I have two identity theft accounts. Someone use my social security number to apply for SBC and Direct TV. I never receive bills from them. When I found out about these accounts, they already shown as collection on my credit report. These have negative effect on my credit. I called up the collection agency for SBC and told them this is not my account. They are not willing to remove me. I have called up Federal Trade Commission and reported these. They couldn’t do anything about this. I have try to consult free legal aids, they didn’t make any reply!!! How can I remove these identity theft accounts?

The 800 number has no live person to speak to. I have to actually be a member to report anything and I don’t have an account.

Someone stole my identity and is using my name to "sell" computers. Its all fradulent and I need to put a stop to it.

I have look across google and other sources, however, I cannot find information on the characteristics of cyber identity theft. All I find is cyber terrorism which is different from identity theft. Can someone help me find some creditable information on the characteristic of cyber identity theft please?

We are moving and my car was broken into. They stole my wallet, which had my sons' social security cards, and my old one with my maiden name and my new one. They also ended up with my routing and account number, but I closed the account. They had my ID too, but that was mailed back to me from across the state. I am afraid they will open accounts in my sons' names, since they have all the information needed. How do I file a identity theft/fraud alert for free?

I have a potential tenant for one of my rental properties with a 0 FICO score. He claims that he was a victim of identity theft. If he reported this to either the social security department or the FTC would he have received any documentation form either to use as proof that he did report it?

Has anybody dealt with identity theft. Its lookin like somebody may have used my SS# to claim me on their taxes. This is why I am not getting a stimulus check

Be Informed and Up-to-Date!

Read Articles Concerning Identity Theft

Are you aware of identity theft and the danger it can bring to your life if you become one of its victims? Perhaps not yet. Do not think that your innocence regarding identity thefts subtle workings is a protection from being violated.

Identity theft is a malicious and vicious crime wave nowadays. It is but necessary that you be properly informed of its machinations and implication. You also need to be kept up to date of recent events and cases pertaining to such crime. Being informed and up to date is a step to prevent being attacked or being a victim of this crime.

There are many websites through out the Internet developed to give you needed information, data and updates regarding identity theft. These websites will tell you everything you have to know about identity thieves, how they operate, when and where they attack and what they usually do to carry out their malicious plan.

The information they share to the masses of internet users, who are usually the first target of this crime, are through articles concerning identity theft. In these articles, they explain the subtle machinations of identity thieves just to obtain strictly personal and confidential information about people.

Articles concerning identity thefts also give an account on how to prevent being victimized by identity thieves. There are also articles about the laws being passed against identity theft. There are also in-depth explanations of various identity theft cases already tried in court.

According to articles concerning identity thefts, the term identity theft is the co-option of another person’s personal and confidential information. Identity thieves go to great lengths to discover a person’s whole name, social security number, credit card number, passport and ATM card information. The persons whose personal information and identity they stole are usually clueless of this fraudulent activity until after a crime has been committed and they are deep in trouble because they are the assumed culprits.

Identity theft is a crime being committed by malicious and ingenious criminals. This crime takes on plenty of forms. It can also be conducted in many varying ways on different avenues. Though it uses different schemes, they are identified because of the wrongful acquisition of another person’s personal data through fraud or deception and typically for economic gain.

The Websites with articles concerning identity thefts explain why people need to take precautions against identity theft.

Unlike fingerprints, which are solely yours and cannot be stolen by others, for their own gains, your personal data like Social Security number, bank account or credit card number, telephone number, and other valuable identifying data can really be stolen and used for the criminal’s own ends. If valuable data of yours fall into wrong hands, you can become a victim of persons who would like to profit at your expense.

Some articles concerning identity theft also share particular tactics being employed by identity thieves just to get hold and access other person’s personal information. There are also news accounts on the incidents wherein identity theft may occur.

An example is the articles on credit reports containing serious errors that might cause consumers to be denied car loans, credit, credit cards and even mortgages. Another example is a recent article concerning identity theft warning consumers of the possibility of “huge victimization” within the next two years.

