December 30, 2009 by Terry.

Have some peace of mind while knowing it is reported that only about 19% of IDentity Theft is related to ‘financial’ id theft.

Enjoy the holidays and have fun.

You should check out this great site I joined called Blastoff Network. It’s a customizable page that combines the best news, videos, music, and social networking with cash-back shopping from the biggest retailers such as Target, Best Buy, and Tiger Direct. Check out Blastoff Network at http://my.blastoffnetwork.com/viralvideo/223126412 or visit my Blastoff Homepage at http://my.blastoffnetwork.com/talktoday

Posted in Internet | Print | No Comments »

December 24, 2009 by Terry.

See if you can follow my meandering thoughts.

I am a Novice long-time Genealogist, dabbling in my family history research here and there.  As an advocate in this IDentity Theft crisis, I beg to wonder with this crisis will our children and their children, doing family history research, be heard saying “Will the real Grandpa Terry Kohler please stand up?”  Now, I wonder if we will be hearing “Will the Real America Please Stand Up?”

I am so flippin’ displeased with this current administration’s choices.  With the voting that just took place in D.C. this morning and the bribes paid out by Harry Reid and those buying votes to get passage of the Health Care Reform, not only are our Freedoms being eroded away, but our IDentity is being messed with.  What the @#*%^$! are Ben Nelson, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, P-BO [President Barrack Obama], and the Demo’s doing?  I wonder if some “LOWER Power” has them by the Ball’s? I hear from the media that the Healthcare Reform piece of garbage wouldn’t take effect for 4 years [NO, I haven’t read the 2,000 pages of the document — sounds like Mr. Obuma and many others haven’t either].  Obuma says they will make health care affordable for 30Million Americans [Yeah, like the ones who are illegal immigrants using True Americans social security numbers to get medical treatment], yet costing, those who pay for health insurance through their employer or on their own, even more in costs.  Obuma says that the American People sent them [Him and those Czars] there to do the things the People want them to do.  What?  He and the BIG govt, and the rest of the greedy power mongers, aren’t listening to all the people I am hearing.

Let ME CHOOSE to pay into a PRIVATE health care ACCOUNT that I can take with me from job-to-job or company-to-company.  I want to be in control of MY OWN portable health care costs.

I salute my fellow American Veterans!  Many people do NOT realize the blank check we wrote when we swore to protect America’s Freedoms, yet who we are [our IDentity] is being taken away, by votes, by force.  Veteran’s spouses and families also bear major sacrifice and support America more than some Americans realize.

All you Socialistic spread the wealth, entitlement-minded, people out there: STAY OUT OF MY “BUSINESS” and MY BUSINESS, and that of my friends, families, business associates, and THEIR businesses.  Don’t spread MY wealth or non-wealth, spread your own.  I will do with MY TIME, MONEY, FREEDOM, what I need or want to do with it.  I will bless the lives of my family, or others, by giving, when, where, how, I see fit and best.  You should teach a man to fish, not just feed him fish.  All you people who are HONESTLY using government assistance - hurry and get back on your feet, and be self-sufficient.  All you who have been on public assistance longer than necessary - SHAME ON YOU.  The most you should be given are Seeds to grow your own food - don’t know how- learn.  The government is to protect us from evil doings and protect our freedoms - not be part of the evil doings and destroy our freedoms.

MERRY

CHRISTMAS and Good Tidings to ALL!  — for those of you wanting God out of everything, “Happy Holiday”.

For those of us wanting to protect our rights, know what our rights are, have true representation for our own LOCAL and personal issues, have AFFORDABLE access to legal counsel there is a solution!  http://talktoday.us  I suggest watching the short videos at each link!

Posted in IDT - America, IDentity Theft | Print | No Comments »

December 9, 2009 by Terry.

Social media sites have their level of security choices built-in, OR NOT, that registered users can select from!

Facebook also comes with privacy tools, and Mark Zuckerberg, founder of the social networking site, urges people to use them.  Even on LinkedIn I am reminding those I am connected with to NOT show their birthday [even if it is just the month and day].

In an article on the CNET website, Don Reisinger says younger users of Facebook are particularly liberal with sharing personal, job-related, or school information to their Facebook ‘friends.’ Reisinger cites a study by security firm Sophos, which found that 41 to 46 percent of the 100 Facebook users contacted “blindly accepted” friend requests from two fake users the firm created for the study.

