Seniors should be wary of medical alert device scam

CONSUMER FORUM

By Russ Van Arsdale, Executive Director, Northeast CONTACT

Posted June 02, 2013, at 3:35 p.m.

At first we thought we were out in front of the story: People posing as representatives of a medical alert company were cold calling Maine seniors and offering them free medical alert devices. All the seniors had to do was fork over some personal financial information (and, in the process, open their bank accounts to the callers).

Then, last Wednesday, Maine Attorney General Janet Mills issued a news release calling the whole thing a scam. She cautioned seniors not to give any personal or financial data to these frauds calling their company Life Watch, or anyone else who called out of the blue. Not only that, she said the officers of sound-alike Life Alert are suing a couple of outfits it says are misrepresenting themselves.

“Legitimate companies do not operate like this,” Mills said in the release. “This scam is particularly insidious because it trades on the well-known brand of Life Alert, which is intended for very vulnerable senior citizens.”

There are several tip-offs that the call is not on the level. First, as Mills pointed out, honest companies don’t make random robot calls, putting a sales person on once the phone is answered and turning up the heat. A second clue concerned the pitch itself.

When the first call came to our home, a heavily-accented seller needed prompting before revealing that, while the alert device itself is “free,” my service plan would cost about a dollar a day. The second flag went up when, asked about the cancellation policy, she said, “Just give us a call.” That’s scammer code for, “We’ll just ignore you.”

I asked to speak with a supervisor, and another thickly accented person (who told me his name was “Mr. Lennie Allen”) said his firm was the “only EMT-certified” provider of “the preferred medical alert monitor” (EMS officials we spoke with weren’t sure what those terms meant). “Lennie” added that his firm had “100 percent customer satisfaction” (probably the first ever in our notebook) and that it was “endorsed by the American Diabetes Association.” A call to that organization confirmed that it “does not test advertised products, does not conduct independent scientific reviews and does not ensure the safety and efficacy of their claims.” Pants on fire, Lennie.

A second caller to our home asked for my wife by her legal name, which she never uses. “Where did you get my name?” she asked.

“Uh, well, we make random calls…”

“But I’m on the National Do-Not-Call list.” A hurried apology, and away the caller went.

The people who really run Life Alert are so steamed they’re suing the folks they say are responsible for thousands of seniors nationwide being ripped off and their company’s reputation suffering “tremendous” damage. They’ll have lots of ammunition; the Better Business Bureau says in February 2011 it requested that Life Watch “cease and desist all unauthorized use of the BBB name and logo in its promotional materials.” During our conversation, “Lennie” told me his firm had an A-plus rating from the Bureau (pants now in ashes).

Maine seniors who believe they have been a target of this scam should call the A.G.’s Consumer Protection Division at 1-800-436-2131 or email consumer.mediation@Maine.gov.

Consumer Forum is a collaboration of the Bangor Daily News and Northeast CONTACT, Maine’s all-volunteer, nonprofit consumer organization. For assistance with consumer-related issues, including consumer fraud and identity theft, or for information, write Consumer Forum, P.O. Box 486, Brewer 04412, visit
http://necontact.wordpress.com
or email contacexdir@live.com.

Thieves target children as easy victims of identity theft – Bangor Daily News

CONSUMER FORUM

By Russ Van Arsdale, Executive Director, Northeast CONTACT

Posted May 12, 2013, at 12:46 p.m.

Here’s a quick quiz: Which of the following scenarios means your child has become a victim of identity theft?

• You receive a notice from the Internal Revenue Service that your child did not pay income taxes, or that the child’s Social Security number was used on another person’s income tax return.

• You or your child are turned down for government benefits because benefits are being paid to another account bearing the child’s SSN.

• You get bills or collection calls for goods or services that you did not order.

The correct answer is: “All of the above.” Each scenario could be an example of a child’s identity being stolen.

A study by Carnegie Mellon CyLab in November 2011 found that 10.2 percent of more than 40,000 juveniles who were studied experienced some kind of identity theft or fraud. The comparable rate among adults was 0.2 percent.

