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American Morning
Bush and Blair to Meet; Dumpster Diving; "Mod Squad" Actress Releases Autobiography
Aired June 07, 2005 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It is 9:30 on the East Coast here. Welcome back, everybody. Coming up, a look the a the low-tech ways to steal somebody's identity.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, we'll see what crooks can find out about you just by looking through the trash. And you may be helpless to stop it, no matter how much shredding you do. And that is not the kind of thing you want to hear, but we'll get to that story, let you know what you need to know, in a minute.
O'BRIEN: All right. First, though, headlines with Carol Costello. Good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
We start with a story that will not shock you in the least. North Korea is apparently not ready to rejoin six-party talks on its nuclear program. The White House confirming the report to CNN within the past 15 minutes. The decision was reportedly made during a meeting in New York Monday. It was the first time U.S. and North Korean officials met in nearly a month.
The death toll is rising in a new wave of car bombings in Iraq. We've been following this story all morning long. At least 14 people now believed to be dead. Dozens wounded in attacks near Kirkuk. And a new military offensive underway in Tal Afar. These are exclusive pictures in to CNN. You can see forces in the field. At least one American has been killed in this offensive. Nearly 30 suspects now in custody.
The search for a missing Alabama girl in Aruba resumes in full force this morning. Aruba's government gave its employees a half day off Monday. Some 500 volunteers helped with the search. So far a pair of ladies' sunglasses were found, along with a bloody shirt, but it's not clear yet if those items are definitely linked to the case. Two possible suspects were expected to face a judge today, but the court appearance has been delayed possibly until tomorrow. We'll keep you posted.
The jurors in the Michael Jackson trial have some talking to do. Two hours from now, the jury is set to begin its second full day of deliberations. Jackson is reportedly awaiting the verdict at his Neverland Ranch.
And Laci Peterson's mother is writing a tell-all book. Sharon Rocha's book will be titled "For Laci." It will be released in December. Laci's stepfather says everyone has written bits and pieces of the story, but this is going to be the whole truth. She says there are lots of things people don't know about this case, even though so many books have already been written.
HEMMER: She's gone through a very, very public and tough time. Thank you, Carol.
There will be a high-level meeting today at the White House between the president, Bush, and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The two allies have a serious agenda and you're going to hear publicly live here on CNN what they had to say a bit later.
For now, though, here's Suzanne Malveaux at the White House. What do these men want from each other in this meeting today, Suzanne?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bill, of course, both of the leaders want to look good after this meeting. And of course, what they're doing is making a joint announcement. This $674 million in aid that they're pledging to Africa to help with this hunger relief aid. Both countries involved in this.
Scott McClellan just moments ago -- the White House press secretary -- saying, however, it is separate from the G-8 initiative, that which would double aid to Africa in ten years. That is a plan that Blair has been pushing through the G-8. It is something the U.S. so far has refused. This announcement really is meant to perhaps take the sting out of that refusal, the differences between the two leaders, and at the same time recognize the U.S. commitment to Africa.
It's also the outcome of some talks that have happened between the United States and the United Kingdom, particularly over the weekend with the national security adviser Stephen Hadley, a U.S. sherpa and their British counterparts to come up with negotiations to present this kind of joint initiative -- Bill.
HEMMER: Suzanne, so much of what we expect to come out later oftentimes is determined even before Tony Blair arrives in the U.S. Do you have an indication from the White House how much contact these men have with each other? Whether that's a daily basis, a weekly basis, a monthly basis?
MALVEAUX: Well, Bill, often they tell us -- they actually don't tell us when they talk. But these are two men who talk on a regular basis. They are very close. Their relationship is described that way. And they're often bouncing ideas off of one another.
It is not surprising they could come up with this kind of joint initiative to allow both men, both leaders, to walk away with something. The United States, that has been quite frustrated that it has not received the kind of attention or recognition for its aid in Africa. And, of course, Blair, who's been pushing for more.
HEMMER: Suzanne, thanks. Suzanne Malveaux. We'll watching later today, live coverage later today, when the two men hold a joint news conference, 4:45 p.m. this afternoon., that's East Coast time here. Live on CNN -- Soledad. O'BRIEN: Well, millions of Citigroup customers may be at risk for identity fraud. The company says computer tapes containing data on almost four million customers were lost by UPS while in transit to a credit bureau. Citigroup is just the latest corporation to announce a possible security lapse.