These reports all bear serious warnings to be extra careful in monitoring all financial transactions for unexplained account activity, withdrawals, or fund transfers.

There are also ample information about the nature and extent of identity theft activities as reported by victims.

There are also articles about good news on the fight against identity thefts. There is the article account about the Fair Credit Report Act. According to the article regarding this matter, the FCA requires credit-reporting agencies to fix credit card mistakes.

There are also legal websites that will give access to users legal articles concerning identity theft cases. They give brisk analysis and specific data about trying identity theft cases in formal legal proceedings.

Here are other areas where identity theft can occur:

- medical transactions
- bank transactions
- mails and e-mails
- credit card transactions
- Internet transactions

Many articles concentrate on the particular areas where there are risks of identity thefts. There are also articles concerning investigations and statistics of identity theft. Steps in proper prevention and warning about identity theft are also shared in most articles.

It is but wise for Internet users to read up and start feeding yourself with important stuff about identity theft.

Brad Gellert, left, probably didn't know the day he picked to wear his "I [Heart] My Marriage" shirt was also the day he'd get popped on domestic-abuse charges.

Gellert, 32, of Hillsborough County, allegedly tried to strangle his wife during an argument at their home Sunday night.

The Smoking Gun notes that Gellert's shirt was a promotional item from a recent Christian-themed film starring evangelical actor and former Growing Pains wunderkind Kirk Cameron.

Local police agencies say there's no evidence to support a rampant rumor circulating over text messages and the Internet that a gang is planning an attack at a South Florida Wal-Mart.   

"There's nothing to indicate this is rooted in fact,'' said Detective Rebeca Perez, a Miami-Dade police spokeswoman.  

The Broward Sheriff's Office called the threat a "long running hoax.''

BSO, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, the Miami-Dade Police Department and Tallahassee police îîhave found no credible information to substantiate this threat,'' the PBSO said in a news release.

Dan Fogleman, a Wal-Mart spokesman said the company is taking extra precautions in light of the messages circulating.

"While we take these situations seriously, we regard this as only a rumor much like similar rumors that have circulated via e-mail in previous years,'' he said.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the term "walmart gang initiation'' was one of the top searches on Google.

Suspect charged with four residential burglaries and one attempt residential burglary Blaine HeindelKenner, La. – On Monday, March 3, 2008, at 1034 hours, the Kenner Police Department received a complaint from a concerned citizen who reported suspicious activity. The complainant…

Eddie CoronadoKenner, La. – On Thursday, February 28, 2008, members of the Kenner Police Department Narcotics Division executed a search warrant at 3813 Connecticut Avenue, Kenner. As a result of the search warrant, approximately 8.8 pounds of marijuana, 7.3 grams…

Incident linked to drug activity A Kenner man has been booked with attempted murder in connection with a shooting last month in River Ridge. Devis Harris, 20, of 4021E . LouisianaState Drive, was booked with second-degree attempted murder and felony…

Kenner, La. – The Kenner Police Department is presently investigating a bank robbery that occurred at the Capital One Bank, located at 2510 Williams Boulevard, Kenner. At approximately 09:51 A.M., two black males, entered the bank an announced the robbery….

Blaine HeindelKenner, La. – The Kenner Police Department arrested Blaine Heindel, W/M, 09/20/1988, 0f 3614 Arkansas Ave, Kenner, for a series of burglaries in the GreenLawn Terrace Subdivision of Kenner. Blaine Heindel has been identified as the person responsible for…

Kendall JacksonKenner, La. – The Kenner Police Department have issued warrants for the arrest of Kendell Jackson, B/M, 09/27/84, of 4723 Majestic Oaks Dr, New Orleans, La. for a series of burglaries in the Highway Park Subdivision of Kenner. Kendell…