Why the big difference? Children are routinely issued SSNs as infants; if a child’s number is stolen, the theft may not become apparent for months or even years. Those numbers are prime targets for thieves, who look for SSNs with clean histories. With them, thieves can commit financial fraud, do an end-around bad credit ratings and get around constraints placed on illegal immigrants.

Theft can also occur within families. A driver whose license is suspended or revoked might “borrow” the child’s SSN to establish a new identity and regain a license. A person might assume the identity of another family member to repair credit, apply for a job or to avoid arrest.

When a parent discovers that the child’s ID has been stolen, he or she bears the burden of proving that the child is in fact a child, and that the child did not run up the bills that someone else is trying to collect. The parent becomes lead investigator, trying to figure out how the child’s personal information got into the wrong hands while setting the record straight.

When a person turns 18 and applies for financial aid for college or tries to rent an apartment, only then might he or she discover that his or her identity was stolen years before. The investigation becomes a cold case, with a fraudulently obtained credit history in shambles and no way to find out exactly what happened. The thief often uses the identity until the credit history is destroyed and the thief can no longer get credit using that identity.

Parents are urged to check their child’s credit history when the child is no older than 16, to make sure that history is clear (access the three major reporting agencies for a free annual report at www.AnnualCreditReport.com).

The nonprofit Identity Theft Resource Center (www.idtheftcenter.org) says sometimes parents who get in financial trouble use the SSN of their own child in an effort to rebuild their financial lives. They may think they will pay off their bills in time, so that their child’s credit history won’t be damaged; that may or may not be the case.

Identity theft was the Federal Trade Commission’s leading complaint last year (the 13th straight year the crime ranked number one), with over 369,000 complaints. The FTC has step-by-step help at its website:
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/feature-0014-identity-theft
. The Maine Attorney General’s website (
http://www.maine.gov/ag/consumer/index.shtml
) has a checklist of action steps as well. Victims may also contact the Identity Theft Resource Center at 888-400-5530.

Consumer Forum is a collaboration of the Bangor Daily News and Northeast CONTACT, Maine’s all-volunteer, nonprofit consumer organization. For assistance with consumer-related issues, including consumer fraud and identity theft, or for information, write Consumer Forum, P.O. Box 486, Brewer 04412, visit
http://necontact.wordpress.com
or email contacexdir@live.com.

Attorney General Mills Warns Maine Medicare Recipients of Scam

AUGUSTA – Attorney General Janet T. Mills is warning consumers about recent reports of calls from individuals claiming to represent Medicare.

There are reports from Maine Medicare recipients who have received phone calls claiming to be from Medicare.  The callers claim Medicare is issuing a new Medicare card and asks for the consumer’s Medicare number, the name of their financial institution and their financial routing and account numbers.

Medicare consumers who provide this information are advised to review their Medicare statements carefully for the next year and contact 1-800-MEDICARE immediately if anything questionable appears on their statements.  Consumers should also notify their financial institution if their account information has been compromised.

“Mainers can protect themselves by never giving any personal information to anyone over the phone,” said Attorney General Mills.

If you think you have experienced a Medicare scam, call the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Hotline at (207) 626-8849.

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Debt settlement firm settles with Maine for six figures

CONSUMER FORUM

By Russ Van Arsdale, executive director, Northeast Contact

Posted Dec. 22, 2012, at 2:10 p.m.

Here’s a short, sad story of a consumer from southern Maine who ran up more than a quarter million dollars in debt on 10 credit cards.

He hoped for a happy ending when he hired a debt settlement company called Legal Helpers Debt Resolution LLC. He paid the firm an upfront fee and monthly payments, believing its claim that it was effective in “helping consumers resolve their debt problems.”

Legal Helpers website trumpets that it is “the nation’s largest debt resolution law firm” with “offices in 50 states.” When Eric Wright went looking, he found an office in Thomaston but had a lot of trouble finding the attorney who was supposed to be there.

Wright is staff attorney for Maine’s Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection. He was looking for the attorney on behalf of our southern Maine consumer, who was less than pleased with the iceberg-like progress Legal Helpers seemed to be making.

