Entries by Robert Siciliano

Burglars Prey On Churches

Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert It doesn’t matter where, when or who, a burglar will go where there is easy access and easy money, or goods to be resold. The Miami Herald reports a burglar has holy targets for his unholy acts. Targeting synagogues, churches and a Jehovah’s Witnesses hall in Miami Beach, the man steals…

The Feast of the 7 Phishes

Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert Being a “Siciliano” and having roots in Italy, namely Sicily, the little island at the bottom of the boot, we have a tradition where we celebrate “the vigil” (La Vigilia), with a Feast of the Seven Fishes (festa dei sette pesci). It’s a day of cooking, eating and enjoying your favorite…

Craigslist ATM I bought Causes Industry Stir

Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert Apparently I raised a hackle or two. Seems my little stunt got the attention of industry insiders, and not all of them believe that I bought a used ATM on Craigslist, which turned out to contain thousands of credit card numbers. Well, it did actually happen, and despite what many say,…

Lack of Laptop Security Leads to Identity Theft

Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert In 2003, an estimated 1.5 million laptops were stolen worldwide. Today, that number has climbed to 2.6 million. That’s a 70% increase in just a few years. That’s one stolen laptop every 12 seconds. Laptop computers have been the source of some of the biggest data breaches of all time.…

Identity Theft 2010 Top 10 Predictions

Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert I’ve joined forces with the Identity Theft Resource Center to expand the pool of knowledge about identity theft issues. As nationally recognized experts in this crime, we have come up with ten predictions for what the nation can expect in the area of identity theft in 2010 and beyond. 1.…

Facebook Newest Portal for Social Media Identity Theft

Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert Imagine trying to log into your online accounts one after the other and being locked out. At first you think the site you are visiting screwed up but then it keeps happening over and over again no matter where you go.  Then you start receiving messages from friends and family…

Child Identity Theft Protection

Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert In a blog I guest contribute to called “NextAdvisor” they offer the following advice on child identity theft protection: The following post in our Reader Question series is an actual user submitted question. “Q: I found out that someone used my grandson’s Social Security number to get phone service. How…

Merchant Credit Card Transaction Monitoring

Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert Security professionals  intuitively think proactively. Our job  is to predict and prevent what the bad guy will do next. My job specifically is to instill this mindset into you, the consumer,  SMB or large corporate enterprise. Bob Russo, General Manager and Rockstar of the PCI Security Standards Council reminds us…

10 Tips to Secure Online Holiday Shopping

Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert UK officials shut down an amazing 1200 online retailers who scammed millions from unsuspecting shoppers. Most of the sites originated from identity thieves in Asia who tricked victims into believing they were legitimate sites.  Victims then lost money by entered their credit card data, sending checks or giving up banking…

Holiday Temps Make The Best Identity Thieves

Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert This is the absolute best time of the year to be a dishonest temporary worker. Holiday hustle and bustle overwhelms managers and supervisors and they can’t possibly see everything their employees are doing. It has been said that only 10% of employees are honest, 10% of employees will always steal…