If someone calls you and says you missed your date for jury duty and could be arrested as a result, hang up the phone. According to various postings on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's website, this is a scam. It works like this:

1. The scammer calls your house and tells you that you missed your jury duty date and there is a warrant out for your arrest.
2. The scammer then tells you can avoid arrest with a small fine, payable by credit card.
3. The scammer will then get your credit card information and any other personal information he can (account number, card number, social security number) from you.
4. The scammer will use your credit information to open new credit cards, apply for loans, and engage in other forms of identity theft.

The FBI notes that any legitimate employees of the U.S. court system will almost always contact you by mail, and will NEVER ask for sensitive information over the phone.

For details about what to do if you have been victimized by this scam, follow the link above to the FBI's website.

Cyberthieves broke into the job search site Monster.com’s database and stole the personal data of at least 1.3 million people. According to the USA Today, Monster released a statement saying it had shut down the “rogue server” being used to steal data. Monster said only names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses were found were stored on the infiltrated server.

To target Monster, thieves put out emails and pop-up adverts pitching job-finding services to get victims to click on a false web link. Clicking popped up in an error message and turned over control of the victim’s computer to the intruder. Infected computers are incorporated into a “zombie” network to spread more email spam, deliver more infections, and steal more data. All of the information typed into the victim’s computer, including user names and passwords for online accounts get collected.

Thieves apparently used stolen data to log into a job recruiter’s Monster account and order contact information for 1.3 million users. The data was used to target the Monster.com users with email scams touting Monster’s services.

David Cole, director of Symantec Security Response team, said “The advice to just stay out of the dark corners of the Internet really doesn't hold water any more. The bad guys are going to legitimate websites and attacking people.”

TJX Companies, the parent company of TJ Maxx, told the Boston Globe that its costs for the largest data breach in corporate history have reached $256 million. The costs include fixing the company’s computer system, dealing with lawsuits and investigations, and other claims stemming from the theft.

Data thieves broke into TJX’s computer system and stole credit and debit card numbers for more than 45 million customers. Authorities say some of the numbers have been used to make fake credit cards that have been used to buy expensive electronics from Wal-Mart and other retailers.

Three months ago, the retailer estimated the damage to amount to only $25 million. Several analysts say TJX’s costs could run as high as $1 billion.

An Oregon woman won $1 million on a scratch-and-win lottery ticket. Too bad she bought the ticket with a stolen credit card. A Jackson County judge recently ruled Christina Goodenow’s winnings were the proceeds of illegal activity and must be forfeited under Oregon law.

The Seattle Times reported Goodenow had asked lottery officials to keep her win quiet, claiming she was a victim of domestic abuse. Goodenow bought the ticket with a credit card belonging to her boyfriend’s dead mother in 2005. Police learned of her crime two weeks later as she continued to use the stolen credit card. Oregon had already paid Goodenow $33,500 which she has mostly spent.

Although Goodenow pled no contest to forgery, cheating, and aggravated theft, she maintains she bought the winning ticket with cash from her own pocket.