And as Keith Oppenheim reports, no matter how careful you are with personal information, it's still pretty easy for thieves to get their hands on your information.
Keith Oppenheim shows us just how easy it is.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: This year, nearly 10 million families could have their most powerful possessions stolen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A seemingly nice guy strolls to a curbside garbage can, warning about the danger of identity thieves.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Pay stubs. In today's world...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OPPENHEIM: But in this TV ad for Fellowes shredders, the twist is, the nice guy is really the bad guy who takes the trash and ultimately his neighbor's identity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Hey, Tom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OPPENHEIM: That got us thinking. If we hit the streets of Chicago at 4:00 a.m., before the garbage trucks arrive, how much personal data could we actually find?
PERRY MYERS, MSI DETECTIVE AGENCY: Good garbage, something that is going to be information that people really shouldn't be throwing out in the trash.
OPPENHEIM: Perry Myers is a private detective in Chicago and expert on identity theft. He took us to places in the city to collect garbage that thought would contain critical information.
(on camera): What you're doing here is not illegal, right?
PERRY: No, it's not illegal. OPPENHEIM (voice-over): As in most of the United States, as long as the person collecting trash is on public property, which we were, garbage is for the taking.
PERRY: This looks like this came from an area we would be interested in.
OPPENHEIM: Myers took us to public alleys where we had access to Dumpsters for medical offices, car dealerships and private homes. At one residence:
PERRY: Well, we've got someone's bank account number.
OPPENHEIM: We immediately spotted a credit notice, complete with an individual's name, date of birth and Social Security, the building blocks of getting a credit card in someone else's name.
PERRY: It doesn't take much to just go ahead and apply for credit and get the card and start charging.
OPPENHEIM: In about two hours, Myers selected about a dozen bags of refuse. We brought them to his offices, where we sorted and sifted, looking for information an identity thief would want. It didn't take long.
OPPENHEIM (on camera): Look at what we have here.
PERRY: An Illinois driver's license.
OPPENHEIM: What can somebody can do with that -- a copy of someone's license like that?
PERRY: Well, create a new identity.
OPPENHEIM (voice-over): Myers said a new identity can be created even when even some of the information is missing and that all of key documents we found had enough for the experienced thief.
(on camera): OK, this is a pay stub. And on it, I have a Social Security number.
PERRY: A Social Security number on this piece of paper, the credit report on here.
(CROSSTALK)
PERRY: I do not see a date of birth yet. Got an income.
OPPENHEIM: Got social and name and address.
MYERS: And their bank and their bank account number.
OPPENHEIM: Their bank account number.
(voice-over): In all, we came across 15 documents with 19 names. Some had Social Security numbers. Others had dates of birth. Two of them had both.
Myers believes all of them could have been converted into stolen identities. One name came from residential trash. The rest came from medical offices and car dealerships.
The lessons?
MYERS: One is that businesses that take your credit information are not guarding it and protecting it the way they should.
OPPENHEIM (on camera): So, identity theft can still happen, even if you shred all your documents and you take care of your personal life well?
MYERS: Correct, yes, because it's not always in your hands.
OPPENHEIM (voice-over): And because of that, Myers' advice is to check your credit at least once a year and to shred personal documents into finer pieces that can't be pieced together. For the record, that 's exactly what we did with all the sensitive documents we found in the garbage.
Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Starting this month, a new federal law requires businesses to shred or destroy all sensitive customer data before it's thrown away -- Bill.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, Andy tries out the first ever disposable video camera for us. That's in "Minding Your Business," just ahead.
HEMMER: Also, we're joined live in studios here by a '60s icon, former "Mod Squad" star Peggy Lipton tells all about her high-profile affairs in a new autobiography. There you are, Peg. Talk to you in a moment here, right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Back in 1968, Peggy Lipton was the picture of cool confidence, a beautiful young star of the hit TV show "The Mod Squad." But now in her new book -- it's called "Breathing Out" -- she reveals her troubled childhood, her affairs with famous men and the break-up of a marriage.
Peggy Lipton joins us. It's nice to see you. I read this last night. It's great.
PEGGY LIPTON, AUTHOR, "BREATHING OUT": All in one night?