Wright investigated complaints from about two dozen Mainers, most of whom had dropped their business dealings with Legal Helpers.

“They didn’t appear to have done anything,” Wright told me last week. “There never seemed to be a method to the madness of what they were doing” in terms of getting clients’ debts reduced.

As other Mainers complained, Wright advised them to cease doing business with Legal Helpers. To that firm — and apparently a number of others in what Wright terms an “awful industry” — doing business means keeping a large chunk of clients’ money and putting some in accounts to be used for debt settlement. Problem was, Wright said, it might take two or three years to get enough money in those accounts to make debt settlement a reality.

By then, creditors got tired of waiting, and so did many of Legal Helpers’ estimated 15,000 to 20,000 clients nationwide. The firm did negotiate deals on two of our consumer’s accounts, which he paid off at 35 cents on the dollar. He did almost as well on his own, negotiating a rate of 45 cents on seven other accounts.

There was also the matter of registering to operate in Maine, which the company refused to do even though Maine law requires registration by debt settlement companies. Attorneys are exempt, unless those attorneys’ sole activity is settling debts. Legal Helpers claimed it had “partnerships” with attorneys who were licensed in Maine, and so should be exempt.

Wright turned the whole matter over to Maine’s attorney general, William Schneider. Last week, Schneider and Will Lund, superintendent of the Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection, announced a settlement with Legal Helpers and with The Mortgage Law Group LLP, a sister company of Legal Helpers that claimed to have a national reputation for representing homeowners in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure.

Under the agreement, the firms will pay $250,000 to be equitably distributed among more than 300 Maine consumers. The companies also agreed to stop charging monthly fees to present clients and will pay the state $15,000 to cover part of its administrative and investigative costs.

“These settlements send a strong message to others in the debt relief business that the state of Maine will not tolerate those who take advantage of Maine consumers in financial distress,” Schneider said in a news release.

In July, the state of Illinois reached a $2.1 million settlement with Legal Helpers.

Consumer Forum is a collaboration of the Bangor Daily News and Northeast CONTACT, Maine’s all-volunteer, nonprofit consumer organization. For assistance with consumer-related issues, including consumer fraud and identity theft, or for information, write Consumer Forum, P.O. Box 486, Brewer 04412, visit
http://necontact.wordpress.com
or email contacexdir@live.com.

Attorney General Schneider and Superintendent Lund Announce Settlements with Debt Management Companies

AUGUSTA — Attorney General William J. Schneider and Superintendent of the Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection William N. Lund jointly announced today that the State has entered into settlements with Legal Helpers Debt Resolution, LLC (“Legal Helpers”) and The Mortgage Law Group, LLP (“Mortgage Law”) that resolve the State’s concerns about their business practices under the Debt Management Services Act and the Unfair Trade Practices Act.

The companies operate as part of a large law firm located in Chicago, Illinois.  Legal Helpers was promoted as the largest debt resolution law firm in the country, with offices in 50 states, and Mortgage Law claimed to have a national reputation for representing homeowners in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure.  Neither company had an office in Maine, but had “partnerships” with several attorneys who were licensed in Maine.  New clients were enrolled by non-law office “strategic alliance partners” that also provided client services for the two companies.

Debt management service providers, including those who claim to arrange debt settlements and loan modifications, are regulated by the Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection.  Any attorney who is licensed to practice law in the State of Maine is exempt from registration as a debt management service provider unless the attorney’s exclusive activity is providing debt management services.  Superintendent Lund did not accept the companies’ claims that their partnerships with Maine attorneys entitled them to a legal exemption, and insisted that they register, which they refused to do.  The Attorney General contended that many Maine consumers never met or spoke with an attorney when they enrolled in the programs, and were misled by claims about their benefits.  Both Legal Helpers and Mortgage Law denied that they have violated any Maine laws.

Under the settlements, the companies agreed not to enroll any more Maine consumers in their programs, and will stop charging monthly fees to consumers who are still receiving their services.  In addition, the companies paid $250,000 in restitution which will be equitably distributed by the Attorney General to the more than 300 Maine consumers who enrolled in their programs.  An additional $15,000 has been paid by the companies to reimburse a portion of the state’s investigative and administrative expenses.

