Where is your identity lurking?

Last year, I had the pleasure of meeting Identity Theft expert and author Robert Siciliano when he joined the McAfee Consumer Advisory Board.  At first, I enjoyed talking to him about all things Boston, since I lived there for about 13 years.  But man! This guy is on a mission! 
My favorite story of his was about how he bought an ATM machine off of Craigslist – You know, the freestanding kind that they have in bars and convenience stores? Who knew that store owners sell them to the highest bidder! Well, Robert showed how easily he could buy one and in minutes print off thousands of credit card numbers for the TV show Extra, along with several other scams criminals use to get your financial information.
I am no stranger to identity theft.  Over the years, I have had a checkbook stolen and used to steal from my bank account, my credit card number stolen and my PayPal account hacked. Luckily for me, I never lost more than $1000 which thankfully was returned.  (I should knock on wood!) However, would you believe the average fraud amount stolen per victim is $4841??? Criminals can buy blank credit cards and fake Social Security cards for as little as $20 to help steal a person’s identity. Unfortunately, most victims don’t know their identity has been stolen for (continue reading...)