Organisations Protecting Against Identity Theft

Identity theft is becoming more sophisticated and hard to manage by ever passing day where id thieves are finding out new ways to steal your identity. This rapid growth in the number of cases in identity theft being reported has also been matched by the corresponding increase in the business that offer services to protect you from the impact of id theft.

However the arguments still remain when it comes to the effectiveness of services offered by these id theft protection companies. Therefore you need to find for yourself how services based on the organization would help protect your identity.

Services included

Max Thompson of Identity Theft Protection 101, identities five services which are generally offered by id theft protection companies. The services include daily monitoring of credit reports, providing you a list of the credit applications issued on your name, maintain fraud alerts on your credit reports, eliminate pre approved credit offers and also monitor other personal identifiers like your social security number.

The LifeLock Company for instance which is owned by Todd Davis offers an excellent example of the problems faced by these companies in offering your guaranteed identity theft protection. The owner of the company who is know for displaying his social security number in ads for his company’s effectiveness actually had his id stolen which caused their customers to file suit against them.

Report from Consumer Federation of America

There was a report by Consumer Federation of America or CFA in March 2009 entitled To Catch a Thief and it discussed whether id theft protection services are actually worth the cost which voiced concerns on the effectiveness of these companies. However after researching around 16 businesses which offered id theft protection service and the CFA had found several problems with their service.

Some of these include lack of proper information on costs and coverage, incomplete data about insurance coverage, misleading statements regarding the effectiveness of fraud alerts, vague guarantees and also the use of internal negotiation methods which could limit rights of a consumer.

The report from CFA also criticized the companies which publicize id theft ‘protection’ service. However according to the author of the report, although the services offered by these companies might offer protection from the effects of id theft, completely preventing it is very difficult.

According to the federal trade commission you are recommended to use free identity theft protection services that you are entitled for before buying services from different companies. The FTC also specifies that based on the Fair Credit Reporting Act you are permitted to place both a seven year extended alert and 90 day initial fraud alert on your credit report without any charges.

When these alerts are in place, the creditors will have to personally contact you before issuing any credit under your name. You can even use credit freeze option that can stop anyone from gaining access to your reports. Therefore when choosing identity theft protection organizations make sure know what services you are offered and how much it would cost you for their service.

Technorati Tags: Against, Identity, Organisations, Protecting, Theft

Question by lilo: Is there a way to protect your identity? Zabasearch is one of the website that reveals your identity and home?

Best answer:

Answer by jay perez
Now and day no one can hide from no one, we are just a number that can be found or punched up anywhere, anytime. You could move to a lonely island far away by yourself, but you already have left some history behind, somewhere.

Give your answer to this question below!
Identity Theft: How to Protect Your Name, Your Credit a

US $1.00 End Date: Monday Aug-09-2010 8:50:20 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $1.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Technorati Tags: Home, Identity, protect, Reveals, there, website, Zabasearch

scamalertusa.blogspot.com Explains the many ways criminals attempt to steal your information (skimming, dumpster diving, phishing, … all » spyware, etc.) Shows in detail ATM skimming machine. Also explains what criminals do with your stolen data.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Technorati Tags: Criminals, Identity, Steal

THIS IS SOOOO WRONG!!!!


A Flickr friend of mine (as well as other parents on Flickr) has had several pics of her kids stolen and used on this site called Orkut. This photo is one of those images that has been edited for that Orkut site.

This has got to be stopped!

*The following is copied from Sarah’s original posting of this horrifying development*

I THINK NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THIS IS [Sarah's] DAUGHTER and It makes me sick … THIS IMAGE WAS TAKEN BY [Sarah] ON SEPT 24 TO HELP BRING ATTENTION TO THIS SITUATION… THERE ARE JUST TOO MANY PEOPLE THAT DON"T SEE THIS AS AN ISSUE…. I AM TRYING TO SHOW HOW BIG OF AN ISSUE IT REALLY IS!

~Right now there are hundreds of "fake" profiles on Orkut using stolen images of children found on flickr.

These profiles are using the exact words that are on the sign Sarah’s daughter is holding.

There are profiles of Sarah’s daughter under the name chocolate on there right now…

so I will replace with this one another profile featuring Sarah’s daughter

I am not the only one.

There are at least 50 flickr members that have confirmed that their childrens images are being used for this sick practice.

OBVIOUSLY THEY DO NOT HAVE OUR PERMISSION TO BE USING IMAGES OF OUR KIDS…

BUT THAT DOES NOT STOP THEM! MAKE ALL OF YOUR IMAGES OF CHILDREN F & F ONLY!

It doesnt matter how you have your " permission settings" …
they use "screen captures’ to obtain images!

Orkut, is an Internet social network service run by Google and named after its creator,
Google employee Orkut Büyükkökten

They have a "no fake profile" policy yet approx 80% of the profiles on there site are fake. Half of those are profiles set up to look like little kids. THE SITE CLEARLY STATES THAT YOU MUST BE 18 YEARS OLD OR OLDER TO CREATE A PROFILE…

This is a game for them.

These images were stolen from flickr, edited and uploaded to orkut so that these freaks can pretend they are our children.

They use them as their icon picture and then have albums full of our children…
Some of them have up to 500 contacts that are pretending to be our children too. and they have contacts and they have contacts and so on.

THIS IS AN ALARMING SITUATION!

