PR Newswire Broadcast Minute for Monday, March 2, 2009

Identity theft complaints significantly increase in 2008

The Federal Trade Commission reports it received about 1.2 million complaints related to fraud, identity theft, and other consumer complaints in 2008. That's approximately 50 percent higher than 2007. Affinion Security Center, a provider of identity theft protection services, also reported over the last six months an increase of about 25 percent in the illegal trade of personal information in online chat rooms where thieves buy and sell stolen information such as credit card and social security numbers. The states reporting the most complaints were Arizona, California, and Florida.

Full story at: http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/main.jsp?resourceid=3930483

U.S. Department of Labor announces boost in weekly unemployment benefits

Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis recently announced a weekly increase in unemployment compensation, as provided for in the stimulus legislation, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, enacted on Feb. 17. The new temporary Federal Additional Compensation program will provide a $25 weekly increase in unemployment compensation for eligible workers. The extra benefits are 100 percent federally funded.

The stimulus legislation also extended the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, which was scheduled to expire on Aug. 27.

Full story at: http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/main.jsp?resourceid=3929794

Analysis: Majority of people killed in teen driver crashes are passengers

The majority of people killed in teen driver crashes continue to be people other than teen drivers themselves, according to an analysis of crash data by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. The analysis shows that about one-third of people killed in crashes involving drivers age 15 to 17 are teen drivers themselves. Nearly two-thirds are passengers, occupants of other vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, and other road users. Nationally, between 1998 and 2007, crashes involving 15-, 16- and 17-year-old drivers killed 28,138 people.

Full story at: http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/main.jsp?resourceid=3930393

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