Analysts at the Identity Theft Resource Center made five predictions for 2007, all of which turned out correct. The five ITRC predicted areas of increased crime trends developing in 2007 included: growth in check fraud, synthesizing and counterfeiting; expansion of identity phishing; identity theft from children, family members and within domestic settings being acknowledged by law enforcement and businesses; an overall trend in indifference and insensitivity towards identity theft victims by law, corporate and Government entities; and better communication between law enforcement bodies in multi-jurisdictional scenarios, helping to create regional task forces.

At the end of 2007, the following is clear:
• Check theft has become a bigger issue, as more identity thieves are now counterfeiting new checks based upon stolen account numbers while using a different name.
• Scam artists are also using the web to create fraud, by way of Web sites promoting online auctions, want ads, job hunting, dating, social networking, and other net venues. Classic scams continuing to thrive include: “lotteries, jury duty, IRS audits, Nigerian, account verification or phishing, money laundering and check cashing.
• Many family members steal identities from each other, especially from the children. Studies have shown that the most frequently targeted category is children between the ages of 0-5 years old.
• Identity theft has surfaced as an extremely important and central crime used to support other types of crimes, such as “meth and drugs, terrorism, and illegal trafficking of goods and persons.”

The TJX Corporation, parent to discount chains TJ Maxx and Marshalls, has settled numerous lawsuits with banks over a data breach that compromised nearly 100 million shoppers. The terms of the settlement were undisclosed but TJX said the $107 million reserve fund it set aside to cover payments and legal expenses from the breach would cover it.

The TJX breach took place when hackers using laptops with wireless connections pirated information from TJX’s payment network, including the credit and debit card numbers of 94 million Visa and Mastercard users. The breach has been called “the biggest ever.”

While industry insiders viewed the settlement as a mutual agreement to put litigation aside in time for the holiday shopping season, the real victims of the breach–consumers whose data was exposed to potential identity theft–have been largely forgotten about. TJX offered a consumer settlement that consisted mainly of a special three-day sale and reimbursement for damages only after submitting extensive documentation.

Armadillo Dollar, a new product created by Wisteria House Products, offers protection against this new wireless identity theft and RFID monitoring. Users place the product in their wallet, and it blocks the transmission of sensitive private information from RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) enabled debit/credit cards or employee badges. The user can move around undetected by RFID readers, and wireless identity thieves.

Armadillo Dollar protects against wireless identity thieves called “skimmers,” who steal personal information out of the air surrounding a purse or wallet using RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) interception technology. Over 50 million RFID embedded credit and debit cards have been issued to Americans this year, making this a major source of risk.

According to News 1130, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) has released its list of the top ten scams of 2007, and identity theft is listed as one of the biggest problems. According to Lynda Pasacreta, President of the Better Business Bureau says now, people are giving away thier personal information, making ID theft easier than ever. “One study shows that 60% of young people using social networking sites post their date of birth, a quarter of them post their job title, and almost one-in-ten give their home address.”

Here is BBB’s list of top 10 scams:
1. Prize pitches with a ‘catch’
2. Check overpayment schemes
3. Door to door marketing
4. Identity theft
5. Advance fee loans
6. Health claims
7. Guaranteed vehicle brokers
8. Bogus credit offers
9. Unscrupulous moving practices
10. Affinity fraud

Ten private investigators in several states have been indicted for identity theft after using pretexting methods—using personal information about someone to trick companies or agencies into handing over information on that person—to steal the personal information of about 12,000 people. Wired reports that they reportedly stole private financial, medical and tax information on targets that they were investigating for clients.

The clients who purchased the confidential records were other private investigators who were working for attorneys, law firms, collection agents, insurance companies and others. The PIs are being charged with conspiracy, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. The clients who purchased the information from the investigators may also face charges.
According to prosecutors, this is only the second time – the widely publicized Hewlett Packard case was the first– that someone has been prosecuted for using pretexting to obtain confidential records.

According to the indictment, an investigator would call the IRS posing as the individual whose returns he wanted to obtain and claim that he needed copies of his tax returns because he needed to verify that the returns had been filed accurately. To obtain medical and drug records, an investigator would call a pharmacy or hospital posing as a representative from a fictitious doctor’s office and claim that he or she had been authorized to obtain a patient’s prescription or hospitalization records.