The red tape involved in getting these images removed is pathetic.
Orkut will tell you to ask the user politely to remove the images. (yeah right!)

These "fake" profile user’s just laugh saying things like…

(these are actual quotes…)

"We are many …you are so small"

"calm down.. this is game for us"

" Your photos on flickr say "public" so we no do wrong"

"why problem? we think your baby is cute"

"The world fake is one of the methods of fun for us in the orkut"

"if you dont want people using your pictures put
it on private and only friends and your family can see"

"your child deserves an ugly mother"

You get the idea… these are morons we are dealing with and google and Orkut could care less..

These children need a voice… a voice that can be heard LOUD AND CLEAR.

Some of these parents have been trying to get their children removed from this site for almost a year and they are still on there..

Some flickr parents have found 10 -20 (if not more) different profiles featuring images of their children.

They think that because an image is marked public that they are free to do whatever they want to do with them. they see no wrong with exploiting these children. They see no wrong in assuming the identity of our innocent children.

Some of them admit to stealing hundreds of child photos from flickr and think it’s a game to create new profiles and just rotate the pictures to keep pissing us off.

THIS NEEDS TO STOP AND ORKUT NEEDS TO BE SHUT DOWN!!!!

CONSIDER THIS POST A PETITION AND FEEL FREE TO SPEAK YOUR MIND ON THIS SUBJECT …

EVEN IF YOU DON"T SPEAK YOUR MIND PLEASE MAKE A COMMENT TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT …

ORKUT USERS THINK FLICKR USERS ARE A JOKE… I THINK THEY ARE MESSING WITH THE WRONG PEOPLE… WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT????

WE NEED TO UNITE AS A COMMUNITY TO HELP PROTECT THE CHILDREN OF FLICKR…

PLEASE HELP US GIVE THESE CHILDREN A VOICE THAT CAN BE HEARD!

PLEASE REPOST THIS IMAGE OR CREATE YOUR OWN THAT SAY’S "SHUT ORKUT DOWN!" BE SURE TO INCLUDE A LINK TO THIS POST … THE MORE PEOPLE THAT KNOW ABOUT THIS THE BETTER!!!

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT AND FAVE THIS IMAGE TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR OUR FLICKR CHILDREN!!!

If you would like more information about this or would like info about the group for parents who have found their children on orkut or would like to know what you can do to help …feel free to send me a flickr mail.

WE CAN DO THIS…

FLICKR IS NOT A JOKE… LET"S SHOW THEM THAT WE MEAN BUSINESS!!!

HOW TO HELP??? click here

GO HERE NOW AND TELL ORKUT WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THEM
help.orkut.com/support/bin/request.py?contact_type=story&…

added****

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT AND EFFORT….

WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!!!!

xoxo

Banksy in Boston: Overview of the NO LOITRIN piece on Essex St in Central Square, Cambridge


Posted via email to ☛ HoloChromaCinePhotoRamaScope‽: http://cdevers.posterous.com/banksy-no-loitrin.

• • • • • • • • • •

Interestingly, both of the Boston area Banksy pieces are on Essex St:

• F̶O̶L̶L̶O̶W̶ ̶Y̶O̶U̶R̶ ̶D̶R̶E̶A̶M̶S̶ CANCELLED (aka chimney sweep) in Chinatown, Boston
• NO LOITRIN in Central Square, Cambridge.

Does that mean anything? It looks like he favors Essex named streets & roads when he can. In 2008, he did another notable Essex work in London, for example, and posters on the Banksy Forums picked up & discussed on the Essex link as well.

Is there an Essex Street in any of the other nearby towns? It looks like there are several: Brookline, Charlestown, Chelsea, Gloucester, Haverhill, Lawrence, Lynn, Medford, Melrose, Quincy, Revere, Salem, Saugus, Somerville, Swampscott, and Waltham. Most of these seem improbable to me, other than maybe Brookline, or maybe Somerville or Charlestown. But they start getting pretty suburban after that.

But, again, why "Essex"? In a comment on this photo, Birbeck helps clarify:

I can only surmise that he’s having a ‘dig’ at Essex UK, especially with the misspelling of ‘Loitering’. Here, the general view of the urban districts in Essex: working class but with right wing views; that they’re not the most intellectual bunch; rather obsessed with fashion (well, their idea of it); their place of worship is the shopping mall; enjoy rowdy nights out; girls are thought of as being dumb, fake blonde hair/tans and promiscuous; and guys are good at the ‘chit chat’, and swagger around showing off their dosh (money).

It was also the region that once had Europe’s largest Ford motor factory. In its heyday, 1 in 3 British cars were made in Dagenham, Essex. Pay was good for such unskilled labour, generations worked mind-numbing routines on assembly lines for 80 years. In 2002 the recession ended the dream.

• • • • •

• This is a scan of this Banksy photo running in the the Boston Globe on May 13, 2010. This is the first time I’ve made the newspaper with one of my photos (The Globe later ran a longer article, titled Tag — we’re it: Banksy, the controversial and elusive street artist, left his mark here. Or did he? with a photo taken by one of their staff photographers, Essdras M. Suarez.

• This photo appeared on Grafitti – A arte das ruas on Yahoo Meme. Yes, Yahoo has a Tumblr/Posterous-esque "Meme" service now — I was as surprised as you are.