O'BRIEN: Actually I'm a really fast reader, so, yes, all in one night. Why did you want to write a book now? LIPTON: I think my life is -- first of all, I think it's interesting, when I look back. But my life has really, really changed over the last couple of years. And I've been private all my life and I thought, you know, if I could shed some light on some of the darker and funnier times that I think -- I think it will open up, you know, my future, my destiny more. So that's why I wrote it.
O'BRIEN: You cover a ton of ground. So let's get right into it. You start off talking about how you were molested by your uncle as a child and how that really seems to set the stage for a lot of the lack of confidence you had and really a lot of the problems you had later in your life. Can you talk about your childhood?
LIPTON: You know, I had wonderful parents and I lived in a beautiful pastoral place, but because they didn't know and they didn't suspect and in those days, remember it was not, you know, something we talked about or wanted to talk about. So it was hard for me to sort of be a good girl in my body and also know that I had to sort of face that all the time. Because it was a trip we would make and that's when I knew it was going to happen.
So I had to hold that in. And not only hold it in, but I refused to sort of look at, you know, myself. And there's a lot of shame around that. And so that pushed me to do certain things and make certain choices that I might not have made, had I had a different childhood.
O'BRIEN: You write a lot about drugs and the '60s and California, where your family moved. I'm going to throw out some names. Because you name a lot of names in the book. You tell me a story. Sammy Davis.
LIPTON: Wired, energetic, fascinating, not for me.
O'BRIEN: Paul McCartney.
LIPTON: Adorable. We were teenagers. I had a huge crush on him, and he's still a lovely man.
O'BRIEN: Elvis.
LIPTON: Sad. Funny. Great sense of humor, and quite lovely underneath the facade.
O'BRIEN: Really. Interesting.
The "Mod Squad," of course, is where you got your fame. Every girl wanted to be you, clearly. What was it like to work on that show and have it really catapult you from, you know, a model, but to a real actress?
LIPTON: It was exciting. I had worked a lot before, so it wasn't my first job. I loved -- I really worked hard in terms of the acting and all that. But it was exciting to have that kind of fame. It took a while to hit, but you know, I -- you know, my ego grew and I did get confidence from that. O'BRIEN: You write a lot about your relationship with Quincy Jones. You got married, you had two children with him and then some stepchildren as well. And you write so lovingly about him in the -- I mean, you clearly to this day are very good friends, even though you went through what had to be a very painful divorce. Why didn't it work out?
LIPTON: I...
O'BRIEN: You say you never had a fight?
LIPTON: Never had a fight.
O'BRIEN: There's no moment where you had this big blow-up and a break-up?
LIPTON: No.
O'BRIEN: What happened?
LIPTON: I think of it now in retrospect and I see it as a spiritual breakdown or a spiritual crisis or a mid-life -- you know whatever you want to term it. It's when you haven't really worked out or been able to work out everything that's happened to you, that's brought you to that point. For whatever reason, you haven't been able to work it through. It's going to hit you. And that's what happened. It hit me. And I -- you know, my mother was ill, I was ill. And you know, my children were now in school all day, he was working.
And I had a lot of time to sort of think about myself, and I just knew that whatever my next step was going to be, it was not going to include a man. It was very sad, because he loved me and I loved him, too. But I knew I had to do it on my own. It sounds trite now, and I try to wrap it up, in a way, but that's what happened. I just hit a wall and I didn't want to be married anymore.
O'BRIEN: You had a bout with colon cancer. How's your health now?
LIPTON: Perfect.
O'BRIEN: Well, you look completely fabulous, head to toe.
LIPTON: Thank you. Perfect. I had my year test, and I'm perfect.
O'BRIEN: Good. I'm glad to hear that.
LIPTON: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Then you have two daughters, who we, of course, followed. Because every so often they pop up in the media, at a party or something. How are the girls?
LIPTON: They're wonderful. You know how that is. Family is wonderful. They're funny... O'BRIEN: Because motherhood really changed you.
LIPTON: Completely.
O'BRIEN: I mean, you're right.
LIPTON: Completely. And it was the only thing that made me feel secure, was to have my own children here, my own beings to coddle and my own, you know, way with nurture. It was really -- it changed my life. And still our relationship is just as much fun, if not more. And they're my best friends.
