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Ex-con seeks to launch devices fighting ID theft

Paul Prendergast — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:10:47 +0000

This is a bit of a tear jerker - Good religious boy goes off the tracks and becomes a drug dealer, in jail for 15 years where he picks the brains of 900 inmates on all the scams that are out there relating to ID theft. Ray Beasley is living the American dream - he has raised $85,000 and is looking to raise a lot more for his software that will protect against ID theft on pcs and laptops.

My favourite comment is from a guy who invested $5,000 -
“I gave Enron a chance,” says Ray Allen, a retiree who, along with his wife, Martha, invested $5,000 in B System. “Why not him?”"

Nokia Back Up Service

Paul Prendergast — Mon, 12 May 2008 08:57:55 +0000

This is an interesting post how to back up all your data on your mobile using the Nokia Pc Suite.

The major issue I see is you have to plug your phone into your computer and have the right cable handy.

An alternative is Zyb which offers a free online back up service which is quickly morphing into a mobile social networking service.

80% in USA are worried about ID theft

Paul Prendergast — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:01:53 +0000

According to a poll from Bankrate.com 80% of people in the USA are worried about Identity theft.
34% know a victim of identity theft and unsuprisingly they are much more concerned about it.

This concern is slowing the level of ecommerce, of those with Internet, 36 percent say they try to protect themselves from fraud by not shopping on the Internet. Nearly half, 48 percent, avoid online banking.

Dead suffer Identity Theft

Paul Prendergast — Fri, 02 May 2008 10:46:20 +0000

A genealogy site was used to steal the identity of over 100 dead people in the USA for 3 yeas undetected. Wired report that Tracy June Kirkland, 42, used Rootsweb.com to find names, Social Security numbers and the date of births of deceased people. She then “would randomly call various credit card companies to determine if the deceased individual had an … account,” according to the 15-count indictment (.pdf) filed in federal court in Los Angeles Tuesday.

$28 million payday for data thieves !!

Paul Prendergast — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 21:09:25 +0000

According to the Washington Post for on the black market these days, a full identity (name, SSN, address, bank information, etc) can go for $14 each.

University of Miami officials last week acknowledged that six backup tapes from its medical school that contained more than 2 million medical records was stolen in March from a van that was transporting the data to an off-site facility.

So a payday of $28 million beckons.

iPhones have driven smartphones sales

Paul Prendergast — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 21:01:24 +0000

The massive growth rate in smartphones has been driven by the iPhone. The last quarter of 07 is up a stunning 60% year on year.

At the end of last year, BlackBerry had a 40 percent share of the United States smartphone market, down from 45 percent at the end of 2006, thanks largely to the 17.4 percent share the iPhone grabbed in its first six months.

There is great fun ahead with Android and Windows is getting more prominent.

Mexican diplomat steals white house blackberrys

Paul Prendergast — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 12:03:34 +0000

A Mexican diplomat Rafael Quintero Curiel was caught stealing six or seven blackberrys from a meeeting table in the White House. He was caught on cctv,sources said he made it all the way to the airport before Secret Service officers caught up with him. He denied taking the blackberrys initally, but after agents showed him the cctv footage, Quintero Curiel said it was a mistake, gave them back, claimed diplomatic immunity and left with the Mexican delegation

Handsets are the next major security issue

Paul Prendergast — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:59:01 +0000

Bad Guys are moving away from well protected network attacks to targetting devices such as blackberrys and iphones. According to ex White House advisor Howard Schmidt the availability of software developer kits is making it easier for the bad guys to build software to target these devices.

€4 million violin recovered from NYC taxi

Paul Prendergast — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 12:43:07 +0000

An international violinist Philippe Quint left a €4 million violin in the back of a NYC mini-cab.

The driver, Mohamed Khalil, was unaware of the treasure on the back seat and left it there outside his home overnight. The slightly stressed Quint dropped to his knees with tears of joys when reunited the following day.

Free Chocolate will get you someones password

Paul Prendergast — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 11:00:51 +0000

Up to a fifth of UK PC users are willing to turn over their passwords in exchange for a chocolate bar, according to a recent survey.

Yahoo report that people will break the ultimate security taboo for a moro, crunchie or maybe even a toblerone. Women were more likely to agree.

So it should be very easy to spot data thieves wandering offices with a trolley full of cadburys - we are a strange bunch !!