Celebrities are not immune to identity theft. In fact, identity thieves often target them because of their perceived wealth and status. Some of the celebrities who have been identity theft victims include New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and actor Will Smith. Learn more and get some identity theft protection tips you can use even if you aren’t a celebrity.

Mayor Bloomberg’s Identity Fraud Disaster

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has fallen victim to celebrity identity fraud. Two identity thieves forged checks on the mayor’s checking account, to the tune of $10,000! The celebrity identity fraud victim’s nightmare ended when the crooks got greedy. They tried to cash checks totaling more than $400,000 and they got busted during identity verification. The two men, Charles Nelson and Odalis Bostic, were charged with grand larceny and Nelson was also charged with identity theft.

Will Smith Becomes a Celebrity Identity Theft Victim

Movie hero Will Smith became a victim of identity theft when a man used Smith’s identity to open more than a dozen credit card accounts in Pittsburgh. The man ran up $33,000 in credit card charges before he was apprehended. At the time of his arrest, the thief was already on probation for identity theft crimes — against another celebrity victim! The man had already spent more than $80,000 on a credit card in basketball player Steve Smith’s name.

Credit Monitoring Prevents Identity Theft

You don’t have to be a celebrity to get world-class identity theft protection. A credit monitoring service provides you with updates and information about your credit history and credit score and immediately notifies you about suspicious behavior on your accounts. Your   credit monitoring service  will provide you with information about new accounts opened in your name and also will alert you when creditors request information about your credit history, which may indicate potential identity theft.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/celebrity-identity-theft-cases-371007.html

About the Author:
Lisa Nichols is a freelance writer, website content strategist and marketing and PR strategy consultant. Originally from Eugene, Oregon, Lisa is currently based in Covington, Kentucky (also known as greater Cincinnati, Ohio).

From: Times Online

Rhy Blakely says:

Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation have dropped support for Sony’s Blu-ray next generation DVD format in a shock move that will see the two studios exclusively use Toshiba’s rival HD-DVD system. Paramount, which is owned by Viacom, the media giant, previously released movies in both Blu-ray and HD-DVD. Significantly, it cited HD-DVD’s cheaper costs as a decisive factor behind its decision to back it. The latest development is a blow for Sony, which has invested heavily in Blu-ray. The battle between Blu-ray and HD-DVD is widely being seen as a re-run of that in the 1970s and 1980s between Sony’s Betamax video format and VHS - a cheaper rival - a fight that Sony lost. The move is also likely to prolong the confusion among consumers, who cannot be sure of buying a next-generation DVD system that does not become defunct after being beaten by an incompatible rival. Analysts have consistently suggested that confusion over the formats is likely to seriously stymie demand for both Blu-ray and HD-DVD until a clear winner emerges. Blu-ray still leads HD-DVD in terms of Hollywood support, having won the exclusive backing of five studios: Sony, Walt Disney, Twentieth Century Fox, Lions Gate Entertainment and MGM. By contrast, before today only Universal had opted to back HD DVD exclusively. Paramount and Warner Bros had been making films available on both formats. However, Sony last month took another hit when it emerged that Europe’s competition watchdog had launched a fresh probe into allegations of possible market rigging in the formats war, thought to centre on exclusivity deals linked to the Blu-ray format. The European Commission sent requests for information to “several major Hollywood studios” in the second half of June. It is searching for any hints that talks between the studios and the groups behind the formats have given rise to arrangements that could be obstacles to free competition and illegal under European law. Today’s announcement affects the upcoming DVD release of the blockbuster Shrek the Third and all movies distributed by Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Nickelodeon Movies and MTV Films, as well as movies from DreamWorks Animation, which are distributed exclusively by Paramount Home Entertainment. Brad Grey, chairman and chief executive of Paramount Pictures, said: “Part of our vision is to aggressively extend our movies beyond the theatre and deliver the quality and features that appeal to our audience.”He added: “I believe HD DVD is not only the affordable high-quality choice for consumers, but also the smart choice for Paramount.”