“Half of all the users Sophos befriended displayed the town or suburb where they live,” he writes. “They even offered up information on family and friends.”

10 years ago it might have taken a con-artist or identity thief weeks, and even a private investigator, to find out the sort of non-public personal information [NPPI] people now willingly share on Facebook, according to a Sophos blog.

Facebook has announced it is forming a safety advisory board to address these and other Internet safety issues.

To read the CNET article, please click here:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10410257-2.html

Facebook isn’t the only place to be careful.  There is MySpace, LinkedIn, YouTube, Genealogy/Reunion sites, focus/interest group sites, military buddies sites, …

Just think twice before clicking the button to display personal or private information that you would not share with a stranger walking up to you out in public.

Posted in Internet | Print | No Comments »

November 16, 2009 by Terry.

Here is who I would recommend, as does Greenblatt Strategy [for investments]:

Kroll Background America [aka Kroll Worldwide - http://kroll.com ]
Contact me for more details on their services and why they approached Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc to partner on the IDentity Theft Shield and Safeguard for Minors services Kroll offers to you, your employees, your friends, and neighbors.

For what they have done for my family! WOW!

“Greenblatt Strategy Ranks Pre-Paid Legal Services as Investment Winner” - full story
“Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. (NYSE: PPD) has been named as the 4th highest rated stock in a recent ranking of the 3,500 largest U.S. stocks by Joel Greenblatt, a leading investment strategist and author of The Little Book That Beats the Market.”

Posted in The FACTS! | Print | No Comments »

November 4, 2009 by Terry.

See how legal issues for business may be fought today compared to years ago, especially when “IDentity Theft in the workplace” happens.

http://cp.blastoffnetwork.com/index.php/prepaid/113863864

For business - click on the Blue Arrow Box just above the ‘talking lady in black’ and the “Legal Service Business Plan” to learn more.

For IDentity Theft education on many areas [not just financial] - click on the IDentity Theft areas to learn more.

Posted in IDT - Solutions, IDT - Businesses, IDentity Theft Victims, IDentity Theft | Print | No Comments »

October 14, 2009 by Terry.

WARNING: 2010 Census begins phase 1 and so does the IDentity Thieves

Scam Alert: Be Cautious About Giving Info to Census Workers

With the U.S. Census process beginning, as citizens we need to be cooperative, but very cautious.  Talk with EVERYONE in your home who may answer the door and even your neighbors who may respond to door-to-door census takers, if your door isn’t answered.  This may help in not becoming a victim of fraud or identity theft. The first phase of the 2010 U.S. Census is under way, as workers have begun verifying the addresses of households across the country.

Eventually, more than 140,000 U.S. Census workers will count every [used very loosely] person in the United States and will gather information about every person living at each address including name, age, gender, race, and other relevant data.

A very concerning question is - how do you tell the difference between a U.S. Census worker and a con artist?

If a U.S. Census worker knocks on your door, they will have a badge, a handheld device, a Census Bureau canvas bag, and a confidentiality notice.  Ask to see their identification and their badge before answering their questions.  However, you should never invite anyone you don’t know into your home.

Census workers are currently only knocking on doors to verify address information.  Do not give your Social Security number, credit card or banking information to anyone, even if they claim they need it for the U.S. Census.

REMEMBER, NO MATTER WHAT THEY ASK, YOU REALLY ONLY NEED TO TELL THEM HOW MANY PEOPLE LIVE AT YOUR ADDRESS.

While the Census Bureau might ask for basic financial information, such as a salary range, YOU DON’T HAVE TO ANSWER ANYTHING AT ALL ABOUT YOUR FINANCIAL SITUATION.  The Census Bureau will not ask for Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers, nor will employees solicit donations.  Any one asking for that information is NOT with the Census Bureau. 

AND REMEMBER, THE CENSUS BUREAU HAS DECIDED NOT TO WORK WITH ACORN ON GATHERING THIS INFORMATION..  No Acorn worker should approach you saying he/she is with the Census Bureau.  [yahoooooo]

Eventually, Census workers may contact you by telephone, mail, or in person at home. However, the Census Bureau will not contact you by Email, so be on the lookout for Email scams impersonating the Census.

Never click on a link or open any attachments in an Email that are supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau.

