Identity Theft News

Document Shredding: Onsite Versus Offsite Hiring a professional and certified document destruction company is good business practice for any organization, and not just because it’s the environmentally-sound thing to do, but because it safeguards your business against unnecessary security breaches. We’ve already discussed why employees are often the problem when it comes to in-house shredding…

10 Tips to Protect Yourself From Scammers and Safeguard Your Financial Health Do you know what the fastest-growing crime in America is? Identity theft, according to TransUnion, a major national credit bureau. The company reports that about 19 people fall victim to identity theft every minute. Identity theft occurs when someone acquires personal data and…

Florida school band director charged in ID theft, fraud FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A South Florida school band director is facing federal charges in what prosecutors say was an identity theft and tax fraud scheme involving some stolen student records. Court documents show 27-year-old Delvis Rogers pleaded not guilty last week to identity theft…

Two North Miami residents arrested on identity theft charges Two men in North Miami have been arrested in connection with a scheme to steal the identities of several people, including some Miami-Dade County public school students, according to federal court records. The suspects also were accused of filing false income tax returns, using the names…

Document Shredding: When Employees Are the Problem In-house paper shredders may seem like a solid investment for offices that generate a decent amount of paper that needs regular destruction, but what businesses fail to realize is that office shredders come with a unique set of challenges that can pose as a major detriment on many…

States with the most identity theft complaints In 2014, data theft reached record levels. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, there were 783 data breaches last year, a substantial increase from both the previous year and the previous 2010 peak. In addition, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recorded 332,646 identity theft complaints in 2014,…

Florida prison guard sentenced in Chicago for inmate ID theft scheme A former Florida prison guard was sentenced in a Chicago courtroom Thursday for stealing the identities of more than 50 inmates and using them to get illegal tax refunds through an accomplice in Illinois. Cornelius Crumity of Pembroke Pines, Fla., defrauded the IRS out…

Tax Season Is Over, So When Should You Shred Your Old Documents? Now that another tax season is behind us, it’s a good time to think about what to do with your old tax records. Personal tax documents greatly differ from business ones, so it’s imperative for business owners to know how long to hang…

Getting Greener With Paper Shredding There’s a lot of talk about green these days. Almost in every industry, you’ll find a “green” version of a product, promising a gentler impact on the environment, toting eco-responsibility, and sometimes, it can save you money. When it comes to business, it’s all about energy efficiency and reducing paper…

Consumer Watch: More tips on how to avoid ID theft Several readers have asked for more information about protecting themselves from identity theft. As I’m speaking to the Scenic City Friends next week about ID theft/fraud, it seems an ideal time to piggyback on last week’s column with some expanded info. According to Senior Digest…