• • • • •

Banksy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Banksy
• Birth name
Unknown

• Born
1974 or 1975 (1974 or 1975), Bristol, UK[1]

• Nationality
British

• Field
Graffiti
Street Art
Bristol underground scene
Sculpture

• Movement
Anti-Totalitarianism
Anti-capitalism
Pacifism
Anti-War
Anarchism
Atheism
Anti-Fascism

• Works
Man Image
One Nation Under CCTV
Anarchist Rat
Ozone’s Angel
Pulp Fiction

Banksy is a pseudonymous[2][3][4] British graffiti artist. He is believed to be a native of Yate, South Gloucestershire, near Bristol[2] and to have been born in 1974,[5] but his identity is unknown.[6] According to Tristan Manco[who?], Banksy "was born in 1974 and raised in Bristol, England. The son of a photocopier technician, he trained as a butcher but became involved in graffiti during the great Bristol aerosol boom of the late 1980s."[7] His artworks are often satirical pieces of art on topics such as politics, culture, and ethics. His street art, which combines graffiti writing with a distinctive stencilling technique, is similar to Blek le Rat, who began to work with stencils in 1981 in Paris and members of the anarcho-punk band Crass who maintained a graffiti stencil campaign on the London Tube System in the late 1970s and early 1980s. His art has appeared in cities around the world.[8] Banksy’s work was born out of the Bristol underground scene which involved collaborations between artists and musicians.

Banksy does not sell photos of street graffiti.[9] Art auctioneers have been known to attempt to sell his street art on location and leave the problem of its removal in the hands of the winning bidder.[10]

Banksy’s first film, Exit Through The Gift Shop, billed as "the world’s first street art disaster movie", made its debut at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.[11] The film was released in the UK on March 5.[12]

Contents

• 1 Career
•• 1.1 2000
•• 1.2 2002
•• 1.3 2003
•• 1.4 2004
•• 1.5 2005
•• 1.6 2006
•• 1.7 2007
•• 1.8 2008
•• 1.9 2009
•• 1.10 2010
• 2 Notable art pieces
• 3 Technique
• 4 Identity
• 5 Controversy
• 6 Bibliography
• 7 References
• 8 External links

Career

Banksy started as a freehand graffiti artist 1992–1994[14] as one of Bristol’s DryBreadZ Crew (DBZ), with Kato and Tes.[15] He was inspired by local artists and his work was part of the larger Bristol underground scene. From the start he used stencils as elements of his freehand pieces, too.[14] By 2000 he had turned to the art of stencilling after realising how much less time it took to complete a piece. He claims he changed to stencilling whilst he was hiding from the police under a train carriage, when he noticed the stencilled serial number[16] and by employing this technique, he soon became more widely noticed for his art around Bristol and London.[16]

Stencil on the waterline of The Thekla, an entertainment boat in central Bristol – (wider view). The image of Death is based on a 19th century etching illustrating the pestilence of The Great Stink.[17]

Banksy’s stencils feature striking and humorous images occasionally combined with slogans. The message is usually anti-war, anti-capitalist or anti-establishment. Subjects often include rats, monkeys, policemen, soldiers, children, and the elderly.

In late 2001, on a trip to Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, he met up with the Gen-X pastellist, visual activist, and recluse James DeWeaver in Byron Bay[clarification needed], where he stencilled a parachuting rat with a clothes peg on its nose above a toilet at the Arts Factory Lodge. This stencil can no longer be located. He also makes stickers (the Neighbourhood Watch subvert) and sculpture (the murdered phone-box), and was responsible for the cover art of Blur’s 2003 album Think Tank.

2000

The album cover for Monk & Canatella’s Do Community Service was conceived and illustrated by Banksy, based on his contribution to the "Walls on fire" event in Bristol 1998.[18][citation needed]

2002

On 19 July 2002, Banksy’s first Los Angeles exhibition debuted at 33 1/3 Gallery, a small Silverlake venue owned by Frank Sosa. The exhibition, entitled Existencilism, was curated by 33 1/3 Gallery, Malathion, Funk Lazy Promotions, and B+.[19]

2003

In 2003 in an exhibition called Turf War, held in a warehouse, Banksy painted on animals. Although the RSPCA declared the conditions suitable, an animal rights activist chained herself to the railings in protest.[20] He later moved on to producing subverted paintings; one example is Monet’s Water Lily Pond, adapted to include urban detritus such as litter and a shopping trolley floating in its reflective waters; another is Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks, redrawn to show that the characters are looking at a British football hooligan, dressed only in his Union Flag underpants, who has just thrown an object through the glass window of the cafe. These oil paintings were shown at a twelve-day exhibition in Westbourne Grove, London in 2005.[21]

2004

In August 2004, Banksy produced a quantity of spoof British £10 notes substituting the picture of the Queen’s head with Princess Diana’s head and changing the text "Bank of England" to "Banksy of England." Someone threw a large wad of these into a crowd at Notting Hill Carnival that year, which some recipients then tried to spend in local shops. These notes were also given with invitations to a Santa’s Ghetto exhibition by Pictures on Walls. The individual notes have since been selling on eBay for about £200 each. A wad of the notes were also thrown over a fence and into the crowd near the NME signing tent at The Reading Festival. A limited run of 50 signed posters containing ten uncut notes were also produced and sold by Pictures on Walls for £100 each to commemorate the death of Princess Diana. One of these sold in October 2007 at Bonhams auction house in London for £24,000.