For more advice on avoiding identity theft and fraud, visit any of these web sites:

http://TalkSolutionsToday.com – IDentity Theft information site, especially for businesses

http://WebDataBreachAlert.org – subscribe to a monthly service that could alert you to data breaches at businesses, schools, medical facilities, etc, which you frequent.

http://privacyrights.org – Nonprofit Consumer Information and Advocay Organization

http://ftc.gov/idtheft – Federal Trade Commission’s IDentity Theft info web site

http://WhoElseHasYourName.info – this blog

http://TalkToday.us – learn about the premier IDentity theft service out there that has watched over my entire family!

http://TalkBlastoffToday.info – learn about some excellent tools that could pay for your monthly [meaning, no contract] service that watches over your personal information and gives you legal access to a nationwide network of law firms, for every state and every area of law. Click the Legal Help button at this site.

PLEASE SHARE THIS INFO WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS.

Posted in News Alerts, IDentity Theft | Print | No Comments »

October 2, 2009 by Terry.

To my Veteran Comrades who help me share the solution to the IDentity Theft & Data Breach crisis’s with others:

As veteran’s, we need to be concerned, but not as bad as fellow vets and their families who don’t have the premier no-contract service plans we have - but we need to let them know what they and their families can have, can afford, and would be among the wise.

Fellow Veteran’s: Soldiers’ Data Still Being Downloaded Overseas; Probe Targets Archives’ Handling of Data on 70 Million Vets

I just received this Data loss breach notification from front line sources!  Items 2 and 3 are important to share.  We have the solution; let’s respond to those who ask, quickly!

Terry Kohler

Certified IDentity Theft Risk Management Specialist

http://talksolutionstoday.com

——– Original Message ——–

Send Dataloss mailing list submissions to
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To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
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or, via email, send a message with subject or body ‘help’ to
       

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When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than “Re: Contents of Dataloss digest…”

Today’s Topics:

   1. Extortion of 700,000 ? (Al)
   2. Soldiers’ Data Still Being Downloaded Overseas, Firm Says (lyger)
   3. Probe Targets Archives’ Handling of Data on 70 Million Vets (lyger)

———————————————————————-

Message: 1
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 2009 12:37:02 -0500
From: “Al” <.com>
Subject: [Dataloss] Extortion of 700,000 ?
To: <.org>
Message-ID: <.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=”us-ascii”

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9138723/Express_Scripts_700_000_notified_after_extortion

[..]

Last November, the company reported that someone had threatened to expose millions of customer prescription records, but it has come under criticism for being vague about how many of its customers’ records were accessed. Now the company says that about 700,000 have been notified.

[..]

the St. Louis-based company in October 2008, received a letter containing the names, birth dates, Social Security numbers and prescription data of 75 patients. The extortionists threatened to turn the information public if they weren’t paid. Express Scripts refused and instead notified the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. The company is now offering a US$1 million reward for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators.

[..]

In a June court filing, the company said that three of its customers have also been approached by the extortionists. Toyota is one of those companies. In November 2008 it received a letter that was similar to the October Express Scripts threat from extortionists who threatened to release information on Toyota employees and their dependents.

[..]

In late August 2009, Express Scripts was informed by the FBI that the perpetrator of the crime had recently taken action to prove that he possesses more member records from the same period as those identified in the 2008 extortion attempt.

-

Al Macintyre

 
——————————

Message: 2
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 2009 14:07:59 +0000 (UTC)
From: lyger <.org>
Subject: [Dataloss] Soldiers’ Data Still Being Downloaded Overseas, Firm Says
To: dataloss <.org>,   dataloss-discuss
        <.org>
Message-ID: <.org>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/01/AR2009100104947.html?hpid=moreheadlines

The personal data of tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers — including those in the Special Forces — continue to be downloaded by unauthorized computer users in countries such as China and Pakistan, despite Army assurances that it would try to fix the problem, according to a private firm that monitors cybersecurity.

Tiversa, which scours the Internet for sensitive data, discovered the data breaches while conducting research for private clients. The company found, as recently as this week, documents containing Social Security numbers, blood types, cellphone numbers, e-mail addresses, and the names of soldiers’ spouses and children.

The availability of such data, security experts say, exacerbates the threat of identity theft and retaliation against troops on sensitive missions. In addition to using the information to drain financial accounts, hackers could pose as soldiers in an effort to ferret out sensitive data, including passwords to government systems.

