Stay alert for the signs of identity theft, like:

• accounts you didn't open and debts on your accounts that you can't explain.
• fraudulent or inaccurate information on your credit reports, including accounts and personal information, like your Social Security number, address(es), name or initials, and employers.
• failing to receive bills or other mail. Follow up with creditors if your bills don't arrive on time. A missing bill could mean an identity thief has taken over your account and changed your billing address to cover his tracks.
• receiving credit cards that you didn't apply for.
• being denied credit, or being offered less favorable credit terms, like a high interest rate, for no apparent reason.
• getting calls or letters from debt collectors or businesses about merchandise or services you didn't buy.

Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personally identifying information, like your name, Social Security number, or credit card number, without your permission, to commit fraud or other crimes.

Identity Theft Again Leads the List

The Federal Trade Commission today released its annual report detailing consumer complaints about fraud and identity theft in 2005. Complaints about identity theft topped the list, accounting for 255,000 of more than 686,000 complaints filed with the agency in 2005. The complaints, filed online or at a toll-free number, are shared via a secure database with more than 1,400 federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, and law enforcement and consumer protection agencies in Canada and Australia.

The Federal Trade Commission today released a survey showing that 8.3 million American adults, or 3.7 percent of all American adults, were victims of identity theft in 2005. Of the victims, 3.2 million, or 1.4 percent of all adults, experienced misuse of their existing credit card accounts; 3.3 million, or 1.5 percent, experienced misuse of non-credit card accounts; and 1.8 million victims, or 0.8 percent, found that new accounts were opened or other frauds were committed using their personal identifying information.

A group of business opportunity marketers who told consumers they could make substantial income processing medical claims from home have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they misled consumers in violation of federal law.

The settlement is a result of Project Fal$e Hope$, an FTC-led effort that targeted bogus business opportunities and work-at-home scams in 2006, producing more than 100 law enforcement actions by the FTC, the Department of Justice, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and law enforcement agencies in 11 states.

Adware

A type of software that often comes with free downloads. Some adware displays ads on your computer, while some monitors your computer use (including websites visited) and displays targeted ads based on your use.

Malware, short for “malicious software,” includes viruses and spyware to steal personal information, send spam, and commit fraud.  Criminals create appealing websites, desirable downloads, and compelling stories to lure you to links that will download malware – especially on computers that don’t use adequate security software.  But you can minimize the havoc that malware can wreak and reclaim your computer and electronic information.

If you suspect malware is on your computer:

Thinking of taking your laptop on the road? It’s a great way to work and stay in touch when you’re out and about, but you need to take some steps to keep your laptop safe–and in your possession. Here are some things you can do to keep track of your laptop:

• Know who you're dealing with. In any electronic transaction, independently confirm the other party's name, street address, and telephone number.
• Resist the urge to enter foreign lotteries. These solicitations are phony and illegal.
• Delete requests that claim to be from foreign nationals asking you to help transfer their money through your bank account. They're fraudulent.
• Ignore unsolicited emails that request your money, credit card or account numbers, or other personal information.
• If you are selling something over the Internet, don't accept a potential buyer's offer to send you a check for more than the purchase price, no matter how tempting the plea or convincing the story. End the transaction immediately if someone insists that you wire back funds.

Voice over Internet Protocol — VoIP — is a new way to make and receive telephone calls using a broadband Internet connection rather than a regular phone line. A VoIP service may offer unlimited local and long distance calls for a fixed price, as well as features like integrated calls and email, and access to your phone line from many locations. Keep in mind:

Peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing allows users to share files online through an informal network of computers running the same software. File-sharing can give you access to a wealth of information, but it also has a number of risks. You could download copyright-protected material, pornography, or viruses without meaning to. Or you could mistakenly allow other people to copy files you don’t mean to share.

If you’re considering P2P file-sharing:

Spyware is software installed on your computer without your consent to monitor or control your computer use. Clues that spyware is on a computer may include a barrage of pop-ups, a browser that takes you to sites you don't want, unexpected toolbars or icons on your computer screen, keys that don't work, random error messages, and sluggish performance when opening programs or saving files.  In some cases, there may be no symptoms at all.

It’s important to protect your personal information, and to take certain steps quickly to minimize the potential damage from identity theft if your information is accidentally disclosed or deliberately stolen:

Access to information and entertainment, credit and financial services, products from every corner of the world — even to your work — is greater than earlier generations could ever have imagined. Thanks to the Internet, you can order books, clothes, or appliances online; reserve a hotel room across the ocean; download music and games; check your bank balance 24 hours a day; or access your workplace from thousands of miles away.

The flip-side, however, is that the Internet — and the anonymity it affords — also can give online scammers, hackers, and identity thieves access to your computer, personal information, finances, and more.

But with awareness as your safety net, you can minimize the chance of an Internet mishap. Being on guard online helps you protect your information, your computer, even yourself. To be safer and more secure online, adopt these seven practices.

Alternative fuels are derrived from resources other than petroleum. Some are produced domestically, reducing our dependence on imported oil, and some are derived from renewable sources. Often, they produce less pollution than gasoline or diesel.

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service has acknowledged the certification by American Honda Motor Company, Inc., that its Honda Civic GX Model Year 2007 vehicle meets the requirements of the Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit.

Vehicles placed in service after 2005 may be eligible for a new energy tax credit of up to $3,400.

Vehicle Requirements

To be eligible for the tax credit, a vehicle must meet the following requirements:

EPA Actions that Help Ease the Impact of Gasoline Requirements on Fuel Supply

Over the last several years EPA has implemented a number of actions and programs that significantly ease potential supply constraints that may have occurred as a result of clean fuel requirements. These actions and programs have provided the fuel supply and distribution industry increased flexibility to comply with the rules more cost-effectively, and in some cases, increase production; thus providing for a more reliable supply of fuel. In addition, EPA has partnered with the Department of Transportation to create Best Workplaces for Commuters, a program that aims to reduce the amount of vehicle miles traveled (VMT)- thus easing existing demand on supplies.

EPA has changed the way it estimates MPG.

Starting in model year 2008, estimates will reflect the effects of

On the dynamometer, a professional driver runs the vehicle through a standardized driving routine,

Fuel economy is measured under controlled conditions in a laboratory using a standardized test procedure specified by federal law. Manufacturers test their own vehicles—usually pre-production prototypes—and report the results to EPA. EPA reviews the results and confirms about 10-15 percent of them through their own tests at the National Vehicles and Fuel Emissions Laboratory.