Posted by Bill on December 18, 2007
Joel Winston, FTC, testifies
“The Federal Trade Commission today told the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security that identity theft remains one of the highest priorities for the Commission, and that the agency is playing a lead role in preventing identity theft and helping those who are victimized.” See FTC Press Release.
FTC will report next year to Congress with recommendations regarding the private sectors use of Social Security Numbers.
Read the prepared statement of Joel Winston, Associate Director, Division of Privacy and Identity Protection. FTC Statement before Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, House Committee on the Judiciary.
Bill Lowrance
President PIAVA
president@piava.org
Posted in Investigations, PIAVA, Public Records, Virginia, attorneys, lawyers, private detective, private investigations, private investigators | Tagged: , Congress, FTC, identity theft, Social Security Numbers, SSNs | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Bill on December 18, 2007
Reuters reports that Blackwater security people in Iraq shot and killed the New York Times “pet” dog at the Times compound in Baghdad. The Times compound staff reported that Blackwater bodyguards shot the dog “dead” last week while a Blackwater K-9 unit dog and handler was sweeping the compound for explosives. Blackwater was checking the compound because a US diplomat was coming to visit. See story Reuters Story.
Blackwater officials said the NY Times dog attacked the Blackwater bomb sniffer dog. The K-9 handler made several unsuccessful attempts to get the NY Times to retreat. That did not work. So, the Blackwater K-9 handler “was forced to use his pistol to protect the company’s K-9 and himself.” The State Department is investigating the incident. The story went on to say that the State Department contracts with Blackwater for about 1000 armed Blackwater staff to protect American diplomats in Baghdad.
Blackwater is also being investigated for killing 17 Iraqis in Baghdad last September.
Bill Lowrance
President PIAVA
president@piava.org
Posted in Investigations, PIAVA, Virginia, animal law, attorneys, crime, law enforcement, lawyers, private detective, private investigations, private investigators | Tagged: attack, Baghdad, blackwater, dog, K-9, kill, shoot, State Department | 4 Comments »
Posted by Bill on December 18, 2007
Okay. You go to VA DMV to renew your drivers license. The line is out the door. You wait. After two hours you get to see a DMV worker. The DMV worker says, “Give me your papers– your passport, evidence of your legal presence and proof of Virginia residency.” Huh? The DMV worker takes your papers, walks to a computer terminal and starts typing. The worker pulls up your orginal birth certificate, your Social Security Administration file, your State Department file and other databases to compare your papers to the orginal records.
Oh, and by the way, this renewal takes at least three hours. Oh, and a week later you get notice from your credit watcher that someone stole your identity, opening new accounts all over town. Oh, and you find out that ID thieves hacked the DMV database and stole thousands of files. See previous post of December 13 on the Real ID Act Your Papers Please
Well, that is a possible outcome of Virginia’s plan to put into force by May 2008 the federal requirements under the Real ID Act. Renewal of your license will probably take longer, cost more and the ID files will be subject to intrusions. Read recent Washington Post article Here.
Even the Roanoke Times published an editorial today calling Virginia’s plan “A real bad ID plan.” See Roanoke Times.
In addition, Virginia does not have a way to pay $35 million plus to start up and operate the system. Many states have opted out of the Real ID Act requirements and Congress is considering delaying or repealing the law.
Bettr check it out.
Bill Lowrance
President PIAVA
president@piava.org
Posted in Investigations, PI Chatter, PIAVA, Public Records, Virginia, attorneys, crime, law enforcement, lawyers, private detective, private investigations, private investigators | Tagged: databases, drivers license, hacking, identity theft, REAL ID Act, VA DMV | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Bill on December 18, 2007
Legal Talk Network provides “lawyerly” discussions on various topics. Today, they discuss status of government contractors especially, today, Blackwater Security issues. Interesting listening if you can endure the usual advertising etc.
Blackwater Worldwide is the largest private security firm protecting U.S. diplomats in Iraq and they face a number of allegations including the shooting deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians. J. Craig Williams, Orange County, CA, attorney, MIPTC, hosts legal expert discussion. They discuss investigation of Blackwater, the legal issues of security contracting, and the future of contractors like Blackwater. See Lawyer2Lawyer
Bill Lowrance
President PIAVA
president@piava.org
Posted in Investigations, PI Chatter, PIAVA, Virginia, attorneys, crime, fraud, law enforcement, lawyers, private detective, private investigations, private investigators | Tagged: blackwater, contractors, executive protection, personal protection, private security, security, State Department | Leave a Comment »