[…]

——————————

Message: 3
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 2009 14:13:10 +0000 (UTC)
From: lyger <.org>
Subject: [Dataloss] Probe Targets Archives’ Handling of Data on 70 Million Vets
To: dataloss <.org>,   dataloss-discuss
        <.org>
Message-ID: <.org>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/10/probe-targets-archives-handling-of-data-on-70-million-vets/

The inspector general of the National Archives and Records Administration is investigating a potential data breach affecting tens of millions of records about U.S. military veterans, Wired.com has learned. The issue involves a defective hard drive the agency sent back to its vendor for repair and recycling without first destroying the data.

The hard drive helped power eVetRecs, the system veterans use to request copies of their health records and discharge papers. When the drive failed in November of last year, the agency returned the drive to GMRI, the contractor that sold it to them, for repair. GMRI determined it couldn’t be fixed, and ultimately passed it to another firm to be recycled.

The incident was reported to NARA’s inspector general by Hank Bellomy, a NARA IT manager, who charges that the move put 70 million veterans at risk of identity theft, and that NARA’s practice of returning hard drives
unsanitized was symptomatic of an irresponsible security mindset unbecoming to America’s record-keeping agency.

[…]

——————————

_______________________________________________
Dataloss Mailing List (.org)

End of Dataloss Digest, Vol 14, Issue 1
***************************************

Posted in IDT - Veterans, IDentity Theft | Print | No Comments »

September 21, 2009 by Terry.

Like Americans, citizens of Germany have concerns for where they work, play, shop, with their private information.

from http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=8117

“PGP Corporation announced the results from The Ponemon Institute’s third annual study on encryption usage in the enterprise - The 2009 Annual Study: German Enterprise Encryption Trends.

This year’s study surveyed 490 IT and security practitioners, 27 percent of whom hold positions at managerial level or higher, and identifies the trends in enterprise encryption planning strategies, budgeting and spending, deployment methodologies and impact on data breach incidents.

The fundamental conclusion on the basis of study participants’ responses is that data protection is a significant problem in Germany. Fifty-three

percent of all companies and organisations suffered at least one instance of data loss during the past twelve months, representing an increase of

over 55 percent on the figure for 2008 (34 percent).”

Posted in News Alerts | Print | No Comments »

August 23, 2009 by Terry.

View this video to see why having continuous monitoring on your credit bureau records are important, and why your current or next job may not continue or happen.

Posted in IDT - Videos, IDentity Theft | Print | No Comments »

August 21, 2009 by Terry.

[quote]
Sponsored By:
Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson
Adopted
Summer Meeting
June 17-19, 2008
Providence, Rhode Island

RESOLUTION

IN SUPPORT OF THE CONCEPT OF PREPAID LEGAL SERVICES PLANS

WHEREAS the National Association of Attorneys General is an organization of the chief legal officers of all the fifty states and additional territories, including the District of Columbia; and

WHEREAS all Attorneys General have a deep interest in the legal welfare of the citizens of their respective jurisdictions; and

WHEREAS Attorneys General have a particular interest in consumer protection issues and are keenly aware of the victimization of consumers in their respective jurisdictions by unscrupulous practices and intentional fraud; and

WHEREAS while Attorneys General are able to assist many citizens with consumer issues, many others are directed to private counsel because their situation does not fall within the jurisdiction of the A.G., and many of those, unfortunately, do not have private counsel available to them; and

WHEREAS those individuals who have access to prepaid legal services plans are able to access an attorney in time of need and are further able to access the advice and counsel of an attorney in advance of need and thus are able to practice “preventive law” in the same manner as “preventive medicine”; and

WHEREAS the American Bar Association has long supported prepaid legal services plans because they:

1. Are important to maintaining the confidence in our justice system and the rule of law.
2. Efficiently and inexpensively provide preventative legal services to low and middle income Americans.
3. Ease the burden on overtaxed government programs.
4. Enhance productivity by allowing employees to focus on their jobs, not their legal troubles.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
OF ATTORNEYS GENERAL, DULY CONVENED

That the National Association of Attorneys General joins the American Bar Association in supporting the concept of prepaid legal services plan.

[end quote]

If you would like to consider what is available to help your family or business have access to a prepaid legal service plan, contact us at Talk Solutions Today - 801-404-0302 for details for your area of North America.

National Association of Attorneys General - pdf of Resolution

Posted in News Alerts | Print | No Comments »