“These settlements send a strong message to others in the debt relief business that the State of Maine will not tolerate those who take advantage of Maine consumers in financial distress,” said Attorney General Schneider.

Superintendent Lund agreed, and said, “The Legislature took steps to protect Maine consumers by requiring debt management and credit counseling companies to obtain licenses and post surety bonds in order to conduct business in our state.  We urge Maine residents to verify the license status of any companies before doing business with those offering debt relief, since Mainers lose tens of thousands of dollars each year to unlicensed, out-of-state companies.”

Consumers are encouraged to contact the Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection to check the license status of debt management companies, and any disciplinary history in Maine, by calling 1-800-332-8529 (in-state) or 207-624-8527.  The Bureau also maintains a roster of licensed Debt Management Service Providers at www.Credit.Maine.gov, under the “Who we regulate” link on the homepage.

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Bureau of Insurance Complaint Investigation Results in Return of More than $1.3 Million to Maine Consumer

GARDINER — Insurance Superintendent Eric Cioppa announced that a complaint investigation conducted by the Bureau of Insurance resulted in the return of more than $1.3 million to a Maine consumer.  The complaint, which was investigated by the Bureau’s Consumer Health Care Division, alleged that the consumer’s insurance producer had engaged in a series of unsuitable annuity transactions.

“Annuities can be effective financial tools for many investors,” Superintendent Cioppa commented.  “However, they are not a ‘one size fits all’ product.  Furthermore, the Bureau of Insurance expects insurance producers to exercise their professional judgment for the benefit and protection of their clients.”

Over the course of four years, the producer sold his client 17 annuities through ten insurance companies, resulting in commissions totaling more than $180,000.  A few sales were replacements of policies the producer had sold to the consumer several years earlier.  In the sale of one product, the producer omitted material information from a suitability document and completed an application with false information.  In another instance, the producer recommended a rider that he later admitted to be unnecessary for the consumer.  Following a lengthy Bureau investigation, the producer signed a consent agreement with the Superintendent and the Attorney General’s Office.

“All of the insurance companies holding active annuities for this consumer have issued refunds, with interest and without penalties,” added Cioppa. “We appreciate the assistance provided by these companies in making the consumer whole.”

As a result of the consent agreement, the producer’s insurance license in Maine was permanently revoked, and he can no longer engage in the business of insurance in Maine.  A copy of the consent agreement is available on the Bureau’s website (www.maine.gov/insurance) or by clicking here.

Consumers with questions about annuities or other insurance types are encouraged to contact the Bureau by calling toll-free 1-800-300-5000 or e-mailing Insurance.PFR@maine.gov.

The Bureau of Insurance is part of the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation which encourages sound ethical business practices through high quality, impartial and efficient oversight of insurers, financial institutions, creditors, investment providers, and numerous professions and occupations for the purpose of protecting the citizens of Maine. Consumers can reach the Bureau online at www.maine.gov/insurance; by calling 800-300-5000 in state; or by writing to Bureau of Insurance, 34 State House Station, Augusta ME 04333.

Former Stockbroker Sentenced in Theft and Securities Fraud Case

 James A. Philbrook of New Hampshire Sentenced Friday after Being Found Guilty of Defrauding St. Agatha Couple out of $195,000

 GARDINER  –  Maine Securities Administrator Judith M. Shaw and Attorney General William J. Schneider announced Friday that former New Hampshire stockbroker James A. Philbrook was sentenced to serve eight years in prison, with five years suspended by Justice E. Allen Hunter.  Additionally, he was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay restitution totaling $195,000.  Philbrook had been found guilty by a jury in Aroostook County in September of two felony charges stemming from a 2005-2006 investment scheme that cost a St. Agatha couple nearly $200,000.

During the trial, the State presented evidence that Philbrook, who had been the couple’s financial advisor for over a decade, approached them with a scheme for developing a pay-per-view cable TV production featuring the entertainer Carmen Electra.  The couple invested a total of $145,000 based on their long-standing relationship with Philbrook and his representation that their investment in the production would make a substantial return.

