March 10, 2010 by Terry.

Story by Wired:

• By Kim Zetter
• June 27, 2008  |
• 11:52 am  |
• Categories: Crime

LifeLock is in the news again.

The identity theft protection firm whose CEO lists his Social Security number in ads for the company is being sued by Namesafe, a competitor in the identity theft protection market, for allegedly stealing the company’s corporate identity and deceptive trade practices.

According to papers filed in Tennessee, Namesafe claims that LifeLock stole its trademark and deceptively diverted traffic meant for Namesafe’s web site to LifeLock’s own web site.

The suit claims that LifeLock purchased sponsored ads on major search engines and portals such as Google, Yahoo, MSN and Hotbot that tricked users into landing on its site. Namesafe says the ads have disappeared since they were discovered, but it provided screen shots of the search results pages in its complaint. The company doesn’t know for sure if the ads disappeared after it filed its suit but believes that is what occurred.

The company says that when users did a search on the word “Namesafe,” sponsored ads appeared at the top of search result pages, which included a link for “Namesafe” and “Namesafe.com.” But when users clicked the link, it took them to LifeLock’s web site instead. The name LifeLock appeared in the ads next to or beneath “Namesafe” and “Namesafe.com,” but Namesafe says the ads were clearly designed to fool Namesafe customers.

“It’s like me taking out a newpaper ad for LifeLock.com and putting my phone number in it,” said Namesafe founder and CEO David Ridings. “It’s the same thing but on the internet scale. The purchasing of an ad that says Namesafe.com is deceptive and confuses consumers.”

Namesafe launched its web site on February 25th and said it discovered the problem about a month ago in Google search results. Ridings says his company filed an informal online complaint with Google asking it to investigate. Google responded by saying it would not get into issues over the legalities of who can purchase brand name ads. Ridings says Google did not, in its response, confirm that LifeLock had purchased such ads.

Namesafe spokesman Dick Marsh said the company decided to file the lawsuit after he discovered recently that the problem was occurring on other search sites as well. Marsh sent a press release to reporters after the company filed the suit.

I asked Ridings if his company sent a cease-and-desist letter to LifeLock before filing the suit or sent the company any inquiry asking it to explain the ads. He said Namesafe did not and defended the company’s decision to file suit instead.

“This was not an honest mistake,” he said. “We made a decision to do what we needed to do to get them to come down. We have a lot of television and radio ads and with every passing moment there’s more potential for a consumer to be confused.”

LifeLock released a statement denying that it purchased ads using Namesafe’s brand name:

“Following notice of a pending lawsuit from WSMV in Nashville, TN on Thursday, we immediately began an investigation and determined that LifeLock Corporation has never purchased any competitive branded search terms. To be clear, LifeLock Corporation has never used the ‘NameSafe’ name in LifeLock ad copy,” the statement reads.

Google has not yet responded to requests asking about the ads. I’ll update this post if I hear back from the company.

This is not the first lawsuit against LifeLock. The company has been the target of class-action lawsuits from customers questioning its protection claims as well as a suit from credit reporting agency Experian for acting on consumers’ behalf to place alerts on their credit accounts.

The company was also the target of much controversy last year after a reporter uncovered information about the background of one of LifeLock’s founders, who has since resigned.

LifeLock Sued for Corporate Identity Theft

Posted in IDT - Businesses, News Alerts | Print | No Comments »

March 10, 2010 by Terry.

Here is Press Release from Federal Trade Commission (FTC) about Lifelock:

For Release: 03/09/2010

LifeLock Will Pay $12 Million to Settle Charges by the FTC and 35 States That Identity Theft Prevention and Data Security Claims Were False

LifeLock, Inc. has agreed to pay $11 million to the Federal Trade Commission and $1 million to a group of 35 state attorneys general to settle charges that the company used false claims to promote its identity theft protection services, which it widely advertised by displaying the CEO’s Social Security number on the side of a truck.

In one of the largest FTC-state coordinated settlements on record, LifeLock and its principals will be barred from making deceptive claims and required to take more stringent measures to safeguard the personal information they collect from customers.

“While LifeLock promised consumers complete protection against all types of identity theft, in truth, the protection it actually provided left enough holes that you could drive a truck through it,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz.

“This agreement effectively prevents LifeLock from misrepresenting that its services offer absolute prevention against identity theft because there is unfortunately no foolproof way to avoid ID theft,” Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said. “Consumers can take definitive steps to minimize the chances of having their personal information stolen, and this settlement will help them make more informed decisions about whether to enroll in ID theft protection services.”

