Identity Theft & Fraud

Officials determined that a Secret Service employee had been wrongly linked to the prostitution case because a hotel guest had given an incorrect room number.

A Russian citizen living in Brooklyn was indicted on charges of using a Web site to steal applicants’ data in order to file bogus tax returns and collect refunds.

A few criminals do well, but cybercrime is actually a relentless, low-profit struggle for the majority.

The District of Columbia Board of Elections is initiating an investigation after an advocate against voter fraud began the process of voting under Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.’s name.

Personal Tech Q&A on phishing messages that appear to be from the Better Business Bureau. (S)/

A so-called senator may have been a spy, and an Afghan hailed as a defector has raised suspicions that he is faking.

There are several free and easy steps that consumers can take to prevent identity theft.

The arrest of the Dominican baseball player who used the name Fausto Carmona on Jan. 19 has brought to light the problem of identity fraud among players from the Caribbean nation.

Cleveland Indians pitcher Fausto Carmona has been arrested on suspicion of using a false identity in the Dominican Republic, where officials are contesting his real name and birth date.

Fifty people have been accused of conspiring to sell the identities of hundreds of Puerto Ricans to illegal immigrants on the American mainland.

As three credit-card-information thieves are sentenced, a court decision reflects the expanded definition of damages in cases of identity theft.

Victims of a data breach at the intelligence analysis firm Stratfor apparently are targets for a second time after speaking out about the hacking.

A survey of mobile operators in Europe, Morocco and Thailand found that many provided poor or weak protection from illicit surveillance and identity theft.

Bits blog notes California announces creation of nation's largest e-crime unit, group of 20 investigators and prosecutors who will try to thwart and prosecute crimes like identity theft, Internet scams, computer theft, online child pornography and intellectual property theft. (M)1

As more doctors and hospitals have digitized patient records, the number of reported breaches has increased 32 percent this year from last year at a cost of $6.5 billion to the industry.