Go where the money is... Video suggests they have arrested one of the women, but also mentions that many dealerships have been hit.

http://cbs4.com/consumer/local_story_031172038.html

Exclusive: ID Thieves Hit Car Dealer In New Scam

Sources Say More Dealerships May Have Been Victims

Brian Andrews Reporting Jan 31, 2007 7:47 pm US/Eastern

(CBS4) MIAMI GARDENS Customers of a North Dade luxury auto dealership have been warned that their identities, bank accounts, even social security numbers may have been compromised by thieves who apparently have adapted low tech [but still relying on lax security Bob] criminal techniques to the high-tech crime of identity theft.

CBS4 News has learned that a criminal is probe underway into what happened at the Warren Henry automotive group, after a woman walked in off the street and took off with a box of sensitive customer data.

The business is known as one of South Florida's top luxury car dealerships, selling Infinitis, Jaguars, Land Rovers and other high-end brands to well-heeled customers.

Now, this dealer is dealing with the aftermath of this showroom security breach. Sources close to the investigation confirm a woman walked in off the street a few weeks ago pretending to look at cars in the showroom. While another woman was engaged in conversation with sales personnel, the suspect made her way to a back office and grabbed a box containing the sensitive financial data of dozens of customers who'd recently purchased fancy cars from the dealer.

The sources also say it's believed the document heist was well orchestrated as the woman knew where to go and what to grab. The source told CBS4 News that the thieves even had a getaway car waiting for them, without a license tag on the back so they couldn't be tracked.

As a result of the theft, Warren Henry has had to contact dozens of customers to let them know their bank accounts, credit, and other personal information may have been compromised.

Miami-Dade Police are investigating, but declined to talk to us about the case, saying they haven't made an arrest. Sources near the investigation say they're close and have already identified one suspect off the showroom's surveillance system, and told CBS4's Brian Andrews that other dealerships may have been targeted in the same scheme.

It's unclear at this point if the woman has actually used any of the data that was stolen.

Warren Henry Management is expected to release a statement later tonight.

TJX's education continues...

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20070131075025656

Bank files class-action lawsuit against retailer

Wednesday, January 31 2007 @ 08:23 AM CST - Contributed by: PrivacyNews - Breaches

TJX has been hit with a second class-action lawsuit over the theft of customer credit card data by computer hackers.

The Boston Globe reports that Alabama-based AmeriFirst Bank filed the suit in U.S. District Court. The bank is seeking to recover the costs of replacing compromised credit cards and covering fraudulent purchases.

Source - WHDH Related - Press Release on Lawsuit

Statistics...

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6155277.html

Identity theft on the wane

02 / 01 / 07

Americans lost about $49.3 billion in 2006 to criminals who stole their identities, an 11.5 percent decline that may reflect increased vigilance among consumers and businesses, a study released Thursday shows.

Losses declined from a revised $55.7 billion in 2005, according to the third annual study by Javelin Strategy & Research. [ http://www.javelinstrategy.com/ ] They had increased in each of the prior two years.

The average identity theft fraud fell 9 percent to $5,720 from $6,278, while the median--where half were larger and half were smaller--held steady at $750.

... According to the study, 8.4 million adult Americans, or one in 27, learned last year that criminals committed fraud with personal data such as credit card or Social Security numbers. That's down from 8.9 million in 2005 and 10.1 million in 2003.

Adults under 25, African-Americans and people who make more than $150,000 were among the groups most likely to suffer fraud, the study said. The youngest adults were also among the least likely to take steps to stop it, the study said.

Consumers, on average, spent $535 to clear up a fraud, though more than half spent nothing, the study said. Many businesses excuse customers from liability for certain frauds.

Results were based on a phone survey last fall of 5,006 people, including 469 who said they were fraud victims.

