Identity Theft: Data Breaches Throw Electronic-Payment Security and Customer Loyalty into Question—Identity Theft Expert and Speaker on Personal Security

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(BOSTON, Mass. – April 26, 2007 – IDTheftSecurity.com) Recently released industry research has suggested that consumers are apt to stop shopping at retailers that suffer data breaches. The obvious alternative, according to Robert Siciliano, a widely televised and quoted personal security and identity theft expert, is for retailers to avert data breaches altogether by implementing Payment Card Industry (PCI) data-security standards. But he expressed concern over reports that retailers may be too unorganized to comply.

“Data breaches won’t stop by themselves,” said Siciliano. “Identity thieves and credit card fraudsters look for the point of least resistance and then exploit it. The retail industry ought to be well along in efforts to standardize security measures designed to dissuade hackers and social engineers from breaching customers’ data. Anything less will eventually cause customers to distrust the stores they frequent.”

CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com, Siciliano leads Fortune 500 companies and their clients in workshops that explore consumer education solutions for security issues. On its Web site, the Privacy Learning Institute has featured Siciliano, a longtime identity theft speaker. Author of “The Safety Minute: 01,” He has discussed identity theft and data security on CNBC, on NBC’s “Today Show,” FOX News, and elsewhere.

On April 11, Javelin Strategy & Research announced the results of a study on how data breaches affect consumer behavior, finding that 77% of the consumers surveyed intend to stop shopping at merchants that suffer from data breaches. Yet The Associated Press reported soon thereafter that TJX Cos., which recently suffered a data breach exposing “45.7 million credit and debit cards to potential fraud,” experienced a 6 percent rise in sales in March. Javelin’s Website quoted the analyst who authored the report as surmising that consumers’ promises to punish a retailer for lack of security may be flummoxed by their inability to “differentiate who it is that’s doing a better job of protecting their data.”

“Retailers play a dangerous game with lax security,” said Siciliano. “With every breach, we get closer to the tipping point, beyond which consumers will reflexively and precipitously leave retailers as data breaches occur.”

See Roberts April 24th MSNBC appearance on credit card fraud.

A March 29 article in Digital Transactions quoted electronic-payment experts expressing concern that large retailers’ apparent inability to meet PCI data security standards means small merchants’ prospects are no better, and perhaps worse.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone through a large store’s checkout line, used a credit card, and never been asked for accompanying identification,” said Siciliano. “This is a simple employee training issue. Cash register attendants must verify the signature and identity of every customer who buys with a credit or debit card.”

“Attention to compliance in electronic-payment security standards is critical,” said Siciliano, “and I’ve witnessed some of the best adherence to simple security policy at small shops, not large department stores belonging to national chains.”

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About IDTheftSecurity.com
Identity theft affects us all, which is why Robert Siciliano, CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com, makes it his mission to provide consumer education solutions on identity theft to Fortune 500 companies and their clients.

A leader of personal safety and security seminars nationwide, Siciliano has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, “FOX News,” NBC’s “Today Show,” “The Suze Orman Show,” “The Montel Williams Show,” “Maury Povich,” “Sally Jesse Raphael,” “The Howard Stern Show,” and “Inside Edition.” Numerous magazines, print news outlets, and wire services have turned to him, as well, for expert commentary on personal security and identity theft. These include Entrepreneur, Woman’s Day, Mademoiselle, Good Housekeeping, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, United Press International, Reuters, and others.

Visit Siciliano’s Web site, www.IDTheftSecurity.com; blog, www.realtysecurity.com/blog; and YouTube page, http://youtube.com/stungundotcom.

The media are encouraged to get in touch with Siciliano directly:

Robert Siciliano
Personal Security Expert
PHONE: 888-SICILIANO (742-4542)
FAX: 877-2-FAX-NOW (232-9669)
Robert@IDTheftSecurity.com
www.idtheftsecurity.com

The media may also contact:

Brent W. Skinner, President
STETrevisions
PHONE: 617-875-4859
FAX: 866-663-6557
BrentSkinner@STETrevisions.biz
www.STETrevisions.biz

Identity Theft: Phishers May Use Recent College Shootings to Solicit Donations—Identity Theft Expert and Speaker on Personal Security

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(BOSTON, Mass. – April 22, 2007 – IDTheftSecurity.com) The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team has issued a warning that the recent mass murder at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University may spawn phishing sites. Robert Siciliano, a widely televised and quoted personal security and identity theft expert, has urged citizens not to let their goodwill blind them to questionable, unsolicited e-mails that request their identifying information and donations. He said reputable organizations rarely send unsolicited e-mails for such purposes.