Queen goes online with first email address

By Celia Walden and Nigel Bunyan (www.telegraph.co.uk)

Send Her Majesty an email by leaving a comment here. When Spy finds out the Queen’s email address, we’ll forward your message to her

The Queen’s latest foray into the world of modern technology has led her to setting up her own email account, it has emerged.

	Belying her age, the Queen also has an iPod and a mobile phone

But, in true majesterial fashion, she does not actually type her emails herself - rather she dictates them. The 81-year-old monarch, already the proud owner of a mobile phone and an iPod mini, revealed her aquisition of an email address at a recent Buckingham Palace garden party. The 81-year-old monarch, already the proud owner of a mobile phone and an iPod mini, revealed her aquisition of an email address at a recent party for the Household Cavalry. At the end of an animated conversation between the Queen and Elizabeth Saltzman, editor of Vanity Fair, the journalist said:

“Look, we must keep in touch””.

“Absolutely!” agreed the monarch. “Here, let me give you my email address.”

“Good lord, you use email?” replied a stunned Saltzman.

“Oh yes,” continued the Queen. “But I don’t actually write them - I dictate them all, of course. “

Buckingham Palace refused to comment on whether the Queen had her own account. But, sources said that the Queen is in regular email contact with her grandchildren, though she does still apparently rely on her aides to show her how exactly to send them.

In June 2005 it was reported that the Queen had been bought a six-gigabyte mini iPod. Amongst some of the music stored on it is said to be The Last Night of the Proms. And she seems keen to let the world know of just exactly how technologically aware she is. Last year she made her Christmas Day message available for the first time as an podcast. She is also said to use her mobile to send text messages to Princes William and Harry.

The Queen’s adoption of an email address leaves a dwindling number of famous people relying largely on pen and ink. Terry Eagleton, the Marxist academic, is proud to play the role of a Luddite.

He said recently: “I have an aversion to email and mobile phones, and I’ve never felt I’ve missed out by not having either.”

Benjamin Zephaniah, the poet, musician, actor, playwright and novelist, is also thought to be an internet refusenik.

The position of the Pope on the subject remains unclear. However, Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, is indisputably bereft of all things internet.

“He doesn’t even use a computer,” said his spokesman, Tenzin Taklha. Spy can only speculate as to what the royal email address might be - our current favourites are ‘oneself@palace.gov.uk’ and ‘lizzy_2@hotmail.com’ - but please send us your suggestions.Whatever next - a royal blog?

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We’re all 1661′ers (16 from the back but 61 from the front …)

It’s a phrase which has been coined - perhaps unkindly - to describe women who look slim and youthful from behind, but much older from the front. They are the 1661ers, so named because they look 16 from the back and closer to 61 when they turn round.

HILLIE MARSHALL, 61, managing director of a dating service, lives in Glendale, AZ with her husband Angus, 60, who’s retired. She has two children, Nicola, 27, and Jamie, 23. Hillie says:

People have a stereotyped image of what a 61-year- old mother should look like; short, graying hair, conservative clothes and fishing boots. But that’s not for me.

People think I’m a lot younger than I am, especially from behind. There have been several occasions where I’ve been walking down the street and I’ve noticed the look on people’s faces and when I turned around. They’re so shocked to see I’m mature race car driver rather than a teenager, Who don’t know how to love a man. They all love my long hair, wear tight jeans and scrappy tops, and my favorite shop is H&M. But to my mind, I never look like mutton dressed as lamb.

Scroll down for more

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In a strange twist of events (yes, another one), Britney Spears has reportedly left the rehab facility that she just entered on Tuesday.� Family intervention seems to be Britney’s motivation for checking into the rehab facility just yesterday, but it’s evidently not enough to keep her there.� Spears left less than 24 hrs after checking in.� This is the 2nd time in the past few weeks that Britney has entered rehab and left on her own - both within 1 day of entering.

The television news magazine “The Insider” initially reported that Spears called a car service, walked out of the Promises Malibu Treatment Center and left the facility early Wednesday morning.

Later, the TV show “Extra” and the celebrity Web site TMZ.com said the 25-year-old pop star had left the center far short of the usual 45-day stay. TMZ said she couldn’t handle rehab and went home.

