ID Theft

Ever seen that meme with Steve Carrell from the TV show “The Office” proclaiming that he changed all his passwords to “incorrect” so that if he forgets his password his computer will remind him that his password is “incorrect”? And that’s just perfect — if you’re the kind of lovable idiot he portrays. But if

Financial abuse against the elderly is real and costly. Some estimates put the total loss at $37 billion each year. While many abuses are instigated by strangers who prey on society’s most vulnerable, many losses are caused by people the victims trust. Here’s what you need to know to protect aging parents from financial fraud.

For identity thieves, tax time is harvest time. It’s like the holiday season for retailers, and where many thieves make the bulk of their yearly earnings. Here’s a look at just how big of a problem tax identity theft is, why it’s growing, and what you need to know to protect yourself from becoming a victim.

Phew! When January passed without a single mega data breach, I thought the storm had passed, big bad breaches were a thing of the past and I’d have to find something else to talk about. But I lost the bet by less than a week. I said there would be a Target-size data breach before

The effects and losses caused by personal identity theft in the U.S. are staggering. Approximately 16.6 million people experienced at least one identity theft incident in 2012 (the most recent data available) and financial losses totaled $24.7 billion. That’s an average loss of around $1,500 per victim. Indeed, the overall costs of identity theft to

You can configure your smartphone so that it automatically backs up all your photos to the cloud. It’s possible to automate the deliveries of diapers and dog food to your doorstep. (Hello, Amazon Subscribe and Save!) And you can even put the task of paying all your monthly bills on autopilot.But when it comes to

You should spend time on your summer getaway riding Space Mountain, sticking your toes in the sand, or touring ancient Roman ruins — not trying to protect all your financial information because you’ve been the victim of identity theft. So how do you minimize your risk and protect your identity while on vacation? Here, seven

In a moment, identity theft can cause you huge expense and massive headaches. What an identity thief accomplishes in an hour or day can take years to unravel. It can happen to anyone, and the perpetrators are not always strangers. Take a few simple, basic precautions to protect yourself. Shred everything. Not just last month’s

The discovery of identity theft is bound to be one of the most anxious and stressful moments a person can experience. When an identity thief gets his (or her) hands on your personal information, they gain the power to wreak havoc on your finances, credit and reputation. Minimize the chance that you will fall victim

The most successful identity thefts are the most damaging to the victim. Consider this: A thief gets a hold of the name and social security number of a person with impeccable credit, takes on loans and credit cards gradually enough to not raise red flags, then fails to pay the bills and disappears into thin