“It happened after the Tsunami disaster in early 2005 and, again, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina,” said Siciliano. “The U.S.-CERT’s warning makes perfect sense. There’s no reason to think phishers will, this time, refrain from preying upon our nation’s goodwill for financial gain. Tragedy never stops them; in fact, it only motivates them—to steal.”

CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com, Siciliano leads Fortune 500 companies and their clients in workshops that explore consumer education solutions for security issues. On its Web site, the Privacy Learning Institute has featured Siciliano, a longtime identity theft speaker. Author of “The Safety Minute: 01,” He has discussed identity theft and data security on CNBC, on NBC’s “Today Show,” FOX News, and elsewhere.

According to the U.S.-CERT warning, the organization “has received reports of an increased number of phishing sites set up in the wake of tragedies and natural disasters.” U.S.-CERT recommended Web visits to the Anti-Phishing Working Group, an organization that tracks and documents known phishing scams.

Readers may view Siciliano’s most recent appearance on “FOX News,” during which he provided insight regarding the tragedy’s aftermath and advice on how college students can protect themselves from violence. See here on YouTube:

“No reputable disaster relief organization is going to send unsolicited blast e-mails asking recipients to provide identifying information and money,” said Siciliano. “Citizens should immediately delete such e-mails. Legitimate, legally-operating groups typically appear on the news to encourage volunteerism or to provide viewers with a secure URL designed to accept contributions and information.”

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About IDTheftSecurity.com
Identity theft affects us all, which is why Robert Siciliano, CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com, makes it his mission to provide consumer education solutions on identity theft to Fortune 500 companies and their clients. A leader of personal safety and security seminars nationwide, Siciliano has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, “The Suze Orman Show,” “ABC News with Sam Donaldson,” “The Montel Williams Show,” “Maury Povich,” “Sally Jesse Raphael,” and “The Howard Stern Show.”

Visit Siciliano’s Web site, www.IDTheftSecurity.com; blog, www.realtysecurity.com/blog; and YouTube page, http://youtube.com/stungundotcom.

The media are encouraged to get in touch with Siciliano directly:

Robert Siciliano
Personal Security Expert
PHONE: 888-SICILIANO (742-4542)
FAX: 877-2-FAX-NOW (232-9669)
Robert@IDTheftSecurity.com
www.idtheftsecurity.com

The media may also contact:

Brent W. Skinner, President
STETrevisions
PHONE: 617-875-4859
FAX: 866-663-6557
BrentSkinner@STETrevisions.biz
www.STETrevisions.biz

Identity Theft: Retail Store Data Breach Affects Millions of Consumers, Including a Widely Quoted Identity Theft Expert and Speaker on Personal Security

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(BOSTON, Mass. – April 16, 2007 – IDTheftSecurity.com) Market analysts have predicted that the massive theft of customers’ financial data at TJX Cos. may cost billions. The data breach has claimed millions of victims, including Robert Siciliano, a widely televised and quoted personal security and identity theft expert. Promptly refuting related, fraudulent charges to his bank account and taking swift action to halt the criminals’ ability to use his credit cards, he urged all consumers who have shopped at the many affected stores to monitor their financial information closely.

“I am a victim of this data breach,” said Siciliano. “My credit card information was among the many records these thieves obtained. No single consumer can prevent credit card fraud. It’s impossible. But I’m fine with being a victim, and I caught the foul play by watching my account, just as I advise all my clients to do with theirs.”

CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com, Siciliano leads Fortune 500 companies and their clients in workshops that explore consumer education solutions for security issues. On its Web site, the Privacy Learning Institute has featured Siciliano, a longtime identity theft speaker. Author of “The Safety Minute: 01,” He has discussed identity theft and data security on CNBC, on NBC’s “Today Show,” FOX News, and elsewhere.

Upon receipt of his bank and credit card statements each month, Siciliano always scrutinizes every charge. In doing so with his latest statements, he immediately recognized unauthorized charges, telltale signs that fraudsters had gained access to his finances, and promptly refuted them.

“Shortly after I cancelled my card, I received a new one,” said Siciliano. “These are steps that many consumers, at their own peril, may not be taking.”

Recent news has suggested that consumers indeed are not taking advantage of tools that might protect their financial information. An article in Network World reported on April 10 that fewer than 10 percent of the approximately 163,000 consumers affected by the ChoicePoint data breach in 2005 used the free credit monitoring, credit reports, and identity-theft insurance the company offered.

