According to JournalStar.com, the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles recently launched a new driver’s licensing system, which has led to 41 investigations into identity theft or fraud.

DMV director Beverly Neth says that the facial recognition system implemented when the system changed has been reviewing every picture in the DMV system every night, comparing former ID photos with ones taken since the system changed. Staff members are also now checking new pictures against old ones when new photos are being taken.

These changes have led to 41 investigations. “The technology we’ve installed is a powerful tool that can help combat fraud and identity theft in Nebraska,” Neth said.

For instance, the nightly system searching found one person who was using three different Social Security numbers, one belonging to a dead person. Another resulted in the DMV fraud unit contacting the person whose identity had been stolen, only to learn the identity thief had “racked up a $100,000 bill for unpaid taxes with the IRS,” Neth said.

The Associated Press reports that New York’s attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, is charging Tagged.com, a social networking site, with stealing the identities of more than 60 million Internet users around the world. He said he’s suing the company for deceptive marketing and invasion of privacy.

Cuomo alleged that Tagged acquired most of its users fraudulently, sending unsuspecting recipients e-mails that urged them to view private photos posted by friends. The message read: “(name of friend) sent you photos on Tagged.”

When recipients tried to access the photos, they become new members of the site — without ever seeing any photos. Recipients’ e-mail address books would then be stolen, said Cuomo.

The attorney general said a lawsuit would seek to stop Tagged from engaging in “fraudulent practices” and to seek fines.

Internet fraud losses in the United States reached a record high in 2008, with over 275,000 complaints received by the Internet Fraud Complaint Center, according to a new report from the center.

The 2008 Annual Report states that complaints of online crime hit a record high in 2008. IC3 received a total of 275,284 complaints, a 33.1% increase over the previous year. The total dollar loss linked to online fraud was $265 million, about $25 million more than in 2007. The average individual loss amounted to $931.

While the complaints consisted of a variety of fraud types, non-delivery of merchandise and/or payment ranked number one (32.9%). Internet auction fraud was the second most reported offense (25.5%) followed by credit/debit card fraud (9.0%).

FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Shawn Henry said, “”This report illustrates that sophisticated computer fraud schemes continue to flourish as financial data migrates to the Internet. It also underscores the need for continued vigilance on the part of law enforcement, businesses, and the home computer user to be aware of these schemes and employ sound security procedures.””

The Associated Press reports that a Huntington Beach woman used a fake identity to get breast implants and liposuction. She opened a line of credit using someone else’s name and Social Security number, and then rang up $12,000 in plastic surgery charges at the Pacific Center For Plastic Surgery.

Employees said she never returned for follow-up visits.

The woman turned herself in Tuesday and was released on $20,000 bail. She faces charges of commercial burglary, grand theft and identity theft.

The most common identity theft victims tend to be middle-aged married females, divorcees, or those who make more than $75,000 a year, according to a newly released survey from Nationwide Insurance.

CreditCards.com reports that the survey shows that it’s harder to bounce back financially after having your identity stolen in a bad economy. Four hundred adults, including 200 identity theft victims, were polled, and said that they didn’t know if they had enough money to recover from credit or debit card fraud. Ten percent of identity theft victims said they missed payments as a result of identity theft, and four out of five of those victims reported they also experienced lower credit scores, bankruptcy, repossession, foreclosure, or jail time. Victims also relayed additional difficulties resulting from identity theft, including family problems and time missed at work.