Michigan ranks among the worst states for identity theft and fraud, a new analysis by a personal finance website shows.

The report by WalletHub put Michigan at No. 6, behind California, Rhode Island, Washington D.C., Florida and Georgia, and just ahead of Nevada, Texas, New York and Connecticut.

The Michigan attorney general’s office, which is charged with protecting consumers, suggested that identity theft and fraud is likely not as bad in the state as the report suggests.

“It could be underreported in other states,” Andrea Bitely, a spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office, said, challenging the report’s results. “The more people in a state, the more likely you are to be up at the top.”

“But,” she added, “the attorney general is not taking this lightly.”

October has been designated National Cyber Security Awareness Month by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

WalletHub, which is based in Washington D.C., compared all 50 states and the nation’s capital this week using a data that looked at identity theft, fraud and public policy aimed at keeping personal information out of the hands of thieves.

While Michigan ranked No. 6 overall, it was No. 8 specifically for identity theft, No. 12 for fraud, and No. 10 for public policy.

Michigan was No. 2 for the most identity theft complaints per capita, behind Washington D.C., and ahead of Florida, and No. 4 for the most fraud complaints per capita, behind, Washington D.C., Florida, and Georgia and ahead of Texas.

“Equifax has proven that absolutely no one is immune to cybercrime,” the report said. “In September 2017, the credit bureau announced that it had fallen victim to one of the biggest data breaches in recent history.”

Moreover, the WalletHub report said: “Even credit bureaus, government agencies, and financial institutions — the organizations consumers trust and expect to treat their confidential information with utmost care and security — cannot take enough precautions to prevent such attacks.”

Earlier this month, Equifax announced that 2.5 million more consumers were impacted by the breach than originally thought, bringing the total number of Michiganders with potentially compromised information to 4.6 million.

To raise awareness of identity theft, the state attorney general’s office is holding two free seminars:

• From 12:05 to 12:50 p.m. Friday at 525 West Ottawa Street, Lansing, in the G. Mennen Williams Auditorium.
• From 12:05 to 12:50 p.m. Wednesday at 3068 West Grand Blvd., Detroit, in Room L150.

Still, the WalletHub report warned:

“While the federal government and various businesses in recent years have taken more aggressive measures to build up our defenses, criminal strategies continue to evolve and grow in sophistication, keeping consumers vulnerable to identity theft and fraud.”

Busting an international gang of credit card hackers, the cyber wing of Madhya Pradesh Police has arrested two persons on Monday who are accused of making large-scale online purchases by hacking information on credit cards. The two accused, both residents of Mumbai, are suspected to be associated with a gang of international cyber criminals, run by Pakistani citizen Shaikh Afzal aka Shozi.

Speaking after the arrest of credit card hackers, Superintendent of Police (SP) of State Cyber Cell of Indore unit, Jitendra Singh said that two Indian members of this gang, identified as Ramkumar Pillai and Ramprasad Nadar, were arrested following a complaint made by a bank official from Agar Malwa district.

“We have learnt that Shozi is a native of Lahore and got married only last year. Shozi visits different countries across the world. He was in Uzbekistan when Nadar and Pillai talked to him last time through Skype. We are trying to confirm these details,” the Superintendent of Police said.

The duo purchased hacked credit card details from some websites on the dark web and later paid for the information through Bitcoin. “If this payment is measured in terms of Indian currency, it costs only Rs 500 to Rs 800 to buy details of every credit card,” Singh added.

The gang members bought air tickets and travel packages of Bangkok, Thailand, Dubai, Hong Kong and Malaysia by using this information of hacked credit cards. They also shopped costly items online using the hacked details, said the official.

Singh said the accused also used to send half the amount, they spent by misusing the credit card details, to Shozi by secret online methods.

The accused also used to select the online e-commerce website, where they do not need a one-time password (OTP) to make a purchase. So, the holders would get the information about the misuse of credit cards only after the payment.

