Identity Theft News

Just when you thought your data was safe...
Identity Theft News

13.4 million Americans’ personal information was compromised in just nine months of 2009. Identity theft is the illegal use of someone else’s personal information to obtain money or credit.

Here you will find the latest identity theft news coverage and up-to-the minute news on security breaches. By tracking and listing news on the security breaches we hope to keep you informed and enable you to quickly determine if you have been exposed to a potential ID theft situation.

While companies are required by federal law to declare information regarding security breaches, there can be a lag in the time it takes to reach affected consumers, and about 70% of the fraud from a stolen identity incident occurs in the first week.

If you feel you may have been affected by a security breach, contact the company that suffered the loss of your information and inquire about actions they are taking to combat identity theft and any possible compensation and other assistance that they may be prepared to offer you. We recommend you to take a proactive stance as companies may not always fully inform you of what they are willing to do and the range of assistance that they could provide you to rectify the situation.

10/29/2010 UH Security Breach Impacts More Than 40,000
10/28/2010 Breach Exposes 280,000 Medicaid Patients' Data
10/28/2010 Hacker gains access to more than 56,000 first responders' personal info
10/25/2010 MWeb promises action over security breach.
10/22/2010 Lost AmeriHealth Mercy Flash Drive Exposes 280,000 Medicaid Members
10/21/2010 Apple's FaceTime Hit by Password Security Breach
10/20/2010 Mississippi National Guard Admits Accidental Data Breach
10/19/2010 UNF reports server security breach
10/18/2010 Hacker Strikes Florida Campus
10/7/2010 Apple iTunes customers could be at risk of financial data security breach
10/1/2010 ALDI Notifies Customers of Tampered Payment Card. Hotline:(877) 412-7152
9/28/2010 NYC hospital: Info on 6,800 patients leaked online
9/25/2010 Crammers Find Ways To Scam Charges Through Phone Bills
9/24/2010 New Telephone Scam Targets Medicare Recipients. Hotline:1-800-525-6285
9/24/2010 Lincoln Golf Courses & Restaurant Sources of Credit Card Leaks
9/21/2010 Security Breach Leaves Students Shaken In Its Wake. Hotline: (877)506-2210
9/20/2010 ID Theft Scam Preys On Job Hunters
9/17/2010 Rice University Exposes Students/ Employees Data
9/14/2010 Card Theives "Skimming" Pay-at-the-Pump Customers
9/13/2010 Roseville Police Warn of Credit Scam
9/13/2010 CCNY Students Feel Sting of Data Security Mishap
9/9/2010 FDIC Warns of Suspicious Fraudulent Calls. Hotline: 1-800-759-6596
9/7/2010 Nine Former Sprint Employees Charged with Stealing Customer Information
9/5/2010 Login Information Compromised in EMU Security Breach. Hotline: 734-487-2120
8/29/2010 Condo Residents Victim of Identity Theft
8/23/2010 Apple Can't Stop Ongoing iTunes Scam. Hotline:1-402-935-2050
8/22/2010 2,000 Medical Records Stolen From Kentucky Hospital. Hotline:1-800-333-8874
8/6/2010 21,000 patient names, birth dates, insurance information and social security numbers lost on stolen laptop. Hotline: 877-309-0186
8/6/2010 The 7 Most Dangerous Scams This Summer
7/29/2010 South Shore Hospital loses files on 800,000. Hotline: 877-309-0176
7/27/2010 Employee accidentally posts 3000 clients Social Security numbers on a third party website. Hotline: 800-332-6347
7/23/2010 1,300 illegal immigrants information exposed including address, social security number and other personal data. Hotline: 800-955-2210
7/22/2010 93,000 Social Security Numbers, Addresses and Drivers License Information exposed in compromised database. Hotline: 800-383-2821
7/21/2010 Stolen laptop exposes 5000 employees unemployment insurance claims including Social Security numbers. Hotline: 203-455-2700
7/20/2010 139,000 Names, Social Security numbers and other personal information mistakenly sent to investment industry publication. 800-269-5428
7/16/2010 BBB Alert: Beware of Amazon.Com Fraud. Hotline:1-609-588-0546