O'BRIEN: They want to read the book?
LIPTON: No. Absolutely not. They'd rather just, you know, sort of know me as they know me, which is their mom.
O'BRIEN: Do you feel -- I mean, it's "Breathing Out," so is -- was the goal to sort of come to some kind of peace at the end of this when you look back at your life?
LIPTON: Absolutely. And I also felt in some ways that I had been holding my breath all these years and that's why I termed it that, because I could never sort of let down, or release in any way, because I was either afraid that somebody would find out that there was something wrong with me or that I wasn't that great, or -- you know. So there was a genuine insecurity that ran through my life. But, now, yes, I definitely have a peace and you know, I like where I'm at right now.
O'BRIEN: Great. It's a great book. I really enjoyed it. Peggy Lipton, nice to have you here. Thanks a lot.
LIPTON: Nice to be here, thank you.
O'BRIEN: It's called "Breathing Out" -- Bill.
HEMMER: About 11 minutes now before the hour. Check out "CNN LIVE TODAY" coming up next hour. Here's Daryn Kagan. What you working on, Daryn?
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Bill, good morning.
A lot to talk about, about identity theft this morning. Whether it's companies losing data or computer hackers, your privacy, your personal information, is at risk. We have several must-see stories on protecting yourself.
And squirrels raiding the bird feeder. Look a little familiar? Find out what's really going on in your backyard. We're going to take you on a suburban safari. It includes bug sex -- Bill.
HEMMER: Really?
KAGAN: Yes. And can I say, it is great to see you today.
HEMMER: Hey, thanks, Daryn. Nice of you to say so much. Talk to you later. See you in ten minutes, all right?
KAGAN: Yes, absolutely.
HEMMER: All right, ciao. Bye-bye.
Stay tuned for the first ever disposable video camera. And it's not that expensive, too. Andy has details right after this. He is "Minding Your Business" and so are we, after the break on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. Just in, the world's number-one automaker announcing huge layoffs. Here with that story is Andy Serwer, back "Minding Your Business."
Which company? What's happening?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: General Motors, Bill, having its annual meeting this morning, announcing they're going to be laying off 25,000 workers, 25,000 employees over the next three-and-a-half years. This just crossing the tape. That stock is up this morning.
Let's look at the Big Board as well. Let's see what we've got here. Up what is that, 58? Yes, 57. Thank you for helping. Thank you being my eyes.
HEMMER: Are those all people working in this country?
SERWER: It's unclear. This is just coming out of its meeting in Delaware this morning.
I have to tell you, one stock on the move upwards is Google. And it's getting very close. I might be on the hook for some cupcake cakes tomorrow morning, because the stock is now trading at $299.59. And if it breaks $300, I promised Soledad cupcakes.
O'BRIEN: Can you get chocolate and vanilla?
SERWER: Yes, OK. Put your orders in early here.
O'BRIEN: Thank you!
SERWER: This is a really interesting piece of technology we've got here this morning. It is the world's first disposable video camera, right here. It's going to be coming out from CVS. The drug store chain is introducing it. Here are some specs. It costs $30 and you can only transfer it to a DVD that CVS has the process for, which costs another $13. So the whole thing is going to cost about $35 basically. You can record 20 minutes of video, and, of course, it's digital.
And I went down and interviewed Carol Costello. This is Carol Costello unplugged. Let's see if we can do this here. I had to put it near my microphone for the sound, and we'll see if we can come in and listen to my interview with Carol. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SERWER: Hey, Carol Costello, you're a high-powered television journalist. What do you do to prepare for your morning segments?
COSTELLO: Starbucks.
SERWER: Yes.
COSTELLO: Midsound (ph).
SERWER: Midsound?
COSTELLO: Get out?
SERWER: Yes, what else do you do, Carol? Do you do some investigative reporting on the computer?
COSTELLO: Oh, yes, definitely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: That's pretty good.
SERWER: Well, that's pretty cool. I mean, it's very hard to see on-air, but quality is really good, isn't it? And there's Carol. She's talking about reading the newspapers and all kinds of other good stuff. But it would be really good, say, you were going to a wedding on the beach and you didn't want to bring your real video camera to get it sandy or bring it on the airplane. Just bring this little baby, $35.