Since 2006, LifeLock’s ads have claimed that it could prevent identity theft for consumers willing to sign up for its $10-a-month service.

According to the FTC’s complaint, LifeLock has claimed:

• “By now you’ve heard about individuals whose identities have been stolen by identity thieves . . . LifeLock protects against this ever happening to you. Guaranteed.”
• “Please know that we are the first company to prevent identity theft from occurring.”
• “Do you ever worry about identity theft? If so, it’s time you got to know LifeLock. We work to stop identity theft before it happens.”

The FTC’s complaint charged that the fraud alerts that LifeLock placed on customers’ credit files protected only against certain forms of identity theft and gave them no protection against the misuse of existing accounts, the most common type of identity theft. It also allegedly provided no protection against medical identity theft or employment identity theft, in which thieves use personal information to get medical care or apply for jobs. And even for types of identity theft for which fraud alerts are most effective, they do not provide absolute protection. They alert creditors opening new accounts to take reasonable measures to verify that the individual applying for credit actually is who he or she claims to be, but in some instances, identity thieves can thwart even reasonable precautions.

New account fraud, the type of identity theft for which fraud alerts are most effective, comprised only 17 percent of identity theft incidents, according to an FTC survey released in 2007.

The FTC’s complaint further alleged that LifeLock also claimed that it would prevent unauthorized changes to customers’ address information, that it constantly monitored activity on customer credit reports, and that it would ensure that a customer always would receive a telephone call from a potential creditor before a new account was opened. The FTC charged that those claims were false.

In addition to its deceptive identity theft protection claims, LifeLock allegedly made claims about its own data security that were not true. According to the FTC, LifeLock routinely collected sensitive information from its customers, including their social security numbers and credit card numbers. The company claimed:

• “Only authorized employees of LifeLock will have access to the data that you provide to us, and that access is granted only on a ‘need to know’ basis.”
• “All stored personal data is electronically encrypted.”
• “LifeLock uses highly secure physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard the confidentiality and security of the data you provide to us.”

The FTC charged that LifeLock’s data was not encrypted, and sensitive consumer information was not shared only on a “need to know” basis. In fact, the agency charged, the company’s data system was vulnerable and could have been exploited by those seeking access to customer information.

The FTC and state settlements with LifeLock bar deceptive claims, and prohibit the company from misrepresenting the “means, methods, procedures, effects, effectiveness, coverage, or scope of any identity theft protection service.” They also bar misrepresentations about the risk of identity theft, and the manner and extent to which LifeLock protects consumers’ personal information. In addition, the settlements require LifeLock to establish a comprehensive data security program and obtain biennial independent third-party assessments of that program for twenty years.

The Attorneys General of Alaska, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia participated in this settlement.

In addition to LifeLock, the FTC complaint named co-founders Richard Todd Davis and Robert J. Maynard, Jr., who will be barred from the same misrepresentations as LifeLock.

The Commission vote to authorize staff to file the complaint and the settlement with LifeLock and Richard Todd Davis was 4-0. The Commission vote to authorize staff to file the settlement with Robert J. Maynard, Jr. was 3-1, with Commissioner J. Thomas Rosch dissenting. The documents were filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.

The FTC will use the $11 million it receives from the settlements to provide refunds to consumers. It will be sending letters to the current and former customers of LifeLock who may be eligible for refunds under the settlement, along with instructions for applying. Customers do not have to contact the FTC to be eligible for refunds. Up-to-date information about the redress program can be found at 202-326-3757 and at www.ftc.gov/lifelock.

NOTE: The Commission files a complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The complaint is not a finding or ruling that the defendant has actually violated the law. Stipulated judgements are for settlement purposes only and do not constitute an admission by the defendant of a law violation. Consent judgments have the force of law when signed by the judge.

In addition to announcing the LifeLock case, the FTC’s Northeast Regional Office sponsored an event to kick off National Consumer Protection week. The goal was to alert consumers to the top complaint categories in the Northeast Region and to arm consumers with the tools to recognize and protect themselves against all types of fraud. Also participating were the Better Business Bureau serving Metropolitan New York, the New York Attorney General’s Office, the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, and AARP.

The Federal Trade Commission works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, click http://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov or call 1-877-382-4357. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 1,700 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. For free information on a variety of consumer topics, click http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/consumer.shtm.