Singh said initial investigation revealed that both the accused have made purchases of about Rs 20 lakh by misusing the details of 17 credit cards so far. However, this figure may go up after further investigation.

He said that the police have been searching for a resident of Jabalpur, who is also learnt to be connected with this gang.

Source:

Source: National Cyber Security – Produced By Gregory Evans

Fighting payments fraud can be a daunting battle – especially if the battle is waged with reactions. That is, once you’re under siege, protecting data can be a scramble. Or as hockey great Wayne Gretzky once said, it’s important to skate to where the puck is going to be, and not…

The post Inside Mastercard’s Journey To Predicting Card Fraud appeared first on National Cyber Security Ventures.

View full post on National Cyber Security Ventures

Source: National Cyber Security – Produced By Gregory Evans

A bipartisan pair of senators is pressing Equifax for details on how it plans to protect data on U.S. servicemembers caught up in a massive breach, underscoring fears of potential identity theft and financial fraud. Sens. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) and Dean Heller (R-Nev.) wrote to the credit reporting firm on…

The post Senators worry troops could fall victim to fraud in wake of Equifax hack appeared first on National Cyber Security Ventures.

View full post on National Cyber Security Ventures

Source: National Cyber Security – Produced By Gregory Evans

A St. Louis man has been ordered to spend four and a half years in federal prison for using social security numbers of others to conceal his criminal past while finding work with information technology companies. Twenty-nine-year-old Lawrence Jerel Higgins was sentenced Wednesday in St. Louis. That’s where he pleaded…

The post Missouri man admits job-related social security fraud appeared first on National Cyber Security Ventures.

View full post on National Cyber Security Ventures

Source: National Cyber Security – Produced By Gregory Evans

Do you know that despite the end-to-end encryption provided by popular messaging platforms like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Viber, your sensitive information is vulnerable to hacking? A new research has highlighted the importance of what is called an ‘authentication ceremony’ to help mitigate the risk. Researchers from Brigham Young University…

The post Researchers claim that most WhatsApp and Viber users are exposed to fraud and hacking appeared first on National Cyber Security Ventures.

View full post on National Cyber Security Ventures

Source: National Cyber Security – Produced By Gregory Evans

Officials from both parties had a consistent answer last year when asked about the security of voting systems: U.S. elections are so decentralized that it would be impossible for hackers to manipulate ballot counts or voter rolls on a wide scale. But the voter fraud commission established by President Donald…

The post Could voting fraud panel create an easy target for hackers? appeared first on National Cyber Security Ventures.

View full post on National Cyber Security Ventures

Source: National Cyber Security – Produced By Gregory Evans

First came “solicitor fraud”, where conmen intercepted emails between property buyers and conveyancers and diverted huge sums to the wrong accounts. Now this form of life-destroying crime has widened out to embrace other, big-ticket transactions, including home renovations and building work. The mechanism is the same: fraudsters impersonate one or…

The post Email hacking fraud hits home renovators: ‘I paid £10,800 to a bogus builder’ appeared first on National Cyber Security Ventures.

View full post on National Cyber Security Ventures

Source: National Cyber Security – Produced By Gregory Evans

IBM is partnering with Dutchess Community College to help military veterans and try to fill the growing skill gap in the cybersecurity field. The company and school are offering veterans free enrollment in a program covering cybersecurity and fraud detection, a field rife with job opportunities. By 2022, the gap…

The post IBM to teach veterans cybersecurity, fraud detection appeared first on National Cyber Security Ventures.

View full post on National Cyber Security Ventures

Source: National Cyber Security – Produced By Gregory Evans

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) – A Texas yacht captain who took the identity of a dead infant to escape litigation over the death of her husband and infant daughter in California has been sentenced to three years in prison. Cynthia Lyerla of League City pleaded guilty on March 30 to federal…

The post Texas yacht captain imprisoned for ID theft, passport fraud appeared first on National Cyber Security Ventures.

View full post on National Cyber Security Ventures