In reality, Philbrook used nearly half of the investment to pay back money his son Stefan had embezzled from an employer, and used the rest for his own investments or expenses.  The State also presented evidence that Philbrook subsequently solicited another $50,000 investment from the couple, but then spent the investors’ funds on his personal expenses.

The verdict indicated that the jury didn’t believe Philbrook’s testimony that the funds provided by the St. Agatha couple were merely personal loans and that he could use the funds however he wished.

“Today’s sentencing sends a clear message to those who would commit securities fraud,” commented Administrator Shaw.  “Maine officials are working hard to protect investors and are taking strong action whenever advantage is taken of individuals, families or businesses in our State.  Maine won’t tolerate investment scams and outright fraud.”

“Mainers should be able to rely on the representations of their financial advisors and we will pursue and prosecute professionals who steal from their clients,” said Attorney General Schneider. “We will continue to work closely with the Office of Securities to ensure that investors are protected from this kind of illegal conduct.”

The case was investigated by Christian Caruso and Jacqueline Drouin of the Maine Office of Securities and prosecuted by Maine Assistant Attorney General Michael Colleran of the Attorney General’s Criminal Division.  The New Hampshire Bureau of Securities Regulation took administrative action against Philbrook on September 7, 2012, for the same conduct.

Consumers are encouraged to contact Maine’s Office of Securities to check an adviser, salesperson or investment, or for other information related to investing, by calling 1-877-624-8551 (TTY: Please Call Maine Relay 711), by visiting the Office’s website (www.investors.maine.gov), or by writing to Maine Office of Securities, 121 SHS, Augusta, ME 04333-0121.

The Office of Securities is part of Maine’s Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, which encourages sound ethical business practices through the regulation of insurers, financial institutions, creditors, investment providers, and numerous professions and occupations for the purpose of protecting the citizens of Maine. Consumers can learn more about the Department online at www.maine.gov/pfr.

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Beware the 911 scam

CONSUMER FORUM

By Russ Van Arsdale, executive director of Northeast CONTACT

Posted Oct. 27, 2012, at 1:41 p.m.

As soon as he spoke with the woman last Tuesday, Bangor Police Officer Chris Blanchard knew she had been the victim of an attempted hoax.

The woman reported receiving a call that sounded suspicious. Her caller ID had read “Emergency 911,” and the man who called said he had a warrant for her arrest. He told the woman she should call Officer Richard Johnson at a phone number in Texas and arrange a payment to have the warrants voided.

Officer Blanchard called the number the woman had been given, and an extended song and dance began. Blanchard asked the man who answered if he could speak with the man’s supervisor; after waiting on hold for a few minutes, the same man came back on the line and tried to disguise his voice. Asked for his supervisor, the con artist tried the same ploy again.

Finally, Blanchard told the crook to stop his scam attempts and was told, in essence, “Just try and stop me.” With that, the crook hung up.

Blanchard called the Texas Attorney General’s office and learned people there were well aware of the scam. It’s been repeated across the country, and some people — unlike the woman who reported the incident to Bangor police — have been scammed for hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

The crooks play on some of our most basic emotions: fear of both public humiliation and legal trouble, even when we know we are innocent. They “spoof” the number of the phone they’re using to make it appear that the call is coming from a police agency. They threaten that failure to pay will have dire consequences.

In fact, they’re just blowing smoke. They’re hoping that you’ll wire them money (not recoverable) rather than telling police. They make hundreds of calls at random, hoping the people who answer will suspend their common sense.

“No one is ever going to do that,” said Bangor Police Sergeant Paul Edwards, when asked about the scam. Edwards said no legitimate law enforcement agency notifies targets of warrants by phone, let alone solicits bribes to erase the “crime.”

Variations of the scam are scary. Some crooks are on the way to becoming identity thieves, correctly stating a would-be victim’s Social Security Number or other personal information. Under duress, a victim might surrender enough additional data to allow the thief to steal his or her identity.

Other crooks pose as process servers, arriving at a potential victim’s workplace or home. Many scammers cite delinquency on loans, saying if the victim provides a debit card number, the payment will be made and the process server will go away. In fact, all that goes away is the victim’s money.