MEDIA CONTACT: Claudia Bourne Farrell
Office of Public Affairs
202-326-2181STAFF CONTACT:Maneesha Mithal or David Lincicum
Bureau of Consumer Protection
202-326-2771 or 202-326 2773

(FTC File No. 072-3069)
(Lifelock)

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March 10, 2010 by Terry.

I couldn’t say it any better than Wired.com, so here is their story:

Lifelock Dinged 12 Million

Lifelock Dinged $12 Million for Deceptive Business Practices (Wired.com)

By Kim Zetter, March 9, 2010

The CEO of Lifelock, Todd Davis, became famous for advertising his Social Security number on television ads and billboards promising his $10 monthly service would protect consumers from identity theft.

The company also offered a $1 million guarantee to compensate customers for losses incurred if they became a victim of identity theft after signing up for the service.

But the Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday that the claims were bogus (.pdf) and accused Lifelock, based in Arizona, of operating a scam and con operation. The commission announced, along with 35 state attorneys general, that it had levied a fine of $12 million against the company for deceptive business practices and for failing to secure sensitive customer data. Of that amount, $11 million will go to refund customers who subscribed to the service. Consumers will receive a letter from the FTC and their attorney general explaining how to take part in the settlement.

The FTC said that Lifelock, which advertises itself as “#1 In Identity Theft Protection,” engaged in false advertising by promising customers that if they signed up with its service their personal information would become useless to thieves.

“In truth, the protection they provided left such a large hole … that you could drive that truck through it,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, referring to a Lifelock TV ad showing a truck painted with the CEO’s Social Security number driving around city streets.

The company, he said, used scare tactics to convince potential customers they would be unprotected from identity theft without its service, and of warning them in letters that they were at a high risk of identity theft.

“I was a recipient of one letter,” Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said.

For the annual subscription fee, Lifelock promised customers that it would place fraud alerts on their credit accounts with the three credit reporting agencies. As a result, the company said, thieves would not be able to open unauthorized credit or bank accounts in their name.

But Leibowitz said the promises were deceptive because thieves could still rack up unauthorized charges on existing accounts — the most common type of identity theft. It also couldn’t protect thieves from obtaining a loan in a Lifelock customer’s name.

In fact, Lifelock CEO Davis was the victim of identity theft in 2007 when a thief used his widely advertised Social Security number to obtain a $500 loan in Davis’ name.

Lifelock also promised customers that sensitive data they provided the company to perform its protection services — such as their Social Security number, name and address and bank card information — would be encrypted and protected in other ways on Lifelock’s servers and accessed only by authorized employees on a need-to-know basis.

“Your documents, while in our care, will be treated as if they were cash,” the company promised.

In truth, the FTC said, until at least September 2007, the company failed to provide “reasonable and appropriate security to prevent unauthorized access to personal information stored on its corporate network” either in transit through the network, stored in a database or transmitted over the internet.

None of the data was encrypted, said the FTC, either in storage or in transit. The company also had poor password management practices for employees and vendors who accessed the information. Lifelock also failed to limit access to sensitive data to only those people who needed access.

What’s more, the company failed to apply critical security patches and updates to its network and “failed to employ sufficient measures” to detect and prevent unauthorized access to its network, “such as by installing antivirus or antispyware programs on computers used by employees to remotely access the network or regularly recording and reviewing activity on the network,” the complaint said.

The latter is particularly ironic. Lifelock often promoted its services to companies that experienced data breaches, convincing them to offer a complimentary Lifelock subscription to people whose data was compromised in a breach. All the while, the FTC claims, Lifelock was making its own customer information vulnerable to a breach.

“As a result of these practices, an unauthorized person could obtain access to personal information stored on defendants’ corporate network, in transit through defendants’ corporate network or over the internet, or maintained in defendants’ offices,” according to the complaint.

According to the terms of an FTC settlement agreement with Lifelock to settle the allegations, the company must inform consumers about the limitations of its service. The company will also have to implement a data security program to protect the customer data it handles.

“As long as the company is honest and up front and lets consumers know what they’re getting and has adequate security safeguards for customer information, we wish them well,” said Leibowitz.

Lifelock said in a statement that, in October, it “rolled out the next generation of identity theft protection services that provide even better and broader protection to its valued members.” The company added that its new-and-improved service, which was not the subject of the FCC inquiry, has prevented more than 5,000 fraudulent credit applications.