Data breaches can be costly to a company that experiences them. Findings from Forrester Research reported in InformationWeek on April 11 have pegged the cost of an average data breach at anywhere from $90 to $305 for each compromised record. An article that ran in the Boston Globe on April 12 quoted technology analysts from Enterprise Strategy Group and elsewhere saying the TJX breach, which news reports have said exposed 45.7 million credit card numbers to potential fraud, could cost the retailer up to $1 billion.

“Data breaches are costly, plain and simple,” concluded Siciliano. “Whether the potential financial hit from a data breach seems manageable, the potential loss of customer loyalty is never worth the gamble. Companies and consumers are actors in a symbiotic relationship, after all; they depend on one another. But companies depend on consumers more than the other way around. ” See recent CNBC appearance;

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About IDTheftSecurity.com
Identity theft affects us all, which is why Robert Siciliano, CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com, makes it his mission to provide consumer education solutions on identity theft to Fortune 500 companies and their clients. A leader of personal safety and security seminars nationwide, Siciliano has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, “The Suze Orman Show,” “ABC News with Sam Donaldson,” “The Montel Williams Show,” “Maury Povich,” “Sally Jesse Raphael,” and “The Howard Stern Show.”

Visit Siciliano’s Web site, www.IDTheftSecurity.com; blog, www.realtysecurity.com/blog; and YouTube page, http://youtube.com/stungundotcom.

The media are encouraged to get in touch with Siciliano directly:

Robert Siciliano
Personal Security Expert
PHONE: 888-SICILIANO (742-4542)
FAX: 877-2-FAX-NOW (232-9669)
Robert@IDTheftSecurity.com
www.idtheftsecurity.com

The media may also contact:

Brent W. Skinner, President
STETrevisions
PHONE: 617-875-4859
FAX: 866-663-6557
BrentSkinner@STETrevisions.biz
www.STETrevisions.biz

Identity Theft: Increasing Incidence of Online Threats Demands Increase in Security Education—Identity Theft Expert and Speaker on Personal Security

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(BOSTON, Mass. – April 6, 2007 – IDTheftSecurity.com) Last month a well-known computer security firm released a report showing how the incidence of computer threats and the complexity and sophistication of individuals perpetrating them are growing. According to Robert Siciliano, a widely televised and quoted personal security and identity theft expert, the findings underscored the validity of other’ calls for strengthening IT security education and awareness programs.

“The response to ambitious hackers and the computer threats they engineer must be equally ambitious and scale to the ever-evolving dangers,” said Siciliano. “One major line of defense is IT security education. All companies should invest heavily in educating their workforces about IT security challenges.”

CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com, Siciliano leads Fortune 500 companies and their clients in workshops that explore consumer education solutions for security issues. On its Web site, the Privacy Learning Institute has featured Siciliano, a longtime identity theft speaker. Author of “The Safety Minute: 01,” He has discussed identity theft and data security on CNBC, on NBC’s “Today Show,” FOX News, and elsewhere.

A March 19th news release from Symantec Corporation of Cupertino, Calif., shared findings from the “Internet Security Threat Report Volume XI,” which looked at the incidence of various computer threats over the second half of 2006 vs. the first half:

Bot-infections (i.e., computers becoming “zombies” that operate, unbeknownst to their users, as malicious servers) increased by 29 percent.

Trojans constituted 45 percent of the top 50 malicious code samples—a 23 percent increase.

Zero-day vulnerabilities (undocumented threats to new software releases) increased twelve-fold.

According to Symantec’s report, these and other increases resulted in higher threats to personal, identifying information stored on computers. The research also revealed that hackers are expanding collaborative efforts on a massive scale.

Findings released a month earlier by Input, a Reston, VA–based market research firm, indicated that Department of Defense and Civilian Agencies will spend $690 million on IT security education and awareness programs over the next five years. The Feb. 20th news release noted: The Federal Information Security Management Act currently mandates that federal agencies provide security awareness and training to employees on an annual basis. But, the report suggested, successful education programs must require higher frequency and include random testing at a minimum of every few months.

“Hackers are becoming much more aggressive and vigorous in their antics,” concluded Siciliano. “We must respond in kind with training and education. Very little will completely halt a black hat hacker; they’re ants moving the rubber tree plant, but an equally technical person who knows how to put preventive systems in place has a fighting chance.”

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About IDTheftSecurity.com
Identity theft affects us all, which is why Robert Siciliano, CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com, makes it his mission to provide consumer education solutions on identity theft to Fortune 500 companies and their clients. A leader of personal safety and security seminars nationwide, Siciliano has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, “The Suze Orman Show,” “ABC News with Sam Donaldson,” “The Montel Williams Show,” “Maury Povich,” “Sally Jesse Raphael,” and “The Howard Stern Show.”