Well, they certainly got publicity. I wonder what this will cost them?

http://techdirt.com/articles/20070131/144709.shtml

Marketing Stunt Shuts Down City Of Boston

from the attention-grabber dept

Sometimes attempts at viral, word-of-mouth marketing can go too far. Turner Broadcasting thought it had come up with a slick way of promoting a show on Adult Swim by placing glowing signs featuring one of the show's characters all around the city of Boston. There was just one problem: with everyone so on edge these days about terrorism and suspicious objects, the signs drew out the bomb squads, and much of the city's infrastructure ground to a halt. Highways, commuter rail lines and the subway were all affected, as crews responded to worried phone calls throughout the city. The city's response is very similar to when some girls were arrested for playing a real-life version of the game Super Mario Brothers, which involved them placing boxes with question marks all around their neighborhood. While this latest stunt is bringing a lot of publicity to Turner Broadcasting, it's safe to say that this isn't what they hoped to see happen. The company will almost certainly face fines and other legal sanctions for tying up the city's anti-terrorism resources. Perhaps the marketing department at Turner Broadcasting needs to audit that college course on viral marketing.

[From the comments: This issue would have been nonsense if there was a sticker with Cartoon Network and a phone number on the circuits. ]

Be careful what you discuss online! Imagine describing the steps to reformat a hard drive! No doubt the government will find a way to use a computer that (unlike citizens) listens to their commands...

http://techdirt.com/articles/20070131/073609.shtml

Microsoft Vista Takes Orders From Anyone Who Yells At It

from the listen-up dept

As Microsoft pushes Vista out the door, the company has a lot riding on the claim that the new operating system is significantly better than previous versions of Windows, in terms of security. While there have been some scattered reports of flaws, which is always to be expected, many feel that the company has made good progress in securing its system. One new vulnerability comes from the fact that Vista has voice recognition capabilities, and that the user can speak commands to the computer through a microphone. George Ou decided to test the question of whether a website could play an audio file containing spoken commands and commandeer the user's computer. As it turns out, if the speech is clear enough, the computer will respond to commands that come out of its own speakers. The volume didn't even need to be too high. It's still not clear how much of a threat this really is. Many people won't even have this capability activated, and if you stumble onto a website that starts barking orders to your computer, you might realize something odd is going on. But, as with many online threats, an attacker doesn't need a high rate of success for a certain approach to be worthwhile. [1% is acceptable, if you make several million attacks. Bob] For Microsoft, it will probably be one of several security issues it will have to deal with down the road.

Wow! If only the shows were in a language I understood...

http://digg.com/tech_news/BBC_to_Shake_Up_TV_Industry_with_Internet_TV

BBC to Shake Up TV Industry with Internet TV!

BBC will offer ALL its TV shows from the past 7 days on-demand and over the internet and people can save them to their PC for 30 days. Its much like an automated DVR service. Other TV Networks are shaking in their boots as this threatens to change the whole TV model. Big thumbs up to the BBC. It will be called iPlayer -sounds like an Apple product!

http://www.webtvwire.com/bbc-iplayer-bbc-gives-green-light-on-internet-tv-service/

Useful quotes? I'm sure Al Gore will find one...

http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1244

Released: January 31, 2007

What is Privacy? Poll Exposes Generational Divide on Expectations of Privacy, According to Zogby/Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee Survey

18-24 Year Olds Harbor Profoundly Different Privacy Perceptions, Survey Finds

Nine out of 10 Americans believe the Internet has changed our expectations of privacy, according to a new poll conducted by Zogby International on behalf of the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee in advance of its annual policy conference in Washington.

Ninety-one percent said they agreed with the statement that our expectations of privacy have changed due to technologies and the Internet. Seven percent disagreed and two percent were not sure.

But a vast chasm exists between what 18-24 year-olds believe is an invasion of privacy and what other Americans consider to be an intrusion. For example:

* Only 35.6 percent of 18-24 year-olds consider someone posting a picture of them in a swimsuit to be an invasion of their privacy, compared to 65.5 percent of other respondents.

* Only 19.6 percent of 18-24 year-olds consider their dating profile to be an invasion of their privacy, compared to 54.6 percent of other respondents.

