Dale Penn

Massive data spill leaves thousands of students out in the cold.

The combined number of people victimized in two separate incidents at the Universities of Virginia and Miami totals over 50,000.

Nearly every imaginable piece of private information was stolen; including names, addresses, credit card data and highly- prized social security numbers.

These giant leaks aren’t supposed to occur, but the fact is that the portability of laptops and backup tapes makes the crime more common than casual observers may notice.

In the Florida case, the records were being shipped off to a private off site storage facility. This practice is usually designed to safeguard the data off campus, but this time the stagecoach was robbed.

This isn’t the first time the University of Virginia has dealt with this crime. Last year the F.B.I. was called in to investigate the theft of data belonging to 5735 University faculty members.

Techweb Media reported this story last week and also disclosed new research from analysts at AMI Partners. The research indicates that a staggering 86 percent of mid-sized U.S. business reported some sort of security breach or data loss in the last 12 months!

What can you do to ward off the grim IDENTITY GRIM REAPER?

1. Back up your data. A backup allows you to restore missing, corrupted or stolen files quickly. A backup will also allow you to continue your work while your computer is being located, repaired or restored.

2. Download updates to your OS and software regularly. Security patches and “bug fixes” can help you keep your privacy armor polished.

3. Be on guard for viruses and worms. Fight these cyber-security threats by installing a good anti-virus software program.

4. Fight off malicious Ad-ware and Spy-ware. Everyone using the web, instant messaging or file-sharing is vulnerable. Install protective software to fight off malicious mal-ware and update it regularly.

5. What do you mean you don’t have a firewall? Install one immediately to protect your computer from intrusion. Purchase a firewall “box” or get the software version from a company like Norton or McAfee.

6. Use stronger-longer passwords. The longer and stranger looking they are, the better. Recent studies indicate that most computer users utilize the same password for everything. Create long and unusual alpha-numeric passwords that don’t contain easy clues like your dog’s name or the street you grew up on.

7. Lock your computer down! The trunk of your car doesn’t count. Visit a local retailer to purchase a computer locking cable device. Turning your back on your computer for even a moment at home, at the library or at Starbucks is just asking for trouble with a capital T.

Ironic twist makes this incident noteworthy!

Even high profile identity theft advocates are vulnerable to the threat of data loss, data compromise and data crime.

Representative Joe Barton (R-Texas) was among 3000 patients whose records were reported missing by the National Institutes of Health. An NIH laptop containing the medical records for the patients was reported stolen from the trunk of a vehicle according to a report this month by The Associated Press.

Here’s the irony. Barton is a founder of the Congressional Privacy Caucus, whose mission among other things is to educate members of Congress and their staffs on matters of individual privacy.

It is noteworthy that Rep. Barton only found out about his own breach in press reports. Barton has asked the inspector general for the Health and Human Services Department to investigate why the information wasn’t encrypted and why the NIH delayed disclosure of the breach.

As difficult as it may seem to protect your financial identity, your medical records are much harder to secure. This is primarily because patients have no control over the handling and care of their own personal medical records.

The federal regulation designed to prevent these unsettling scams is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ( HIPAA) Privacy Rule. Unfortunately, it can be extremely difficult for patients to correct inaccuracies in their medical records, because insurance companies are not compelled to correct records which they did not create.

According to a report on msnbc.com, one medical identity theft victim had the contents of her wallet removed and despite the fact that she quickly cancelled all her credit cards, had almost $14,000 in prescription meds and treatments charged up in her name. Over the next four months, restoring her identity became a part-time job. She fought off bill collectors, struggled to get her own medical prescriptions paid for and nearly got arrested herself on suspicion of being a co-conspirator in the scam.

The numbers can be deceiving. According to the Federal Trade Commission, only 3 percent of U.S. identity-crime victims have their information used by others to obtain medical services or false claim reimbursements. This still means that nearly 250,000 Americans may be victims each year! The rising cost of health-care will only make these crimes more prevalent going forward.

The lurking dangers of not being able to access your own health benefits or having your medical records polluted with potentially life threatening mis-information makes this topic a sure recipe for more than just heartburn.

The Oracle of Omaha shares our pain!

It is not surprising that many well known personalities are targeted not only because of their vast wealth, but because dumb criminals actually believe that the wealthy enjoy so much excess that they wouldn’t notice a few missing coins.

The spotlight shines brightly enough to cast a shadow over the financial affairs of many in the public eye. That spotlight however, hasn’t necessarily blinded them.

Oprah, American Idol finalist Ruben Studdard and even Herman Munster have all made the identity theft headlines in the past couple of years. Enter Warren Buffett.

A story in the March 2008 issue of Fortune Magazine cites the latest instance of a high profile identity theft victim. For those who don’t know, Buffett recently passed Bill Gates as the richest man in the world, with a net worth around 62 billion dollars.

According to the account, the Berkshire Hathaway CEO recently checked his credit history and discovered that his FICO score was slightly lower than the U.S. median. The less than stellar FICO score was attributed to a supposed “impostor” who may have compromised Buffett’s credit record.

Apparently, Mr. Buffett’s credit report cites 23 missed payments on a loan held by an HBSC branch in Nevada. The total loan amount was  a whopping $294.00. Buffett claims the account was never his. Nice try Warren.

Fortune reporter Telis Demos indicated that a recent study found that 25% of credit reports contain serious errors.

Although most of us will never share the financial spotlight with money making titans like Oprah and Buffett, we do share the same vulnerability.

Fortunately for Mr. Buffett, he didn’t ignore his credit history, he actually looked at it.

The rest of us would do well to follow that sage example.