and its superior ‘Active RFID’ protection, there is still some great overall tips. Here is a summary of the tips and the interview.

• Watch out for Wi-Fi.
• Cut RFID risks.
  

  In newer passports (issued after 2006) and some credit cards, an embedded RFID (radio frequency identification) chip holds all your important information-exactly what identity thieves are after. Using a scanning device, thieves can access the information in the RFID chip without even getting their hands on your passport or cards.

• Beware Bluetooth.
• Protect personal information.

Before you go anywhere you should get ARMOURCARD in your wallet or purse.

Buy ARMOURCARD Now!

Get active RFID protection now!

Buy ARMOURCARD Now!