“Whether health care, e-commerce or social networking, privacy is at the forefront of every major policy debate,” said Tim Lordan, executive director of the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee. “This survey raises questions that could significantly impact our policymaking on privacy in years to come, assuming the MySpace generation maintains their privacy views as they age.”

The survey was released in advance of the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee annual State of the Net policy conference in Washington, DC on Jan. 31. For more information on the conference, go to netcaucus.org.

The Zogby poll underscores how 18-24 year-olds view, and use, the Internet in ways that distinctly set them apart:

* 45.4 percent of 18-24 year-olds say they, or someone they know, has broken up with someone using email or a text message. That contrasts with just 7.6 percent of all the other age groups polled.

* In good news for Al Gore, nearly 32 percent of the younger age group believes the former Vice President deserves credit for inventing the Internet, toppling one of the original founders of the Internet — Vint Cerf. That compares with just 9.8 percent of other age groups. Gore received criticism in the 2000 election for what was viewed as too much credit taking for his role in the Internet’s development. The Zogby survey suggests that many 18-24 year-olds remember the controversy in a way that works to the Vice President’s favor.

While the overwhelming majority of Americans believe our expectations of privacy have changed, they remain cautious about when a younger person should be allowed to use the Internet. Over 75 percent of those polled said a child should wait until they are 13 or older before getting email access (and 40.7 percent of them said the person should be at least over the age of 16 or wait until an adult). In addition, a whopping 65.6 percent said access to social networking sites should be restricted until the age of 16 or adulthood. Remarkably, 18-24 year-olds tended to be more cautious than their older counterparts in this regard. Across the board, from email to social networking, children should wait much longer to use the Internet according to 18-24 year olds.

And the Internet is still not viewed as the best place to meet someone. When asked if they had a 20-year-old daughter what would they least want their daughter to bring home as a boyfriend, respondents said they would least want it to be a guy she met on the Internet – even over someone she met at a bar or at a Star Trek convention. Of those polled, 31.9 percent considered the Internet boyfriend to be the worst, followed by a guy she met in a bar (22.3 percent) and then a Trekkie (16.1 percent).

Other findings from the poll include:

* Americans are split whether the Internet will cause profound change in China, or whether China will change the Internet. Forty-three percent said they believe that China will inevitably open up as citizens gain more access to information despite the government’s efforts to limit it. But 40.4 percent said it will be China that forces changes to the Internet that limit the flow of information. Asian Americans polled exhibited skepticism in that only 27.5 percent believed the Internet would change China.

* One in four 18-24 years olds admitted that they missed a deadline on an important project because they chose to surf the Internet instead. Only 7.8 percent of other respondents fessed up to doing that.

* When faced with having to give up television, radio or the Internet, 18-24 year-olds opted to hold on to their Internet at all costs. This demographic decided to jettison the TV first, followed by the radio. While the Internet was spared by 18-24 year-olds, it was the first choice to be tossed by all other older respondents, who’d rather keep their television and radio over the Internet.

* Most Americans don’t – or won’t fess up to – using the Internet to check up or snoop on co-workers or a potential boyfriend or girlfriend. Only 5.9 percent said they have used the Internet to find a co-worker and only 5 percent said they have used it to investigate a prospective mate.

The Zogby poll surveyed 1,200 adults and was conducted from 1/24-1/26. It has a margin of error of 2.9 percent. Conference sponsor 463 Communications helped conceive and develop the survey.

One version of collaboration.

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/software/0,72612-0.html?tw=rss.index

Jamming at the Speed of Light

By Mike Kobrin 10:00 AM Jan, 31, 2007

A new online service is about to launch that will allow bedroom musicians worldwide to play together in real time -- without leaving their own bedrooms.

In March, eJamming will introduce eJamming Audiio, an online music studio that uses peer-to-peer connections to eliminate lag times between live performers.

Amusing, but true!

http://www.bbspot.com/News/2007/02/windows-vista-upgrade-decision-flowchart.html

Windows Vista Upgrade

Decision Flowchart By Brian Briggs Wednesday, January 31 12:00 AM ET