Identity Theft

What's that famous line in all the spy movies where the CIA agent reminds another character as events occur and conflicts arise; "Trust No One!" Well, my friends judging by how social networking is shaping up, I'd say the Internet is also on that list. Why you ask? Because there are people, humans, and you know, there are folks everywhere behind the scenes making it work and deciding which way it has to evolve. There is a lot of money and value in information and big data, it is big business - it means power and control of over every individual, country, and yes, even the world - seriously. Okay, let's discuss this one shall we?

According to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) in a Wall Street Journal article on March 27, 2012 titled; "Regulators Urge Web Privacy Rules" by Julia Angwin; "Simply put, your computer is your property. No one has the right to put anything on [your computer] that you don't want."

Okay thanks for that clarification, but please answer another question for me if you will; if the advertisers and marketers cannot track you, does that mean that only the government can?

Now then, you might say to me, "Lance, give it a rest and stop listening to Conspiracy Theory Talk Shows like Coast-to-Coast AM every night," and yes, I get that debating point, truly I do, still, just because the American People aren't paranoid doesn't mean they aren't looking at everything you are doing. It's almost as if Big Data and Big Brother are working together to replace the "Spirit in The Sky" when you die or so Norman Greenbaum says.

Next, in case you aren't on the EFF Electronic Freedom Foundation email list, why not read this article posted on March 30, 2012 in the New York Times titled; "Conflict Over How Open 'Do Not Track' Talks Will Be," by Edward Wyatt and Tanzina Vega which stated; "Technology companies want to talk with the government about protecting privacy on the Internet. They just want those talks to be private."

Fine, more private government meetings, this after President Obama allots some $200 million in his budget for "Big Data" and more government "clouds" and data centers, along with the proverbial national security issues and anti-cyber warfare campaign. So, it's readily obvious to me, and realize I am on the side of the "good guys" but it is still obvious to me that we are going to track everyone, and keep all the data in a giant data center storage in Utah somewhere from the reports I've been reading, no not on Art Bell's Coast-to-Coast Website.

Personally, I've been observing humans in their natural habitat some four and a half centuries, and seriously, I'm not sure if I can trust one of them, well, except myself. And when it comes to groups of humans involved in making money, politics, Machiavellian rule, or crony capitalism - hmm? Doubtful. Indeed, I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Controversial Internet Issues. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net/

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Gartner Inc, a giant in the research field, estimates that only one out of seven hundred people who commit identity fraud ever gets brought to justice. In Medford Oregon recently they apparently found the one.

Associate Press News Service reports on an identity thief who showed at at an area bank to cash a bogus check. What makes this story so bizarre is the thief was caught by the person he had been victimizing. It seems that person was there at the exact time disputing the bogus charges showing up on his financial statement.

Unfortunately for many others who have had their identity stolen there's no chance of them coming face to face with the thief and by some miracle apprehending them. Identity theft and fraud affects eight to nine million people every single year. While check fraud and other forms of identity theft have seen a sharp dropoff others such as phishing websites are rising at record levels. The innovations in technology are making identity fraud a whole lot easier.

For instance cell phone users may be feeling the pinch thanks to downloading certain applications which have the capability of stealing any personal information you may have stored (like online banking logins and passwords)and routing it to a remote server where identity thieves are waiting to record the information.

The good news is there is an excellent resource at your disposal. In 1998 The U.S Congress passed the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act. This law made identity theft a federal offense and with it comes tougher punishment when identity theft criminals are captured and convicted.

Aside from that it placed the Federal Trade Commission commonly referred to as the FTC at the vanguard of fighting identity fraud. The FTC and in particular their internet site is chock full of information such as preventions tips, videos and news reports. Over the past 10 years they have done an impressive job in their work to inform the public on exactly how firmly and deeply this particular crime has become in this country as well as the measures needed to protect from it.

A key feature was the development of the Identity Theft Clearinghouse database. It is an online repository built to aid local and federal law enforcement officials. Each and every complaints regarding identity theft are promptly entered into the database that is kept up to date constantly.

One other thing this law has done to aid consumers with whatever credit problem they may be experiencing due to identity theft. Even when they are fully aware you've been victimized credit agencies for reasons all their own are still slow to act in terms of eradicating it from your personal records. This action can often get speeded up when you have the United States government backing you up.

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