2005

In August 2005, Banksy, on a trip to the Palestinian territories, created nine images on Israel’s highly controversial West Bank barrier. He reportedly said "The Israeli government is building a wall surrounding the occupied Palestinian territories. It stands three times the height of the Berlin Wall and will eventually run for over 700km—the distance from London to Zurich. "[22]

2006

• Banksy held an exhibition called Barely Legal, billed as a "three day vandalised warehouse extravaganza" in Los Angeles, on the weekend of 16 September. The exhibition featured a live "elephant in a room", painted in a pink and gold floral wallpaper pattern.[23]
• After Christina Aguilera bought an original of Queen Victoria as a and two prints for £25,000,[24] on 19 October 2006 a set of Kate Moss paintings sold in Sotheby’s London for £50,400, setting an auction record for Banksy’s work. The six silk-screen prints, featuring the model painted in the style of Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe pictures, sold for five times their estimated value. His stencil of a green Mona Lisa with real paint dripping from her eyes sold for £57,600 at the same auction.[25]
• In December, journalist Max Foster coined the phrase, "the Banksy Effect", to illustrate how interest in other street artists was growing on the back of Banksy’s success.[26]

2007

• On 21 February 2007, Sotheby’s auction house in London auctioned three works, reaching the highest ever price for a Banksy work at auction: over £102,000 for his Bombing Middle England. Two of his other graffiti works, Balloon Girl and Bomb Hugger, sold for £37,200 and £31,200 respectively, which were well above their estimated prices.[27] The following day’s auction saw a further three Banksy works reach soaring prices: Ballerina With Action Man Parts reached £96,000; Glory sold for £72,000; Untitled (2004) sold for £33,600; all significantly above estimated values.[28] To coincide with the second day of auctions, Banksy updated his website with a new image of an auction house scene showing people bidding on a picture that said, "I Can’t Believe You Morons Actually Buy This ."[6]
• In February 2007, the owners of a house with a Banksy mural on the side in Bristol decided to sell the house through Red Propeller art gallery after offers fell through because the prospective buyers wanted to remove the mural. It is listed as a mural which comes with a house attached.[29]
• In April 2007, Transport for London painted over Banksy’s iconic image of a scene from Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, with Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta clutching bananas instead of guns. Although the image was very popular, Transport for London claimed that the "graffiti" created "a general atmosphere of neglect and social decay which in turn encourages crime" and their staff are "professional cleaners not professional art critics".[30] Banksy tagged the same site again (pictured at right). This time the actors were portrayed as holding real guns instead of bananas, but they were adorned with banana costumes. Banksy made a tribute art piece over this second Pulp Fiction piece. The tribute was for 19-year-old British graffiti artist Ozone, who was hit by an underground train in Barking, East London, along with fellow artist Wants, on 12 January 2007.[31] The piece was of an angel wearing a bullet-proof vest, holding a skull. He also wrote a note on his website, saying:

The last time I hit this spot I painted a crap picture of two men in banana costumes waving hand guns. A few weeks later a writer called Ozone completely dogged it and then wrote ‘If it’s better next time I’ll leave it’ in the bottom corner. When we lost Ozone we lost a fearless graffiti writer and as it turns out a pretty perceptive art critic. Ozone – rest in peace.[citation needed]

Ozone’s Angel

• On 27 April 2007, a new record high for the sale of Banksy’s work was set with the auction of the work Space Girl & Bird fetching £288,000 (US6,000), around 20 times the estimate at Bonhams of London.[32]
• On 21 May 2007 Banksy gained the award for Art’s Greatest living Briton. Banksy, as expected, did not turn up to collect his award, and continued with his notoriously anonymous status.
• On 4 June 2007, it was reported that Banksy’s The Drinker had been stolen.[33][34]
• In October 2007, most of his works offered for sale at Bonhams auction house in London sold for more than twice their reserve price.[35]

• Banksy has published a "manifesto" on his website.[36] The text of the manifesto is credited as the diary entry of one Lieutenant Colonel Mervin Willett Gonin, DSO, which is exhibited in the Imperial War Museum. It describes how a shipment of lipstick to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp immediately after its liberation at the end of World War II helped the internees regain their humanity. However, as of 18 January 2008, Banksy’s Manifesto has been substituted with Graffiti Heroes #03 that describes Peter Chappell’s graffiti quest of the 1970s that worked to free George Davis of his imprisonment.[37] By 12 August 2009 he was relying on Emo Phillips’ "When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realised God doesn’t work that way, so I stole one and prayed for forgiveness."
• A small number of Banksy’s works can be seen in the movie Children of Men, including a stenciled image of two policemen kissing and another stencil of a child looking down a shop.
• In the 2007 film Shoot ‘Em Up starring Clive Owen, Banksy’s tag can be seen on a dumpster in the film’s credits.
• Banksy, who deals mostly with Lazarides Gallery in London, claims that the exhibition at Vanina Holasek Gallery in New York (his first major exhibition in that city) is unauthorised. The exhibition featured 62 of his paintings and prints.[38]