HEMMER: I think it's cool that Carol's acting like she's working downstairs.
SERWER: Carol actually does do some work downstairs, so if she's listening, Carol, we don't want to give the impression you're doing anything but.
HEMMER: Than you, Andy.
SERWER: You bet.
HEMMER: And huge news from GM. We'll follow the GM news throughout the day.
SERWER: Exactly.
O'BRIEN: Time to check in with Jack. He's got the Question of the Day.
CAFFERTY: Another piece of technology I'll never own.
SERWER: Oh, come on.
O'BRIEN: Look forward. CAFFERTY: Question of the Day -- you want to break it? Just aim it at me. It'll be like the ones in the last segment.
What's behind the decline in violent crime in this country? Martha in Pennsylvania, "Advances in the forensic sciences in the past decade which have been heavily publicized by television shows such as the 'CSI' series, 'Forensic Files,' et cetera may make potential criminals think twice about committing violent crime."
Natalie in Wisconsin, "The idea that the Roe v. Wade decision of the 1970s has brought about the decline in crime due to the non-birth of unwanted children who may ultimately resort to crime is an interesting premise."
And Chad from Chicago writes, "Everybody is too busy watching the Michael Jackson trial to commit any violent crimes. I am barricading myself in my home right now in anticipation of the verdict."
O'BRIEN: You know, of all the theories, I think Chad may be the closest.
SERWER: Yes.
HEMMER: What you got there, Soledad?
O'BRIEN: I'm seeing Jack and a react shot, cutaway, cutaway Hemmer, cutaway everybody. This is pretty cool.
CAFFERTY: You could have been a great documentary filmmaker.
O'BRIEN: You know, there's always time, right?
SERWER: That's it.
HEMMER: There's the future.
Tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING, Nancy Grace is going to stop by from Headline. She's got a new book out. It's called "Objection." We're back in a moment here, right after this on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired June 7, 2005 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It is 9:30 on the East Coast here. Welcome back, everybody. Coming up, a look the a the low-tech ways to steal somebody's identity.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, we'll see what crooks can find out about you just by looking through the trash. And you may be helpless to stop it, no matter how much shredding you do. And that is not the kind of thing you want to hear, but we'll get to that story, let you know what you need to know, in a minute.
O'BRIEN: All right. First, though, headlines with Carol Costello. Good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
We start with a story that will not shock you in the least. North Korea is apparently not ready to rejoin six-party talks on its nuclear program. The White House confirming the report to CNN within the past 15 minutes. The decision was reportedly made during a meeting in New York Monday. It was the first time U.S. and North Korean officials met in nearly a month.
The death toll is rising in a new wave of car bombings in Iraq. We've been following this story all morning long. At least 14 people now believed to be dead. Dozens wounded in attacks near Kirkuk. And a new military offensive underway in Tal Afar. These are exclusive pictures in to CNN. You can see forces in the field. At least one American has been killed in this offensive. Nearly 30 suspects now in custody.
The search for a missing Alabama girl in Aruba resumes in full force this morning. Aruba's government gave its employees a half day off Monday. Some 500 volunteers helped with the search. So far a pair of ladies' sunglasses were found, along with a bloody shirt, but it's not clear yet if those items are definitely linked to the case. Two possible suspects were expected to face a judge today, but the court appearance has been delayed possibly until tomorrow. We'll keep you posted.
The jurors in the Michael Jackson trial have some talking to do. Two hours from now, the jury is set to begin its second full day of deliberations. Jackson is reportedly awaiting the verdict at his Neverland Ranch.
And Laci Peterson's mother is writing a tell-all book. Sharon Rocha's book will be titled "For Laci." It will be released in December. Laci's stepfather says everyone has written bits and pieces of the story, but this is going to be the whole truth. She says there are lots of things people don't know about this case, even though so many books have already been written.
HEMMER: She's gone through a very, very public and tough time. Thank you, Carol.
There will be a high-level meeting today at the White House between the president, Bush, and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The two allies have a serious agenda and you're going to hear publicly live here on CNN what they had to say a bit later.
For now, though, here's Suzanne Malveaux at the White House. What do these men want from each other in this meeting today, Suzanne?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bill, of course, both of the leaders want to look good after this meeting. And of course, what they're doing is making a joint announcement. This $674 million in aid that they're pledging to Africa to help with this hunger relief aid. Both countries involved in this.