7/15/2010 53,000 personal information including Social Security numbers and credit cards numbers on breached server. Hotline: 808-956-6000
7/13/2010 Mailing labels printed with Social Security and Medicaid numbers expose 2,047. Hotline: 866-876-HIPA
7/8/2010 Names, addresses, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers of about 79,000 on stolen hard drive. Hotline: [Fax] 817 967-4162
7/7/2010 Health Net to pay $250G in data loss. Hotline: 800-747-0877
7/2/2010 Medical diagnoses for 130,000 people lost from stolen CD. Hotline: 718-579-5537
7/1/2010 4,585 Social Security numbers stolen from hacked server . Hotline: 207-581-1392
6/30/2010 13,000 patients affected due to missing data tape. Hotline: 877-790-7773
6/29/2010 Dozens of credit card numbers stolen from Driskill guests. Hotline: 800-252-9367
6/28/2010 Anthem Blue Cross - Patients pending insurance applications containing 230,000 Social Security numbers were exposed on the web. Hotline: 800-777-6000
6/24/2010 Unsecured database contained 19,500 names, address, Social Security numbers. Hotline: 305-348-2768
6/23/2010 Hackers Aren't Only Threat to Privacy. Hotline: (404)546-7000
6/16/2010 Apple's Worst Security Breach: 114,000 iPad Owners Exposed. Hotline: 800-331-0500
6/11/2010 Virus-infected computers expose 7,000 alumni names and Social Security numbers. Hotline: 800-843-2586
6/9/2010 708 patients names and Social Security numbers available on the internet for 18 months. Hotline: 502-852-0785
6/7/2010 Personal information including Social Security numbers of 15,806 potentially breached at Penn State. Hotline: 814-863-3049
6/3/2010 Surplus computers sold containing 2000 employees names and Social Security numbers. Hotline: 800-556-3041
6/1/2010 61,000 medical records stolen from laptop in employee's parked car. Hotline: 513-636-4420
5/28/2010 1,250 bills mailed to the patients, exposing names, addresses, medical numbers and details. Contact: 585-275-2181
5/26/2010 DVD media lost in mail exposes Social Security numbers for 5,220 workers. Hotline: (888) 435-6031
5/21/2010 Laptop theft exposes data on 207,000 army reservists. Hotline: 800-944-0401
5/20/2010 644 Social Security numbers exposed on contractor stolen laptop. Hotline: 800-827-1000
5/14/2010 9500 names, health plan numbers and Social Security numbers, compromised. Hotline: 877-453-8424
5/13/2010 Hundreds of documents containing names, addresses, bank account details thrown in dumpster. Hotline: 865-281-0180
5/10/2010 24,600 individuals notified after a flash drive was came up missing. Hotline: (502) 560-8404
5/7/2010 Stolen computers expose 20,000 patients names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers. Hotline: 1-800-627-8106
5/5/2010 180,111 individuals may be affected when health records belonging to patients were stolen in a break-in at a suburban medical billing company.. Hotline: 877-590-6354
5/3/2010 Stolen hard drive exposes 5,418 patients names, addresses, dates of birth, and medical numbers. Hotline: 877- 338-8525
4/28/2010 Nearly two thousand students records from Chattanooga State are missing. Hotline: (423) 697-4404
4/26/2010 Blippy says it has fixed glitch that exposed users' credit card numbers. Contact: privacy@blippy.com
4/23/2010 409,262 employees personal details including medical, Social Security numbers and dates of birth are being exposed. Hotline 718-794-7700
4/21/2010 Mass. Eye and Ear Alerts Patients to Laptop Theft and Data Breach. Hotline: 877-313-1395
4/16/2010 Nearly 1,000 patients radiology studies data stolen. Hotline: 203-732-7515
4/14/2010 Thousands of patients medical records stolen and found in a dumpster. Hotline: 800-422-9567
4/12/2010 USCB alumni personal info might have been stolen with laptop. Hotline: 843- 208-8030
4/9/2010 11,000 Social Security Numbers Stolen From Furnace Rebate Applicants. Hotline: 866-940-4676
4/7/2010 John Muir Health to notify 5,450 patients of data breach Hotline: 925-947-5373
4/6/2010 Data of 3.3 million names, addresses, dates of birth and Social Security numbers exposed on stolen portable media device . Hotline: 877-449-3568