Kenner, La. – The Kenner Police Department have arrested Matthew Sherburne, W/M, 06/17/82, of 1903 Portsmouth Street, Apt 15, Houston, Texas in connection with a fatality accident that occurred in October 19, 2007 in the 300 Block of Interstate 10,…

Suspect booked with 5 counts of Felony Carnal Knowledge of a Juvenile Kenner, La. – On Monday, March 17, 2008, at 11:55 a.m., Michael Lyons, age 36, of 4141 East Loyola Drive, Kenner, was arrested at Isidore Newman School after…

Suspect arrested for internet sex crimes involving juveniles Source: Kenner Police Department Press Release Kenner, La. – On June 12, 2008 at approximately 2:30 P.M., William B. Mercier W/M, age 34, of 2783 Highway 51 SE, Bogue Chitto, Mississippi, was…

2006 murders: An interactive graphic displaying all open and solved murders that occured in 2006 as well as convictions. NOLA 2006 murders by the numbers 2007 homicide watch: The Times-Picayune and NOLA.com will follow every 2007 New Orleans homicide as…

Some thoughts from the fine folks at Baker Hostetler, via the New York Law Journal.

– MDT

Perhaps a response to being on the OECD’s draft blacklist of uncooperative tax havens? That is, after the Swiss got through whinging about being on the list in the first place.

None of these countries are quite prepared to rat on their own population, but foreigners should no longer count on the same discretion.

For its part the OECD doesn’t plan on changing the makeup of their naughty list prior to the G20, no matter what kind of pledges they receive – I’m looking at you, Monaco.

As the G20 meeting gets closer (early April) they’ll be plenty more pressure to go around and other traditional tax havens may also fall in line. But should they?

Some (ok, one guy from the Cato institute) says no.

– MDT

A little of that FCPA action we’ve been talking about. The U.S. government’s investigation goes (involving both the SEC and DOJ) back to 2007 and concerns allegations that reps of Royal Dutch Shell paid bribes to Nigerian customs agents, possibly through Swiss freight forwarding firm Panalpina. The SEC is investigating ten other firms that used Panalpina on suspicion of similar illegal payments. Shell has been running its own internal investigation alongside the U.S. Government probe.

– MDT

David Friehling, come on down…

– MDT

This Examiner recap of the Bloomberg effort features a cameo from the James Mintz Group, which sent undercover investigators into New York area gunstores in order to make illegal purchases as part of a sting operation.

– MDT

How high is the water mama?

Some big, big numbers here. According to recent testimony from FBI Deputy Director John Pistole before a House of Reps panel, the FBI is currently investigating 2,000-plus mortgage fraud fraud investigations ongoing in 2009 (up from around 900 in 2006) and 566 corporate fraud investigations 43 of which apparently derive from the current financial crisis.

Three feed high and rising.

Exponentially.

Pistole’s full testimony is right here. Well worth reading

– MDT

Too soon?

Yeah. Man, I miss this guy,

– MDT

Corporate investigators, your time is now.

You’ve been anointed by the New York Times as the new go-to profession.

– MDT

Stoneridge looms large in a decision that sees Refco lawyer Joseph Collins and the firm of Mayer Brown off the hook for the commodity firm’s fraud and subsequent flame-out. This would be a bit of a strikeout for Refco’s shareholders and for uber-securities litigator John Coffey of Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann.

You can view the judge’s dismissal order here, thanks to the AmLaw Daily. While your at it, check out Judge Gerard Lynch’s juicy footnote on page 25 where he basically calls the Stoneridge decision out as a steaming pile of crap that we’d be better off without. But he says it all Judge-like and nice.

Despite the decision in this case, none of these folks are quite done with Refco yet. John Coffee has more parties to chase on behalf of the aggrieved – someone signed off on those Refco books Grant Thornton . For Mayer Brown there is still the small matter of the Refco-related RICO suit brought by Thomas H. Lee Partners and a multi billion dollar lawsuit filed by Refco’s bancruptcy trustee.

Oh and Joseph Collins also has the small matter of his own federal criminal trial on security fraud charges. That’ll start in April.