If you’re contacted by someone trying to collect a debt you don’t owe:

1. Contact your local law enforcement agencies if you feel you are in immediate danger;
2. Contact your banks and credit card companies;
3. Notify the three major credit bureaus and request an alert be put on your file;
4. If you have received a legitimate loan and want to verify that you do not have any outstanding obligation, contact the loan company directly.

Consumer Forum is a collaboration of the Bangor Daily News and Northeast CONTACT, Maine’s all-volunteer, nonprofit consumer organization. For assistance with consumer-related issues, including consumer fraud and identity theft, or for information, write Consumer Forum, P.O. Box 486, Brewer 04412, visit
http://necontact.wordpress.com
or email contacexdir@live.com.

TD Bank’s lost tapes procedures questioned | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Experts see signs of flaws in its handling of personal data and notification to customers, some of whom are upset.

By Jessica Hall jhall@pressherald.com
Staff Writer
October 10

TD Bank made procedural errors when it lost computer tapes containing sensitive personal data, including Social Security numbers, and risked exacerbating potential problems by waiting more than six months to notify customers of the breach, security experts said Wednesday.

“It doesn’t sound like they were using proper controls. It’s not good practice to ship unencrypted backup tapes. It has become a lot less common for financial institutions to lose data these days,” said Robert Richardson, an independent computer-security analyst and former director of the San Francisco-based Computer Security Institute, an association of computer security professionals.

TD Bank, which has 54 branches in Maine, began notifying customers last week that tapes including names, addresses, Social Security numbers, account numbers and debit or credit card numbers were lost in March while being transferred between bank locations. The bank said it was not aware of any misuse of the information, but did not explain how the tapes were lost.

TD Bank, which has more than 7.4 million customers and more than 1,275 retail locations, also would not say how many customers were affected. TD Bank lost the tapes in Massachusetts, but said customers on the East Coast from Maine to Florida may have been affected.

“You can understand why a bank doesn’t want to disclose the number, but as a security professional, you have to assume the worst,” Richardson said. “There could be thousands of records on a backup tape. It could be an enormous number.”

Under Maine law, companies must disclose information about data breaches or losses “as expediently as possible and without unreasonable delay,” but no formal timetable dictates how or when companies must notify customers.

Some customers said Wednesday they were going to cancel their TD Bank accounts.

“It makes you think twice about the bank. I’ll probably change banks,” said Caleb Gannon of Yarmouth, who received a letter last week from TD Bank about the loss of his personal data.

One Scarborough customer, who declined to be named because she did not want to draw attention to her lost personal information, said she and her husband would be closing their joint account as soon as possible.

“The bank said it apologizes for any inconvenience. It’s way more than an inconvenience. It’s insulting,” the customer said. “The fact that it took so long generates more concerns and more questions.”

Liz Donnelly of Bangor said she had not been notified of any problems with her account, but was concerned about TD Bank’s lack of speed in informing customers.

“It definitely makes you nervous, but it’s been kind of happening to a lot of companies. But alerting people shouldn’t be a problem like that. TD Bank has become a big institution and I don’t know if that’s better,” Donnelly said.

Maine’s Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection said it has received complaints from some TD Bank customers.

“Sometimes,” Richardson said, “there’s good reason for the delay — such as working with law enforcement — or other times they’re just dragging their feet.”

TD Bank has offered free credit monitoring and identity theft protection to customers who were affected.

The bank said it did an internal investigation and notified law enforcement, but said there was no criminal investigation.

“We worked diligently to find the tapes and conduct a thorough investigation. Since this was not a data breach of any kind, there is no criminal investigation,” said TD Bank spokeswoman Rebecca Acevedo.

Sam Imandoust, a legal analyst with the Identity Theft Resource Center, a nonprofit organization in San Diego, said customers should carefully monitor their credit report and look for any suspicious activity on their accounts.

“It’s dangerous to have all that information out there. Was it unreasonable that it took seven months to disclose? What’s reasonable and prompt? Was it as expedient as possible?” Imandoust said. “I hope nobody gets a nasty surprise on their credit report.”