2008

• In March, a stencilled graffiti work appeared on Thames Water tower in the middle of the Holland Park roundabout, and it was widely attributed to Banksy. It was of a child painting the tag "Take this Society" in bright orange. London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham spokesman, Councillor Greg Smith branded the art as vandalism, and ordered its immediate removal, which was carried out by H&F council workmen within three days.[39]
• Over the weekend 3–5 May in London, Banksy hosted an exhibition called The Cans Festival. It was situated on Leake Street, a road tunnel formerly used by Eurostar underneath London Waterloo station. Graffiti artists with stencils were invited to join in and paint their own artwork, as long as it didn’t cover anyone else’s.[40] Artists included Blek le Rat, Broken Crow, C215, Cartrain, Dolk, Dotmasters, J.Glover, Eine, Eelus, Hero, Pure evil, Jef Aérosol, Mr Brainwash, Tom Civil and Roadsworth.[citation needed]
• In late August 2008, marking the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the associated levee failure disaster, Banksy produced a series of works in New Orleans, Louisiana, mostly on buildings derelict since the disaster.[41]
• A stencil painting attributed to Banksy appeared at a vacant petrol station in the Ensley neighbourhood of Birmingham, Alabama on 29 August as Hurricane Gustav approached the New Orleans area. The painting depicting a hooded member of the Ku Klux Klan hanging from a noose was quickly covered with black spray paint and later removed altogether.[42]
• His first official exhibition in New York, the "Village Pet Store And Charcoal Grill," opened 5 October 2008. The animatronic pets in the store window include a mother hen watching over her baby Chicken McNuggets as they peck at a barbecue sauce packet, and a rabbit putting makeup on in a mirror.[43]
• The Westminster City Council stated in October 2008 that the work "One Nation Under CCTV", painted in April 2008 will be painted over as it is graffiti. The council says it will remove any graffiti, regardless of the reputation of its creator, and specifically stated that Banksy "has no more right to paint graffiti than a child". Robert Davis, the chairman of the council planning committee told The Times newspaper: "If we condone this then we might as well say that any kid with a spray can is producing art". [44] The work was painted over in April 2009.
• In December 2008, The Little Diver, a Banksy image of a diver in a duffle coat in Melbourne Australia was vandalised. The image was protected by a sheet of clear perspex, however silver paint was poured behind the protective sheet and later tagged with the words "Banksy woz ere". The image was almost completely destroyed.[45].

2009

• May 2009, parts company with agent Steve Lazarides. Announces Pest Control [46] the handling service who act on his behalf will be the only point of sale for new works.
• On 13 June 2009, the Banksy UK Summer show opened at Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery, featuring more than 100 works of art, including animatronics and installations; it is his largest exhibition yet, featuring 78 new works.[47][48] Reaction to the show was positive, with over 8,500 visitors to the show on the first weekend.[49] Over the course of the twelve weeks, the exhibition has been visited over 300,000 times.[50]
• In September 2009, a Banksy work parodying the Royal Family was partially destroyed by Hackney Council after they served an enforcement notice for graffiti removal to the former address of the property owner. The mural had been commissioned for the 2003 Blur single "Crazy Beat" and the property owner, who had allowed the piece to be painted, was reported to have been in tears when she saw it was being painted over.[51]
• In December 2009, Banksy marked the end of the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference by painting four murals on global warming. One included "I don’t believe in global warming" which was submerged in water.[52]

2010

• The world premiere of the film Exit Through the Gift Shop occurred at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on 24 January. He created 10 street pieces around Park City and Salt Lake City to tie in with the screening.[53]
• In February, The Whitehouse public house in Liverpool, England, is sold for £114,000 at auction.[54] The side of the building has an image of a giant rat by Banksy.[55]
• In April 2010, Melbourne City Council in Australia reported that they had inadvertently ordered private contractors to paint over the last remaining Banksy art in the city. The image was of a rat descending in a parachute adorning the wall of an old council building behind the Forum Theatre. In 2008 Vandals had poured paint over a stencil of an old-fashioned diver wearing a trenchcoat. A council spokeswoman has said they would now rush through retrospective permits to protect other “famous or significant artworks” in the city.[56]
• In April 2010 to coincide with the premier of Exit through the Gift Shop in San Francisco, 5 of his pieces appeared in various parts of the city.[57] Banksy reportedly paid a Chinatown building owner for the use of their wall for one of his stencils.[58]
• In May 2010 to coincide with the release of "Exit Through the Gift Shop" in Chicago, one piece appeared in the city.

Notable art pieces

In addition to his artwork, Banksy has claimed responsibility for a number of high profile art pieces, including the following:

• At London Zoo, he climbed into the penguin enclosure and painted "We’re bored of fish" in seven foot high letters.[59]
• At Bristol Zoo, he left the message ‘I want out. This place is too cold. Keeper smells. Boring, boring, boring.’ in the elephant enclosure.[60]
• In March 2005, he placed subverted artworks in the Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the American Museum of Natural History in New York.[61]
• He put up a subverted painting in London’s Tate Britain gallery.
• In May 2005 Banksy’s version of a primitive cave painting depicting a human figure hunting wildlife whilst pushing a shopping trolley was hung in gallery 49 of the British Museum, London. Upon discovery, they added it to their permanent collection.[62]

Near Bethlehem – 2005

• Banksy has sprayed "This is not a photo opportunity" on certain photograph spots.
• In August 2005, Banksy painted nine images on the Israeli West Bank barrier, including an image of a ladder going up and over the wall and an image of children digging a hole through the wall.[22][63][64][65]