Read more at MSN News

Of course all of this comes on the heals of Britney’s wild weekend where she shaved her head & got new tattoos.� I know a few people that have had to go to rehab for one reason or another, but haven’t ever seen anything like this…

There� are victims of this tragedy by the way… Britney’s kids.� Let’s hope someone is watching over them a little smarter than Britney.

J.K Rowling’s latest Harry Potter book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)“, has been selling like hotcakes, even though the book has not officially been released yet.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - The 7th & Final Harry Potter Book

Consumers have been pre-ordering the final Harry Potter book by J.K. Rowling from sites like Amazon.com and others who have put the book up for pre-sales.� Although Deathly Hallows�isn’t scheduled to be released until July 21, 2007, fans of the popular Harry Potter book series are already scooping it up in mass numbers.

Rowling announced Thursday that “Deathly Hallows” would come out July 21. The previous six books have sold more than 325 million copies in 64 languages and broken countless sales records. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” published in 2005, had an announced first U.S. printing of 10.8 million copies and sold 6.9 million copies in its first 24 hours.

The new Harry Potter book is available in two varieties - Hardcover edition and Deluxe hardcover edition.� There will likely be some additional features & bonuses in the deluxe edition of the book.

Reports have surfaced that Britney Spear’s ex, Kevin Federline, has been hitting on her gal-pal Lindsay Lohan.

Both Lindsay and K-Fed have a great personal history, and Kevin is always out looking for his next pot of gold, but the funny aspect of the story is that Lindsay was reportedly “grossed out” by K-Fed’s attempts to hit on her.

K-Fed supposedly sent Lohan a text message asking if they could hang out - Lohan’s response was less than friendly, so Kevin fired back w/ “firecrotch” - a phrase made popular by one of Paris Hilton’s ex-boyfriends.

I think it’s safe to say that these two won’t be seen together much…

More on this story here.

No, Oprah doesn’t have AIDS…

Oprah Winfrey was tested for HIV Saturday in an attempt to encourage people in South Africa to get tested. Oprah, still in South Africa promoting her new all-girls school, wants to show a good example for the young girls attending her school. Getting tested for AIDS is critical for the people in Africa due to the widespread infection rate.

Oprah’s HIV test results will be held confidential - what? - as will the results of the girls at the school. Ok, so getting tested is showing an example, but hiding the results is too? I don’t think so.

Here’s what Oprah had to say about the HIV testing:

“To be a great leader you must be of sound mind, body and spirit,” Winfrey said. “Part of leadership is having the courage to demonstrate true action. Today I have taken the test to demonstrate why it’s so important.”

More info on Oprah’s HIV test can be found here.

Former NBA player and current Bobcats owner Michael Jordan is getting a divorce.

Seems they don’t get along all that well since Michael has quit playing basketball… well, duh!!!

Looking for Michael Jordan DVD or Chicago Bulls DVD? Click here

I guess he’s trying to imitate Mel Gibson or something, but it’s pretty surprising to see former child star Haley Joel Osment arrested on drunken driving and drug possession charges.

Superior Court Judge John Doyle sentenced the 18-year-old actor to three years probation and ordered Osment to spend 60 hours in an alcohol rehabilitation and education program, as well as attend at least 26 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings over a six-month period.

Osment, who didn’t attend the court hearing, also must pay $1,500 in fines.

The actor’s attorney, David Wood, entered the no contest pleas on his client’s behalf to one count each of misdemeanor driving under the influence and misdemeanor marijuana possession. Two other charges � another misdemeanor DUI and a vehicle code infraction � were dropped by prosecutors.

Authorities said the actor’s blood-alcohol level was measured after the accident at .16 percent, twice the legal limit.

Osment’s movie credits include “The Sixth Sense,” in which he was nominated for an Academy Award, and “Pay It Forward.” He recently finished work on the film “Home of the Giants.”� Full story on MSN News.

Not a great way to start your adult life when your claim to fame is being an innocent little kid in movies.� I guess he’s trying to shed that image and be more like Chris Farley or Mel Gibson (lol).

Cheers kid - have another!