Big Privacy Breaches, Big Consequences

News of Tyler Clementi’s tragic suicide after the teenage Rutgers student was emotionally devastated by an online video brings to mind other cases in which webcams became spying tools, with repugnant consequences. Perhaps the most...

Three Ways to Fight Military Identity Theft

Military identity theft – in which the scum of the earth (read: identity thieves) steal the identities, life savings and futures of our brave soldiers in uniform – has been a big topic recently...

Mobile Banking Redux

As mentioned previously, I think using a PDA or smartphone to do your personal banking is inherently risky. But if you are compelled to use your Droid/iPhone/BlackBerry as a miniature teller, please take these...

Security Risks of Mobile Banking

Hail the Gods of Ever More Convenience, but Alas, Beware the Demons of Ever Less Security So there I was, watching TV the other night and suddenly this provocative bank commercial came on. Imagine that…...

Be My Valentine – ID Theft & the Broken Heart

There was a song from the ’30s or ’40s entitled, “How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Loved You When You Know I’ve Been A Liar All My Life.” In an age...
Student loan

Debt Dooms Grads from the Start

Does it come as any surprise that even twentysomethings these days have overwhelming debt? If only they weren’t spending money they didn’t have on giant flat-screen TVs, iPods, and video game systems, they might...
Debt

Your Credit: A Million Little Pieces?

All those unwanted credit card applications arriving in your mailbox, would you ever consider just handing them out to strangers so they, too, can take advantage of your good credit? Of course you wouldn’t....

Give Us Your Tired, Your Poor… And Their Serious Home-Buying Power

The Seattle Times reports the story of a man and his family who moved to the Emerald City and bought a house there. A simple American tale, but not quite: the man was an...

Credit Freeze – An (Intentionally) Inconvenient Process?

So, you live in one of the 20 states that allow all consumers – not just victims of identity – the right to freeze their credit. And, you’re thinking of taking advantage of the...

Credit Freeze – An (Inconvenient) Ounce of Prevention?

If you asked identity theft victims whether they would have preferred to protect themselves before or after their information was stolen, there’s a good chance they would opt for "before." Take, for instance, the...