See also: Other Banksy works on the Israeli West Bank barrier

• In April 2006, Banksy created a sculpture based on a crumpled red phone box with a pickaxe in its side, apparently bleeding, and placed it in a street in Soho, London. It was later removed by Westminster Council. BT released a press release, which said: "This is a stunning visual comment on BT’s transformation from an old-fashioned telecommunications company into a modern communications services provider."[66]
• In June 2006, Banksy created an image of a man hanging out of a bedroom window on a wall visible from Park Street in central Bristol. The image sparked some controversy, with the Bristol City Council leaving it up to the public to decide whether it should stay or go.[67] After an internet discussion in which 97% (all but 6 people) supported the stencil, the city council decided it would be left on the building.[67] The mural was later defaced with paint.[67]
• In August/September 2006, Banksy replaced up to 500 copies of Paris Hilton’s debut CD, Paris, in 48 different UK record stores with his own cover art and remixes by Danger Mouse. Music tracks were given titles such as "Why am I Famous?", "What Have I Done?" and "What Am I For?". Several copies of the CD were purchased by the public before stores were able to remove them, some going on to be sold for as much as £750 on online auction websites such as eBay. The cover art depicted Paris Hilton digitally altered to appear . Other pictures feature her with a dog’s head replacing her own, and one of her stepping out of a luxury car, edited to include a group of homeless people, which included the caption "90% of success is just showing up".[68][69][70]
• In September 2006, Banksy dressed an inflatable doll in the manner of a Guantanamo Bay detainment camp prisoner (orange jumpsuit, black hood, and handcuffs) and then placed the figure within the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride at the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California.[71][72]

Technique

Asked about his technique, Banksy said:

“I use whatever it takes. Sometimes that just means drawing a moustache on a girl’s face on some billboard, sometimes that means sweating for days over an intricate drawing. Efficiency is the key.[73]”

Stencils are traditionally hand drawn or printed onto sheets of acetate or card, before being cut out by hand. Because of the secretive nature of Banksy’s work and identity, it is uncertain what techniques he uses to generate the images in his stencils, though it is assumed he uses computers for some images due to the photocopy nature of much of his work.

He mentions in his book, Wall and Piece, that as he was starting to do graffiti, he was always too slow and was either caught or could never finish the art in the one sitting. So he devised a series of intricate stencils to minimise time and overlapping of the colour.

Identity

Banksy’s real name has been widely reported to be Robert or Robin Banks.[74][75][76] His year of birth has been given as 1974.[62]

Simon Hattenstone from Guardian Unlimited is one of the very few people to have interviewed him face-to-face. Hattenstone describes him as "a cross of Jimmy Nail and British rapper Mike Skinner" and "a 28 year old male who showed up wearing jeans and a t-shirt with a silver tooth, silver chain, and one silver earring".[77] In the same interview, Banksy revealed that his parents think their son is a painter and decorator.[77]

In May 2007, an extensive article written by Lauren Collins of the New Yorker re-opened the Banksy-identity controversy citing a 2004 photograph of the artist that was taken in Jamaica during the Two-Culture Clash project and later published in the Evening Standard in 2004.[6]

In October 2007, a story on the BBC website featured a photo allegedly taken by a passer-by in Bethnal Green, London, purporting to show Banksy at work with an assistant, scaffolding and a truck. The story confirms that Tower Hamlets Council in London has decided to treat all Banksy works as vandalism and remove them.[78]

In July 2008, it was claimed by The Mail on Sunday that Banksy’s real name is Robin Gunningham.[3][79] His agent has refused to confirm or deny these reports.

In May 2009, the Mail on Sunday once again speculated about Gunningham being Banksy after a "self-portrait" of a rat holding a sign with the word "Gunningham" shot on it was photographed in East London.[80] This "new Banksy rat" story was also picked up by The Times[81] and the Evening Standard.

Banksy, himself, states on his website:

“I am unable to comment on who may or may not be Banksy, but anyone described as being ‘good at drawing’ doesn’t sound like Banksy to me.[82]”

Controversy

In 2004, Banksy walked into the Louvre in Paris and hung on a wall a picture he had painted resembling the Mona Lisa but with a yellow smiley face. Though the painting was hurriedly removed by the museum staff, it and its counterpart, temporarily on unknown display at the Tate Britain, were described by Banksy as "shortcuts". He is quoted as saying:

“To actually [have to] go through the process of having a painting selected must be quite boring. It’s a lot more fun to go and put your own one up.[83]”

Peter Gibson, a spokesperson for Keep Britain Tidy, asserts that Banksy’s work is simple vandalism,[84] and Diane Shakespeare, an official for the same organization, was quoted as saying: "We are concerned that Banksy’s street art glorifies what is essentially vandalism".[6]

In June 2007 Banksy created a circle of plastic portable toilets, said to resemble Stonehenge at the Glastonbury Festival. As this was in the same field as the "sacred circle" it was felt by many to be inappropriate and his installation was itself vandalized before the festival even opened. However, the intention had always been for people to climb on and interact with it.[citation needed] The installation was nicknamed "Portaloo Sunset" and "Bog Henge" by Festival goers. Michael Eavis admitted he wasn’t fond of it, and the portaloos were removed before the 2008 festival.

