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Latest headlines from the NextAdvisor Daily blog:

Consumers, thieves like iPhones
The iPhone and other smart phones are proving popular with the least coveted of all demographics: pickpockets and muggers. This article from Reuters points out that in New York City, while petty crime is not on the rise, the theft of the smart phone is. The article focuses on new anti-theft technologies that enable [...]

Phishing for fun!
You've heard of the dangers of phishing (a method that hackers use to gain access to personal info through facsimile websites) but how good are you at spotting it? We've posted a number of pieces on the importance of looking out for "suspicious" urls. Here's your chance to put that knowledge to the test. The [...]

What to do with leftover customer data?
Verified Identity Pass was a privately owned company that offered a service called Clear, which was designed to help air travelers get through airport security checks faster by vetting their identities and backgrounds in advance. On June 21, Verified Identity Pass announced that, for financial reasons, it would be ceasing operations. The abrupt closure has [...]

Consumers Union wants to know what you think about credit card reform
Consumers Union has created CreditCardReform.org, which provides news updates and explanations to ensure that readers understand how credit card reform effects their financial situations, as well as a wealth of tips to help readers use credit responsibly. In the months before the new protections outlined in the latest legislation go into effect, Consumers Union is attempting [...]

Good news for identity thieves - it's legal for states to post Social Securit...
Robert Siciliano is a NextAdvisor.com Expert Guest Blogger B.J. Ostergren is a proud Virginian. She's known as "The Virginia Watchdog," but I like to call her "The Pit Bull of Personal Privacy." She is relentless in her efforts to protect citizens' privacy, and she is primarily concerned with the posting of personal information online. So in [...]

Master hacker pleads guilty
Infamous hacker Max Ray Vision, a.k.a. "Iceman", a.k.a Max Butler pleaded guilty yesterday to wire fraud charges. Wired Magazine reports that he "stole nearly 2 million credit card numbers from banks, businesses and other hackers, which were used to rack up $86 million in fraudulent charges." Butler started out as a good guy, doing contract [...]

The dog ate my checkbook
We should never laugh at identity theft, but a recent case from Arlington, Washington does put a humorous spin on an old excuse. A woman allegedly started using her ex-husband's checks to pay for some of her expenses. When police went to question the woman, she initially told them that, "her dog got into her [...]

Data Breach Alert: Stolen laptop puts Cornell students at risk
Earlier this month, a laptop was stolen from Cornell University. The stolen laptop contained names and Social Security numbers for 22,546 current and former students and 22,731 faculty and staff members. In violation of Cornell's policy, the laptop was left in a physically insecure environment, and the names and Social Security numbers were not encrypted. [...]

Protecting credit cards from fraudulent charges
Robert Siciliano is a NextAdvisor.com Expert Guest Blogger Credit card fraud comes in two different flavors: account takeover and new account fraud. Account takeover occurs when the identity thief gains access to your credit or debit card number through criminal hacking, dumpster diving, ATM skimming, or perhaps you simply hand it over when paying at a [...]

Scammers use online dating services to target potential victims
Last week, guest expert Robert Siciliano discussed scammers who use Craigslist classified ads to target potential victims. Apparently, the same types of scammers also use online dating services to seek out gullible marks. A few days ago, Consumerist received a story from a reader who was contacted by a scammer on Match.com. The message is [...]