Facebook removes accounts advertising stolen identities

Facebook Inc. has removed a number of accounts and pages that advertised and sold social security numbers, addresses, phone numbers, and alleged credit card numbers of dozens of people, following a report by news website Motherboard.

"Posts containing information like social security numbers or credit card information are not allowed on Facebook, and we remove this material when we become aware of it," a Facebook spokesman said on Tuesday.

A Google search still pulls up a few public Facebook posts that offer to sell personal details including credit card numbers.

Hackers have advertised databases of private information on the social platform and Motherboard reported on Tuesday that Facebook has held stolen identities and social security numbers for years.

The report said at least some of the data in these posts appeared real. The news website said it was able to confirm the first four digits of the social security numbers, names, addresses, and dates of birth for four people whose data appears in a post from July 2014.

Shares of Facebook were down 3.9 percent at $159.32.

Last week, Facebook deleted almost 120 private discussion groups of more than 300,000 members, after being alerted by a report from journalist Brian Krebs that the groups flagrantly promoted a host of illicit activities, including spamming, wire fraud, account takeovers, and phony tax refunds.

The biggest collection of groups banned were those promoting the sale and use of stolen credit and debit card accounts, and the next largest collection of groups included those facilitating takeovers for online accounts such Amazon, Google, Netflix, and PayPal, the report said.

Tech companies are under intense scrutiny about how they protect customer data after Facebook was embroiled in a huge scandal where millions of users' data were improperly accessed by a political consultancy.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

8 Things Not to Keep in Your Wallet This Holiday Season

You're doing your holiday shopping in the midst of those distracting sales and crowds. You’re checking your gift lists (twice!) and your budget. You’re juggling bags and boxes. And you're paying little attention to your purse or wallet. These are the moments when identity thieves will strike.

“Pickpocketing can happen virtually anywhere, and people should be on their guard, especially while shopping this holiday season,” says Ken Chaplin, senior vice president of Experian’s ProtectMyID. “Thieves take advantage of the shopping rush and its inherent distractions to steal wallets and, potentially, identities.”

With just your name and Social Security number, identity thieves can open new credit accounts and make costly purchases in your name. If they can get their hands on (and doctor) a government-issued photo ID, they can do even more damage, such as opening new bank accounts.

We talked with consumer-protection advocates to identify the eight things you should purge from your wallet immediately to limit your risk in case your wallet is lost or stolen.

And when you’re finished removing your wallet’s biggest information leaks, take a moment to photocopy everything you’ve left inside, front and back. The last thing you want to be wondering as you're reporting a stolen wallet is, “What exactly did I have in there?”

source: kiplinger.com

Opening a Custodial IRA for a Minor

If you’ve been through the public (or even private) school system, you know well that personal finance is not taught in school, unfortunately.

If you have children and you read personal finance blogs, you also know that amongst the most valuable skills you can teach/learn in life include personal finance, delayed gratification, and the power of compound interest. Right? (that was a hypothetical)

They won’t learn the true power of compound interest by sticking their savings into a bank account these days, with interest rates being as miniscule as they are. And you can’t add their savings to your own investment accounts, without tax implications.

So where can one turn?

A custodial IRA!

Today, we’ll discuss IRA’s for minors – otherwise known as custodial IRA’s, how they work, and when they can be contributed to.

I thought it would be easiest to go through a list of questions I had about custodial IRA’s and the answers I found.

What is a Custodial IRA?

At its simplest, a custodial IRA is an IRA for a minor with earned income. The IRA is opened in the name of the minor (under their Social Security number), but is managed managed by custodian (usually a parent, grandparent, or legal guardian), generally until the minor reaches age 18 or 21 (varies by state rules). At that point, control over the custodial IRA is assumed by the minor, and the “custodial” tag is removed.
A custodian cannot withdraw or remove funds from an account they are managing, for any reason. It is owned by the minor.

How do Custodial IRA’s Differ from Regular IRA’s?

Really not at all other than the whole custodial thing. You can open either a Roth or Traditional custodial IRA.

The maximum IRA contribution is still the same ($5,000 for 2012 and $5,500 for 2013) for both a Traditional IRA or Roth IRA, up to their earned income (which we’ll get to in a bit).

And all the tax, penalty, and early withdrawal rules are the same.

The only other differences you may come across is different rules (i.e. opening account minimum) or fees from the various IRA administrators out there.

When Can a Minor Begin Contributing to an IRA?

Here’s the tricky part – contributions may not exceed the minors earned income for the year. That doesn’t mean that the contributions have to come directly from that earned income, just that the total contributed cannot exceed what they earn for that tax year.

The IRS defines “earned income” as wages, commissions, tips, salaries and self-employment income. So a minor could be a self-employed driveway shoveler at age 7, for example, and it could be considered earned income. Allowances for your household chores are generally not accepted to be earned income by the IRS.

If the child receives Forms W-2 or 1099, you automatically have records of earned income. Otherwise, keep detailed records of how much money was earned when and from whom.

Investment and inheritance income is not considered to be earned income.

source: 20somethingfinance.com