In 2010, an artistic feud developed between Banksy and his rival King Robbo after Banksy painted over a 24-year old Robbo piece on the banks of London’s Regent Canal. In retaliation several Banksy pieces in London have been painted over by ‘Team Robbo’.[85][86]

Also in 2010, government workers accidentally painted over a Banksy art piece, a famed "parachuting-rat" stencil, in Australia’s Melbourne CBD. [87]

Bibliography

Banksy has self-published several books that contain photographs of his work in various countries as well as some of his canvas work and exhibitions, accompanied by his own writings:

• Banksy, Banging Your Head Against A Brick Wall (2001) ISBN 978-0-95417040-0
• Banksy, Existencilism (2002) ISBN 978-0-95417041-7
• Banksy, Cut it Out (2004) ISBN 978-0-95449600-5
• Banksy, Wall and Piece (2005) ISBN 978-1-84413786-2
• Banksy, Pictures of Walls (2005) ISBN 978-0-95519460-3

Random House published Wall and Piece in 2005. It contains a combination of images from his three previous books, as well as some new material.[16]

Two books authored by others on his work were published in 2006 & 2007:

• Martin Bull, Banksy Locations and Tours: A Collection of Graffiti Locations and Photographs in London (2006 – with new editions in 2007 and 2008) ISBN 978-0-95547120-9.
• Steve Wright, Banksy’s Bristol: Home Sweet Home (2007) ISBN 978-1906477004

External links

• Official website
• Banksy street work photos

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Just Shred It — Protecting Your Identity

There are few things just as disturbing as the thought of having your identity stolen. All a criminal has to do is get a hold of a few of the right numbers and words, and they can take over your virtual and financial life, burying you in debt that you had no hand in incurring and ruining your credit. It can take years and a lot of money to get everything sorted out, and afterwards you’ll never feel quite as secure, knowing just how bad things can get if you aren’t careful.

It’s a strong argument for guarding your financial information closely, and people try. You know you should never give out your financial information over the phone, and never to anyone at all unless you have some way of being certain you’re talking to a representative of a legitimate business, and you know not to give it out to strangers. But are you throwing your identity out with the trash?

People frequently don’t realize the quantity of sensitive personal and financial information that can be contained in the papers they throw away. Whether it’s just junk mail that you want to get rid of, or you’re going through your files and throwing away any records you no longer feel you need, you could be throwing away enough information for an identity thief to be able to piece together enough of your identity to steal it.

Think about it. If, during the span of a week, you throw away a birthday card and bank statement, you’ve already given anyone picking through your trash almost all the information they need about you to take advantage of your good credit history. Just a little carelessness can go a long way toward complicating your future security.

Managing your financial and personal documents in order to protect your identity might seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t take much to keep yourself from being vulnerable. You don’t have to be constantly vigilant. Mostly, you just need a shredder. A document shredder renders any documents that you put out with the trash useless to prying hands and eyes, so that you can clean off your desk without fear.

Even when people already own a shredder, they frequently don’t use it enough just because they aren’t such which documents need processing. The fact is, it’s always better to err on the side of caution. Any document that contains any personal information at all should be shredded before you dispose of it, to avoid risk. It’s not as though it takes much work-all you have to do is feed the papers into the shredder, and it does the work for you. And it isn’t like you’ll accidentally shred something important. You were going to throw it into the trash anyway!

Shredders can be an extremely low-cost solution to a potentially high-cost problem. There are other fast and simple ways to protect your financial information. Your trash isn’t the only spot around your house that can be targeted-your mailbox is just as attractive to potential identity thieves. In order to be as careful as possible, it’s really best to use a locked post office box for your financial mail. That way, credit card companies can’t send you offers that could fall into the wrong hands, and the mail that you send out isn’t left out for other people to pry through. If you manage your documents properly, you don’t have to be afraid of identity theft. Take matters into your own hands, so that you never have to give your trash a second thought.

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Firstly, you must scrutinize the material you wish to publish. Do not include details that may expose your identity. Images of documents and media may be useful to the cause, but do not break the law in obtaining them. If you do not break the law, you will avoid the involvement of law enforcement organizations in tracking you. As regards copyrighted information, the law permits the publishing of copyrighted materials in the context of news reporting, which serve the public interest. However, this is a contestable point of law, and may provoke reaction/retaliation. Incriminating documents should be withheld, but its contents should be vaguely described. A time will come to report them to the relevant authorities, for the purposes of a legal trial. Use Google to better understand your local laws and your rights. Use the law, do not fight it. Be wary of defamation laws in particular. Do not let legal considerations stop you from being bold. Start here for advice on whistleblowing: www.caslon.com.au To publish a voice with a video, use Text-to-Voice software to convert your text to an audio message. This will be used on Youtube to keep your voice anonymous. Create a movie file using your generated voice. Keep messages to less than 5 minutes long, and to the point. Keep your message anonymous. The time will come for you to give evidence in person. Create video using Windows Movie Maker www.microsoft.com or iMovie, on mac. www.apple.com Accessing the internet is the point at …

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Guarding your personal information is the key to protecting yourself against identity theft. Don’t carry unused credit cards and your social security card in your wallet. Don’t give out your social security number to doctors. Ask your employer what they do to keep your personal information safe. If you are careful about protecting information like your social security number and mother’s maiden name, you can reduce your risk for identity theft. Watch this Expert Real Estate Tips video for more identity theft solutions.
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Protecting Against Identity Theft

Identity theft is a horrible problem. Those whose identities are stolen must go through so much legwork just to get their lives back on track. The worst part about identity theft is the fact that so many people believe that it could never happen to them. In all honesty, they could be no further from the truth. More than 500,000 American citizens’ identities are stolen per year, and we’ve written this article to provide some tips when it comes to protecting your identity.

