Identity Theft: Count The Ways

Written by Daryl Campbell


I received an e-mail message from "Paypal" not to long ago. The e-mail stated that PayPal needed me to update and verify my security information for their database. I didn't. One ofrepparttar sentences inrepparttar 139068 e-mail read:

"Completerepparttar 139069 necessary verification tasks within 5 days, or your account might get temporarily suspended."

That didn't sound likerepparttar 139070 PayPal I've been doing business with for several years. The grammar of "your account might get temporarily suspended" raised an alarm bell. Alsorepparttar 139071 logo while quite professional looked odd.

Butrepparttar 139072 obvious giveaway was knowing Paypal would never contact me at an e-mail address I never gave them. I could have become a victim of a technique called phishing. Just another form of Identity theft.

The effort criminals put into stealing your identity staggersrepparttar 139073 imagination.

With Phishing also called brand spoofing, criminals set up phony but legitimate looking websites then spam you with e-mail likerepparttar 139074 one described above inrepparttar 139075 hopes of catching a percentage of Internet users. No reputable business will ever ask ask for your personal information via e-mail information.

Phishing just became a parent to a newborn child called "pharming". Hackers plant phony information into DNS servers. This allows them to match domain names withrepparttar 139076 database of IP addresses maintained by various web hosting companies. In other words you type in a web address press enter and get rerouted to bogus websites where identity thieves are waiting to grab any of your information.

2003 saw identity thieves target Ebay account holders, this year it's Paypal's turn but any company with a database of information remains a target.

Choicepoint a veritable clearinghouse forrepparttar 139077 insurance industry finds themselves trying to explain how identity thieves tapped into their system to defraud 145,000 customers acrossrepparttar 139078 U.S. Investigators in California place that number closer to a half a million.

The hackers apparently used previously stolen identities to apply for and receive business licenses then bought information from ChoicePoint whose database totals 19 billion public records.

The FTC estimates that this year alone identity theft will costrepparttar 139079 business community 4.2 billion dollars and 8 billion byrepparttar 139080 end of 2006.

Easy access to computers provide more chances for identity theft butrepparttar 139081 majority of cases according torepparttar 139082 Better Business Bureau happen offline. Mail fraud public spying known as "shoulder or telephone scams that targetrepparttar 139083 elderly surfing" contribute greatly to this epidemic.

Play By Play: The 2005 myVirtualCard Poker Tournament

Written by Sidney Zombay


(Montreal) May 12, 2005 - Webmaster Access East had many reasons to justify its motto “Back Where We Belong” at this year’s Montreal edition, notrepparttar least of which wasrepparttar 139039 first adult-industry live Poker Tournament held by myVirtualCard.com.

Shrimp cocktail and rum & cokes, live industrial rock and a touch ofrepparttar 139040 adult biz inrepparttar 139041 form of a pair of curvy décor girls, thusrepparttar 139042 atmosphere was set for a no-limit Texas Hold’em tournament.

The billing company’s many clients, unanimous in their praise of services and support provided by multi-method processing platforms and innovations, indirectly recruited a good quota of registered players glad to fork over a little bit of cash forrepparttar 139043 chance to participate inrepparttar 139044 tournament.

Though prizes wererepparttar 139045 final pay out, participants numbered at least four dozen and includedrepparttar 139046 inexperienced and those less obviously so.

Open bar helped early registration and tournament play take off as myVirtualCard CEO Howard Cohen maderepparttar 139047 opening address. “I wouldn’t hire him for my kid’s bar-mitzvah,” said myVirtualCard VP Joshua Ungar. “But he actually did a pretty good job, and this wasn’t a kid’s event.”

The tournament advanced with eminent adult personalities dropping like flies as eliminations accumulated. Mantas from Rabbit’s Reviews, Ron from PlugInFeeds – all called and folded and bet and dropped, with Raja from SexSearch and Ramos of GoFuckYourself struggling to keep straight faces.

Asrepparttar 139048 tournament screws tightened, MVC programmers Jason Lotito and Richard Rondeau each grabbed a girl and took torepparttar 139049 dance floor in a scene somewhat reminiscent of a hardcore-techie ball.

“I didn’t know they had it in them,” said Ungar. “I’ve never seen programmers move like that. They were each given a raise afterrepparttar 139050 tournament.”

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