Call it a full docket all around. More on this mess via Law.com

– MDT

The Park Avenue duplex once owned by Refco’s former CEO, Phillip Bennett (now serving a 16 year sentence) has gone on the market for $5.9 million. The property had passed into government hands after Bennett plead guilty to most of the available types of business fraud.

You can check out a floorplan here via the always awsome Curbed. Nice hardwoods! If you’d like to make an offer, I am sure Sabrina or Daniela would be glad to take your call. Open house this Wed!

– MDT

Mexican detectives are looking for five bodies after they found several coolers with five heads inside.

The heads were covered with tape. Each head had a threatening message aimed at drug traffickers.

Actor Joaquin Phoenix dove into a crowd of hecklers during his performance as a rapper on Thursday morning at the Fontainebleau Hotel's club LIV in Miami Beach.

Miami Beach police did not make any arrests. But was it artist's rage or publicity staged?

While on stage Phoenix said "I've got millions of dollars in my f*&** bank account. What do you got?" Then he proceeded to attack the heckler. Dozens of security guards pounced on the scuffle, as party goers jumped out of the way, witnesses told Crime Scene.

One of the event's hosts Alexis Mincolla said he thinks it may have been an act.

"The film crew he had with him seems like an act to me," said Mincolla. "Casey Affleck is working on a documentary" about Phoenix's career shift.

Affleck is Ben Affleck's brother and Phoenix's brother-in-law. 

Witnesses at LIV on Thursday morning may have criticized Phoenix's rapping skills, but his acting skills are still superb.

This is not the first time Phoenix abruptly leaves the stage. Watch him fall off stage during a performance at a club in Las Vegas on January.

You may be able to catch more Phoenix drama tonight – He and Demi Moore are set to attend an after party for the Miami International Film Festival at Bella Rose, 423 16th St., in South Beach.

Click here to view the invitation:

If this guy suffers from blackouts when he drinks, he was in for one hell of a surprise.

Robert Conde, 41, beat up his girlfriend Ruth Ann Trueblood to death because she wouldn't let him keep on drinking.

When his drunken rage was done, police say Conde attempted to have sex with her bloody body but couldn't. He covered the body with a blanket and fell asleep next to her.

Miami Herald Staff David Smiley has the story.

Authorities said Saturday that 44-year-old Raul Eiseman had tricked a man into making weekly payments for a year by saying he was a police officer.

Police said on Saturday that if Lindsay Lohan, 22, comes in contact with police, she is subject to arrest.

She has a pending warrant stemming from a 2007 DUI conviction, People.com is reporting.

Police accuse Ian Debeer, 21, also allegedly known as graffiti writer HERT, of causing $212,000 in damages in Pittsburgh.

Police said they had confiscated a total of $3,000 worth of spray paint cans, respirators, bags of custom-designed nozzles and books about graffiti from Debeer's apartment.

Authorities are increasingly using postings on MySpace and Facebook to track down alleged graffiti vandals.

But graffiti writers are also getting more creative. Writer RIZE in Danbury is using acidic solutions such as "Etch Bath" and "Armor Etch-All" to corrode glass so his tag appears as a milky-white stain on windows and doors.

Not at war in Sacramento, a business association is allowing graffiti writers to paint on certain walls this weekend.

 "People doing tagging are just people fighting anonymity," said a former Sacramento councilman.

For other trouble youth according to this Chicago report pursuing graffiti is an opportunity to stay away from engaging in more severe crimes. As my grandmother would say: "Esta complicada la cosa."

Some actors like to impersonate morbid reality.

The following videos are enacted crime scenes at a nightclub in South Beach. Do not click on play if you get easily scandalized. These are rated R.

Warning: Most of them contain partygoers' indecent displays of partial nudity and graphic content (fake blood).

BLACK SUNDAY- SPAGHETTI ALLA DEATH from Alexis Mincolla on Vimeo.