- First and foremost, you need to make sure that you keep your social security number safe. Your credit reports and bank accounts are linked to your social security number, and if an identity thief has that information, their work is made a lot easier.

- Next, you need to regularly monitor your credit report. It contains all the information that you need when it comes to determining whether or not someone has stolen your identity. Bank statements, account closings and openings, as well as your account numbers are located on your credit report, and it can be a great tool to defend against identity theft.

- When you get offers for credit cards and bank accounts in the mail, it is important to shred them immediately. They contain information about you and if they are not properly destroyed, would-be thieves can easily send in the information to create an account for themselves, wreaking havoc upon your financial records. Be sure to use a shredder that employs a cross-cutting technique, as they are much more capable when it comes to destroying documents.

- Only carry credit cards and other cards with your personal information with you when it is absolutely necessary. Things happen, and you may lose your wallet or purse. You don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket; a found wallet can provide an identity thief with all they need to steal your information.

Following these steps can be a great way of protecting yourself against the perils of identity theft. It’s a problem that can stick with you and your credit score for life, so it is of great importance to keep your information safe.

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Protect Your Identity This Holiday Season

With the holiday spending season fast approaching, it’s crucial that you understand the dangers of identity theft. Though many of the methods thieves use to steal identities are out of our control, there are many measures you can take to protect yourself from the threats identity thieves pose.

Protect Your Credit Card Number From Prying Eyes

When making purchases with your credit or debit card, make sure that only the last 4 digits of your card number are shown on the receipt. The first 12 digits should be unknown, and are usually replaced by Xs. If they aren’t, by law you are permitted to mark out the first 12 digits on the merchants copy with a pen.

It is especially important that you check your credit card receipt at restaurants. Don’t leave the restaurant’s copy on the table after your meal if all 16 digits are shown. It’s best to cross out the first 12 digits and personally hand the receipt to the wait staff. Otherwise, you risk an identity thief walking away with your name, account number, and quite possibly your card’s expiration date.

Only Use Your Social Security Number When Absolutely Necessary.

Though it is necessary to use your social security number when applying for credit or opening a bank account, it isn’t always necessary that you use it in other circumstances. Although not that common nowadays, some stores and organizations may want to use your SSN as an ID number within their system. Though this practice is discouraged by law, you will still run across it from time to time. In these situations it is best to use your judgment. If for any reason you feel uncomfortable, there is usually an alternative available if you ask.

Your Trash is Treasure to an Identity Thief

The most important investment you can make in protecting your identity is a good paper shredder. Identity thieves won’t think twice about going through your trash in order to find sensitive personal information that will help them obtain credit in your name. Shred anything and everything that has personal information, such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, dates of birth, phone numbers, etc. Do it at home. Do it at work.

The holiday season is a time for us to enjoy shopping for our friends and family. With every swipe of our credit cards, however, it is imperative that we protect our financial futures from the dangerous threats identity thieves pose.

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Ways on How to Protect Against Identity Theft

Are you one of them? The number of people who have fallen victim to online crimes continues to soar as more sophisticated techniques of identity theft are being developed. You may have purchased a single item online once, and then found out that your credit card has been used by unknown people. You may have clicked something or entered your information in a website that you thought was secure, but afterwards, your bills, financial information and other cards have all been hacked.

These are all cases of identity theft. The sad thing is, they have become common in the Internet scene especially with more people opting to purchase online. This crime occurs when a cyberspace criminal uses another person’s information and pretends to be him or her. This can be done with your Social Security Number or SSN, credit card, bank statements, and more.

What’s more, this crime is actually more complicated as it seems. It has four categories which include financial identity theft, where the criminal uses your name and SSN to buy goods; criminal identity theft or posing as another person when apprehended for a violation or crime; identity cloning, where the person adopts your information as his or her identity in everyday life; and, the business or commercial identity theft, where the criminal gets credit by charging it to another’s business name.

If you know how these criminals work and what means they use to hack information from you, you can avoid falling into their trap and adding to the number. Here are some tips for you to protect yourself against identity theft.

First, protect your SSN. It is safer not to carry around your SSN card as having access to this number can let the criminal know your credit history, bank account, charge accounts, and utility accounts. The person, once he or she gets hold of these, can open new credit or accounts, and even obtain a driver’s license. Avoid giving out your SSN to people you are dubious of.

Another tip is to fight phishing. It is the act of sending email where the criminal pretends he or she is from a legitimate enterprise or company in order to “phish” for private information that can be used for identity theft. The email can lead you to bogus websites that ask for private information like passwords and card information. Ignore this and don’t give out anything. In addition, guarding your personal computer against viruses and spies is a must. Try to use difficult and strong passwords for your email or any other account. You can also use firewalls, spyware protection and virus protection software. Your browser security must also be set to at least “medium”.

If you think you have just been scammed and “phished” or just suspicious about something, it is always best to report to officials such as to SSN Fraud hotline. You can also directly contact your credit card issuers, banks, or any financial outlet concerned. Be cautious and protect your identity.

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