4/5/2010 Names and Social Security numbers accidentially sent to 3 suspended employees. Hotline: 805-982-1124
3/24/2010 Fifth Third Bank's customers will be receiving new debit cards as a result of a data breach Hotline: 800-782-0279
3/18/2010 Vanderbilt students' personal data was on computer stolen from professor's office. Hotline: 615-322-4747
3/16/2010 VA Reports Alleged Records Breach Hotline: 404-321-6111 x5385
3/11/2010 Citibank apologizes after exposing 600,000 Social Security numbers. Hotline: 1-877-IDTHEF
3/8/2010 Why Pay For Health Insurance When You Can Steal It? Inquiry: 202-513-3232
3/4/2010 Police still searching for suspects in computer, identity theft cases Hotline: 800-530-7151
3/3/2010 Data Breaches Revealed At Local Hospitals - MA Hotline: 877-437-2830
3/2/2010 Shands Healthcare notified over 12,000 individuals of an information breach. Inquiry 800-535-0373
2/25/2010 Pennsylvannia police seek identity theft suspects: Tip line at 717-591-3790.
2/23/2010 Grades and Social Security numbers were accessed by an individual without authorization - Inquiry 229-245-4357
2/22/2010 Social Security numbers found lying in street - Inquiry lblack@tribune.com
2/18/2010 Mount Laurel police investigating identity theft case - Contact 609-871-8154
2/17/2010 30 reports of ID theft at East Chicago tax service - Hotline: 800-908-4490
2/15/2010 Shell hit by massive data breach Green hackers or angry ex-staff? - General Inquiries - 888-467-4355
2/10/2010 Javelin Study Finds Identity Fraud Reached New High in 2009, but Consumers are Fighting Back
2/9/2010 Nearly 50,000 Californian Social Security Numbers Exposed - Contact: 916-445-4171
2/6/2010 CHIP data is exposed - Hotline: 877-676-0371
2/5/2010 Health Net Sued Over Data Breach - Corporate Office number: 800.291.6911
1/25/2010 Financial services firm notifies 1.2 million of breach - (484) 583-1400
1/16/2010 Connecticut AG uses HITECH to sue over patient data breach - Hotline: 866-633-2446
1/15/2010 Possibly 500,000 Tennessee BlueCross Members' Personal Information Lost - Hotline: 1-888-422-2786
1/14/2010 Google Apologizes For Local Data Breach - Customer Service: 650-253-0000
1/8/2010 Heartland to Pay up to $60 Million to Visa Over Breach - Company Number: 888.963.3600
12/31/2009 RockYou sued over data breach- RockYou Phone Line: 650-368-8081
12/29/2009 Countrywide ID Theft Settlement Gets Preliminary Approval - ID Theft Hotline 866-451-5895
12/23/2009 FBI Probes Hack at Citibank - Citibank Phone: 800-756-7047
12/21/2009 Spyware snags Akron Children’s Hospital patient and employee info - Akron Children's Hospital: 800-262-0333
12/1/2009 Identity Thieves Prey on Careless Holiday Shoppers - FTC ID Theft Phone Line: 877-438-4338
11/27/2009 Shoppers should be wary of scams and thieves
11/23/2009 Hackers Breach Heartland Payment Credit Card System - HPY: 888.963.3600
11/19/2009 HealthNet Reports Data Breach Affecting 1.5 Million Members Nationwide
11/19/2009 Identity Crisis: The Threat of Bulk Thefts
11/13/2009 Data Beach Could Affect 60,000 GIs, Civilians
11/6/2009 Criminals Stay Ahead of Data Breach Laws
11/3/2009 Nationwide Data Breach Hits N.H. Physicians
10/19/2009 Millions Fooled by "Scareware" Scams on the Web
10/15/2009 Identity Theft Scam Reaches Mammoth Proportions
10/14/2009 Hospital Says Patient Personal Data Possibly Compromised
10/7/2009 Blue Cross: Thousands of doctors' computer data stolen
10/7/2009 FBI smashes US-Egypt cyber 'phishing' ring
10/6/2009 Microsoft investigates Hotmail 'security breach of 10,000 accounts'
10/5/2009 Breach At Pharmaceutical Benefits Company May Have Affected 700,000
10/5/2009 National Protect Your Identity Week Is October 17th-24th
10/2/2009 U.S. Government Suffers "Largest Release of Personally Identifiable..."
10/2/2009 UNC's Health Record Breach Raises Questions About the Safety of EHR
9/15/2009 Data Breach Highlights Role Of 'Money Mules'
9/14/2009 UF reports computer file privacy breach
9/11/2009 Chase Bank Notifies Customers of Breach - Report Fraud to Chase: 800-935-9935