identity theft News

Rochester Woman Arraigned for Defrauding Workers’ Comp System of More Than $5K

A Rochester, N.Y., woman has been arraigned on charges that she defrauded the workers’ compensation system of more than $5,000 by endorsing and cashing wage reimbursement checks intended for her deceased grandmother. “This is an egregious case where an individual …

Fake Claims, Price Gouging, Bogus Contractors: How Fraudsters Steal Disaster Aid

As the scale and frequency of major disasters escalate, millions of dollars in federal, state and insurance payments intended for recovery efforts are being stolen by fraudsters taking advantage of chaos and the pipeline of aid flowing into the stricken …

It’s Not Easy to Pin Identity Theft on a Specific Data Breach

Equifax 2017. Marriott 2018. Capital One 2019. Data breaches through hacking attacks are distressingly common these days, and personal details about you can lead to identity theft, such as credit cards and loans in your name. But it’s hard to …

N.J. Woman Charged in Scheme to Steal $175K from Insurance Annuity Policies

A New Jersey woman has been charged with insurance fraud and other offenses in an alleged scheme to steal more than $175,000 from the insurance annuity policies of two individuals. Vashanta Stroud-Bennett, 45, of Paterson, N.J., was charged with second …

New York Contractor Pleads Guilty to $800K Business Fraud Scheme

State officials say an Albany-area contractor has pleaded guilty to scamming hundreds of thousands of dollars out of minority-owned businesses and failing to pay dozens of his employees. Attorney General Barbara Underwood said Friday that 47-year-old Michael Martin, of Latham, …

Investor Sues AT&T Over Cryptocurrency Theft

U.S. entrepreneur and cryptocurrency investor Michael Terpin filed a $224 million lawsuit on Wednesday against telecommunications company AT&T, accusing it of fraud and gross negligence in connection with the theft of digital currency tokens from his personal account. In a …

Man Charged with Assuming Identity of N.J. Doctor in $1M Insurance Fraud Scheme

A Florida man has been charged with assuming the identity of a New Jersey doctor to submit more than $1 million in fraudulent medical claims for services allegedly rendered at a Morris County medical center that, in reality, did not …

Massachusetts Launches Online Portal for Data Breach Reports

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has unveiled a new online portal to let businesses and organizations report data breaches. The Democrat said the online portal should make it easier to alert her office to the potential theft of information. Since …

Is It Time to Say So Long to Social Security Numbers?

The Trump administration is exploring ways to replace the use of Social Security numbers as the main method of assuring people’s identities in the wake of consumer credit agency Equifax Inc.’s massive data breach. The administration has called on federal …

Two Charged in Scheme Selling Pennsylvania Driver’s Licenses

An employee at Pennsylvania’s Department of Transportation granted driving privileges to more than 30 people without requiring them to show proper documents or take driving tests under a bribery scheme that netted him nearly $14,000, federal prosecutors said. Prosecutors said …