ART OF MURDER vs SLOPPY SECONDS (2.14.09) from Alexis Mincolla on Vimeo.

BLACK SUNDAY- DIRTY MUTHA from Alexis Mincolla on Vimeo.

Run on over to CNBC’s site for the personal finance show On the Money… I’ve answered a viewer “Ask the Experts” question about filing bankruptcy versus going through the debt settlement process. Bankruptcy often sounds attractive because it wipes out much of what you owe, but it’s not always the best option and you may [...]

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker had an opinion piece on the bailout madness in today’s Wall Street Journal. His legacy is holding the line of property taxes for Milwaukee County property owners. (i.e. He felt that we were already paying too much when he won the office several years ago, and has seen to it [...]

Top 10 Red Flags for Fraud at Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. (NYSE:PPD)
1. Pre-Paid Legal press releases and earnings calls consistently tout the “record” numbers that the company has achieved. This leaves the impression that the business is increasing in strength.
TRUTH: Every key metric for Pre-Paid Legal’s business was down in 2008, again demonstrating the weakness [...]

In the world of Mary Kay Cosmetics, recruiting new victims into the multi-level marketing (MLM) system and frontloading them with large inventory packages is critical to the survival of the company. The company and the upper levels of the pyramid rely on repeated ordering of products by beauty consultants, and little attention is paid to [...]

Mark Jackson, president of EchoStar Corp. (NASDAQ:SATS), doesn’t have an engineering degree from Texas Tech, as had been claimed in numerous filings and public relations pieces. The fake degree was also listed in an annual report for ArchosSA, a French maker of portable music and video players.
The company’s explanation? It was a “clerical” error.  (Over [...]

From The Wall Street Journal:
It’s hard not to see the continued sell-off on Wall Street and the growing fear on Main Street as a product, at least in part, of the realization that our new president’s policies are designed to radically re-engineer the market-based U.S. economy, not just mitigate the recession and financial crisis.
The illusion [...]

I’ve written plenty here about perpetual money-loser Overstock.com (NASDAQ:OSTK) and its wacky CEO Patrick Byrne. Unfortunately, I’ve mostly lost interest in the topic. Why? It’s the same old, same old.
Overstock.com continuously loses money for shareholders. Byrne pretends that profits are right around the corner. More money is lost. Dishonest accounting tricks are used to pretend [...]

Wisconsin is one of the highest taxed states in the nation. If you live in Milwaukee, you’ve got it even worse. All taxes are through the roof… highest sales tax rate, highest property taxes, most “fees” that are nothing more than disguised taxes…
Every time we turn around, a politician is looking for new ways to [...]

Two weeks ago the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners sent out a survey to members, attempting to determine whether a bad economy makes fraud rise. I’ve written about this topic before, and the truth is that there is no way for us to know.
People suspect that a poor economy causes more fraud, but it’s absolutely [...]

Our laws have not kept up with technology. Social media like Twitter (with users posting “tweets” for others to read) and Facebook are having a big impact on life, and the impact on the legal system is yet to be determined. The one thing I’ve observed related to the legal system and social media is [...]

In today’s human race having good credit is an absolute must. Credit is no longer for simply buying points today and paying for them later. Now, credit is used to validate who you are as a individual and your worth. Credit scores are utilized day-to-day in life. By following some simple rules, you can maintain your credit score at its highest points.Understand that your credit score is a

Are you thinking of purchasing a house? Bash you desire to purchase a new car to replace that old wreck? Trying to get insurance on you home, auto, or life? In each of these situations, what’s on your credit report will determine if you can get a loan or insurance and what rates you’ll have got got to pay.If you’re trying to construct or repair your credit history, you have a intimidating but

The three major credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and Trans Union are similar and feature a "Credit Score", which is created from credit report data submitted to them about you. Their report includes where you live, your bill-paying habits, and bankruptcy and arrest information. The information compiled by them is used to determine whether you would be a good borrower. It may also be used by a