The company and its owners have been at the center of controversy for a number of years. According to an investigative report by the Phoenix New Times in 2007, Lifelock co-founder Robert Maynard Jr., was suspected at one time of being an identity thief himself and stealing his father’s identity to obtain an American Express card. He had also been the target of another FTC investigation involving a previous business venture unrelated to Lifelock. Maynard resigned from the company after news of his past was published, but he continued to work for the firm as a contractor.

See also:

• Lifelock Sued for Corproate Identity Theft
• Police Say Lifelock Founder Coerced Unusable Confession From Identity Theif
• Lifelock Founder a Shady Identity Thief?
• Lifelock Founder Resigns Amid Controversy

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March 3, 2010 by Terry.

 Check yours at:
http://patriotupdate.com/stories/read/2928/Are-you-really-a-conservative-Take-this-short-political-quiz-and-find-out

The RED DOT on the Chart shows where you fit on the political map.

Your PERSONAL issues Score is 80%.
Your ECONOMIC issues Score is 100%.

According to your answers, the political group that agrees with you most is…

Request more information about libertarianism

LIBERTARIANS support maximum liberty in both personal and

economic matters. They advocate a much smaller government; one

that is limited to protecting individuals from coercion and violence.

Libertarians tend to embrace individual responsibility, oppose

government bureaucracy and taxes, promote private charity, tolerate

diverse lifestyles, support the free market, and defend civil liberties.

Request more information about libertarianism

…………………………………………………………….

14,685,689

.

THAT’S HOW MANY TIMES THE QUIZ
HAS BEEN TAKEN SO FAR SINCE 1995.

…………………………………………………………….

Other Political Philosophies

Left (Liberal)
Liberals usually embrace freedom of choice in personal matters,

but tend to support significant government control of the economy.

They generally support a government-funded “safety net” to help

the disadvantaged, and advocate strict regulation of business.

Liberals tend to favor environmental regulations, defend civil liberties

and free expression, support government action to promote equality,

and tolerate diverse lifestyles.

Centrist
Centrists espouse a “middle ground” regarding government control

of the economy and personal behavior. Depending on the issue,

they sometimes favor government intervention and sometimes

support individual freedom of choice. Centrists pride themselves on

keeping an open mind, tend to oppose “political extremes,” and

emphasize what they describe as “practical” solutions to problems.

Right (Conservative)
Conservatives tend to favor economic freedom, but frequently

support laws to restrict personal behavior that violates “traditional

values.” They oppose excessive government control of business, while

endorsing government action to defend morality and the traditional

family structure. Conservatives usually support a strong military,

oppose bureaucracy and high taxes, favor a free-market economy,

and endorse strong law enforcement.

Statist (Big Government)
Statists want government to have a great deal of power over the

economy and individual behavior. They frequently doubt whether

economic liberty and individual freedom are practical options in

today’s world. Statists tend to distrust the free market, support

high taxes and centralized planning of the economy, oppose

diverse lifestyles, and question the importance of civil liberties.

Posted in IDT - Political | Print | No Comments »

February 28, 2010 by Terry.

This brought a good laugh - Well, at least I enjoyed it:

Little Johnny is not an Obama fan:

A teacher asked her 6th grade class how many of them were Obama fans.

Not really knowing what an Obama fan is, but wanting to be liked by the teacher, all the kids raised their hands except for Little Johnny.

The teacher asked Little Johnny why he has decided to be different… again.

Little Johnny said, “Because I’m not an Obama fan.”

The teacher asked, “Why aren’t you a fan of Obama?” Johnny said, “Because I’m a Republican.”

The teacher asked him why he’s a Republican.  Little Johnny answered, “Well, my Mom’s a Republican and my Dad’s a Republican, so I’m a Republican.”

Annoyed by this answer, the teacher asked, “If your mom were a moron and your dad were an idiot, what would that make you?”

With a big smile, Little Johnny replied, “That would make me an Obama fan.”

—————————————–
:

Posted in IDT - America | Print | No Comments »

December 30, 2009 by Terry.

Have some peace of mind while knowing it is reported that only about 19% [per Utah stats — around 28% for rest of country] of IDentity Theft is related to ‘financial’ id theft. It is the balance of that 100%, and the approximately 27,000 “reported” cases per day, that one may want to be concerned about.

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

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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

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.

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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, 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

PLEASE SHARE THIS INFO WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS.

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