Visit Siciliano’s Web site, www.IDTheftSecurity.com; blog, www.realtysecurity.com/blog; and YouTube page, http://youtube.com/stungundotcom.

The media are encouraged to get in touch with Siciliano directly:

Robert Siciliano
Personal Security Expert
PHONE: 888-SICILIANO (742-4542)
FAX: 877-2-FAX-NOW (232-9669)
Robert@IDTheftSecurity.com
www.idtheftsecurity.com

The media may also contact:

Brent W. Skinner, President
STETrevisions
PHONE: 617-875-4859
FAX: 866-663-6557
BrentSkinner@STETrevisions.biz
www.STETrevisions.biz

Identity Theft Can Lead to the Most Devastating Instances of Mortgage Fraud—Identity Theft Expert and Speaker on Personal Security

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(BOSTON, Mass. – April 4, 2007 – IDTheftSecurity.com) The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) have recently added to their joint efforts against mortgage fraud. Robert Siciliano, a widely televised and quoted personal security and identity theft expert, encouraged their cooperation and pressed for more action. According to Siciliano, identity thieves can be behind the most devastating instances of mortgage fraud.

“The most devastating instances of mortgage fraud are mixed with identity theft,” said Siciliano. “Imagine not only having to beware of shyster mortgage lenders, but of someone else getting a home in your name. I encourage law enforcement agencies and the banking industry to take as much action as possible.”

President of IDTheftSecurity.com, Siciliano leads Fortune 500 companies and their clients in workshops that explore consumer education solutions for data security issues. On its Web site, the Privacy Learning Institute has featured Siciliano, a longtime identity theft speaker. Author of “The Safety Minute: 01,” He has discussed identity theft and data security on CNBC, on NBC’s “Today Show,” FOX News, and elsewhere.

In response to a near doubling of yearly mortgage fraud–related Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) since 2004, the FBI and the MBA entered into an agreement to combat Mortgage Fraud. According to a March 8th news release, the law enforcement agency and lending association will make a Mortgage Fraud Warning Notice available.

Mortgage fraud received much attention in March:

On March 29th Associated Press reported that Beazer Homes USA Inc. had “received a grand jury subpoena for documents as part of a federal investigation of possible fraud in the company’s mortgage lending practices and other financial transactions.”

A report to be released in April by the Mortgage Asset Research Institute is expected to show increases in mortgage fraud across the nation. According to a March 28th article in The Salt Lake Tribune, the report will rank Utah as No. 1 in mortgage fraud for 2006 (the year the report analyzes).

The March 28th edition of the Boston Herald reported statements from the Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley. Under existing laws in the state, lenders that are not banks commit only a civil offense with mortgage fraud. The AG’s proposal, if adopted, would subject these lenders to criminal charges for a widespread form of the activity.

A March 13th article in The Sun News reported that South Carolina’s Department of Consumer Affairs has called for a “crackdown on mortgage fraud.”

“These and other efforts to put a stop to mortgage fraud are commendable,” concluded Siciliano. “But we must take more action. The prevalence of identity theft makes recent increases in the filing of SARs all the more worrisome. We must track down, and shut down, not only mortgage fraudsters, but identity thieves. The last thing we want is for the two to exploit their synergies.”

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About IDTheftSecurity.com
Identity theft affects us all, which is why Robert Siciliano, president of IDTheftSecurity.com, makes it his mission to provide consumer education solutions on identity theft to Fortune 500 companies and their clients. A leader of personal safety and security seminars nationwide, Siciliano has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, “The Suze Orman Show,” “ABC News with Sam Donaldson,” “The Montel Williams Show,” “Maury Povich,” “Sally Jesse Raphael,” and “The Howard Stern Show.”

Visit Siciliano’s Web site, www.IDTheftSecurity.com; blog, www.realtysecurity.com/blog; and YouTube page, http://youtube.com/stungundotcom.

The media are encouraged to get in touch with Siciliano directly:

Robert Siciliano
Personal Security Expert
PHONE: 888-SICILIANO (742-4542)
FAX: 877-2-FAX-NOW (232-9669)
Robert@IDTheftSecurity.com
www.idtheftsecurity.com

The media may also contact:

Brent W. Skinner, President
STETrevisions
PHONE: 617-875-4859
FAX: 866-663-6557
BrentSkinner@STETrevisions.biz
www.STETrevisions.biz