Identity Theft Resource Center, which tracks data breaches and lost information, said there have been 324 breaches of data nationally with more than 9 million financial records, including bank and credit card accounts, exposed so far this year. That compares with 419 data breaches with 22.9 million records exposed in 2011, the center said.

Since TD Bank is a federally chartered bank, state regulators don’t have much control over how customers get treated. The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office declined to comment, and the Maine Attorney General’s Office did not return calls.

The Federal Trade Commission also declined to comment. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which oversees federally chartered banks, said it couldn’t comment on any specific bank or situation. TD Bank is a subsidiary of Toronto-Dominion Bank of Canada.

Other companies in Maine have also been affected by data breaches.

The biggest case involved Hannaford Bros. grocery chain, in which computer hackers stole the credit and debit card numbers of Hannaford shoppers from Dec. 7, 2007 to March 10, 2008. More than 4 million card numbers were exposed. About 1,800 fraudulent charges had been made by the time Hannaford announced the breach on March 17, 2008.

The other major data breach was reported in January 2007 and involved TJX, a retail chain that owns T.J. Maxx, Marshall’s and other stores.

Staff Writer Jessica Hall can be contacted at 791-6316 or at:

jhall@mainetoday.com

Related headlines

Thousands affected by TD Bank data loss

Related Documents

TD Bank’s letter notifying customers of lost data

Former Stockbroker Convicted of Theft and Securities Fraud

James A. Philbrook of New Hampshire Found Guilty of Defrauding St. Agatha Couple out of $195,000

 GARDINER — Maine Securities Administrator Judith M. Shaw and Attorney General William J. Schneider announced today that former New Hampshire stockbroker James A. Philbrook was found guilty by a jury in Aroostook County of two felony charges stemming from a 2005-2006 investment scheme that cost a St. Agatha couple nearly $200,000.

During the trial, the State presented evidence that Philbrook, who had been the couple’s financial advisor for over a decade, approached them with a scheme for developing a pay-per-view cable TV production featuring the entertainer Carmen Electra. The couple invested a total of $145,000 based on their long-standing relationship with Philbrook and his representation that their investment in the production would make a substantial return. In reality, Philbrook used nearly half of the investment to pay back money his son Stefan had embezzled from an employer, and used the rest for his own investments or expenses. The State also presented evidence that Philbrook subsequently solicited another $50,000 investment from the couple, but then spent the investors’ funds on his personal expenses.

The jury’s verdict indicates that they disbelieved Philbrook’s testimony that the funds provided by the St. Agatha couple were merely personal loans and that he could use the funds however he wished.

“We are gratified that the jury found Mr. Philbrook guilty of securities fraud and theft in this case,” commented Administrator Shaw. “Philbrook brazenly exploited the relationship of trust that he had developed with Maine investors over a period of years.”

“Mainers should be able to rely on the representations of their financial advisors and we will pursue and prosecute professionals who steal from their clients,” said Attorney General Schneider. “We will continue to work closely with the Office of Securities to ensure that investors are protected from this kind of illegal conduct.”

Philbrook is expected to be sentenced by Justice E. Allan Hunter in October. The case was investigated by Christian Caruso and Jacqueline Drouin of the Maine Office of Securities and prosecuted by Maine Assistant Attorney General Michael Colleran. The New Hampshire Bureau of Securities Regulation took administrative action against Philbrook on September 7, 2012, for the same conduct.

Consumers are encouraged to contact Maine’s Office of Securities to check an adviser, salesperson or investment, or for other information related to investing, by calling 1-877-624-8551 (TTY: Please Call Maine Relay 711), by visiting the Office’s website (www.investors.maine.gov), or by writing to Maine Office of Securities, 121 SHS, Augusta, ME 04333-0121.

 

The Office of Securities is part of Maine’s Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, which encourages sound ethical business practices through the regulation of insurers, financial institutions, creditors, investment providers, and numerous professions and occupations for the purpose of protecting the citizens of Maine. Consumers can learn more about the Department online at www.maine.gov/pfr.

 

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