Scott McClellan just moments ago -- the White House press secretary -- saying, however, it is separate from the G-8 initiative, that which would double aid to Africa in ten years. That is a plan that Blair has been pushing through the G-8. It is something the U.S. so far has refused. This announcement really is meant to perhaps take the sting out of that refusal, the differences between the two leaders, and at the same time recognize the U.S. commitment to Africa.
It's also the outcome of some talks that have happened between the United States and the United Kingdom, particularly over the weekend with the national security adviser Stephen Hadley, a U.S. sherpa and their British counterparts to come up with negotiations to present this kind of joint initiative -- Bill.
HEMMER: Suzanne, so much of what we expect to come out later oftentimes is determined even before Tony Blair arrives in the U.S. Do you have an indication from the White House how much contact these men have with each other? Whether that's a daily basis, a weekly basis, a monthly basis?
MALVEAUX: Well, Bill, often they tell us -- they actually don't tell us when they talk. But these are two men who talk on a regular basis. They are very close. Their relationship is described that way. And they're often bouncing ideas off of one another.
It is not surprising they could come up with this kind of joint initiative to allow both men, both leaders, to walk away with something. The United States, that has been quite frustrated that it has not received the kind of attention or recognition for its aid in Africa. And, of course, Blair, who's been pushing for more.
HEMMER: Suzanne, thanks. Suzanne Malveaux. We'll watching later today, live coverage later today, when the two men hold a joint news conference, 4:45 p.m. this afternoon., that's East Coast time here. Live on CNN -- Soledad. O'BRIEN: Well, millions of Citigroup customers may be at risk for identity fraud. The company says computer tapes containing data on almost four million customers were lost by UPS while in transit to a credit bureau. Citigroup is just the latest corporation to announce a possible security lapse.
And as Keith Oppenheim reports, no matter how careful you are with personal information, it's still pretty easy for thieves to get their hands on your information.
Keith Oppenheim shows us just how easy it is.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: This year, nearly 10 million families could have their most powerful possessions stolen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A seemingly nice guy strolls to a curbside garbage can, warning about the danger of identity thieves.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Pay stubs. In today's world...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OPPENHEIM: But in this TV ad for Fellowes shredders, the twist is, the nice guy is really the bad guy who takes the trash and ultimately his neighbor's identity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Hey, Tom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OPPENHEIM: That got us thinking. If we hit the streets of Chicago at 4:00 a.m., before the garbage trucks arrive, how much personal data could we actually find?
PERRY MYERS, MSI DETECTIVE AGENCY: Good garbage, something that is going to be information that people really shouldn't be throwing out in the trash.
OPPENHEIM: Perry Myers is a private detective in Chicago and expert on identity theft. He took us to places in the city to collect garbage that thought would contain critical information.
(on camera): What you're doing here is not illegal, right?
PERRY: No, it's not illegal. OPPENHEIM (voice-over): As in most of the United States, as long as the person collecting trash is on public property, which we were, garbage is for the taking.
PERRY: This looks like this came from an area we would be interested in.
OPPENHEIM: Myers took us to public alleys where we had access to Dumpsters for medical offices, car dealerships and private homes. At one residence:
PERRY: Well, we've got someone's bank account number.
OPPENHEIM: We immediately spotted a credit notice, complete with an individual's name, date of birth and Social Security, the building blocks of getting a credit card in someone else's name.
PERRY: It doesn't take much to just go ahead and apply for credit and get the card and start charging.
OPPENHEIM: In about two hours, Myers selected about a dozen bags of refuse. We brought them to his offices, where we sorted and sifted, looking for information an identity thief would want. It didn't take long.
OPPENHEIM (on camera): Look at what we have here.
PERRY: An Illinois driver's license.
OPPENHEIM: What can somebody can do with that -- a copy of someone's license like that?
PERRY: Well, create a new identity.
OPPENHEIM (voice-over): Myers said a new identity can be created even when even some of the information is missing and that all of key documents we found had enough for the experienced thief.
(on camera): OK, this is a pay stub. And on it, I have a Social Security number.
PERRY: A Social Security number on this piece of paper, the credit report on here.
(CROSSTALK)
PERRY: I do not see a date of birth yet. Got an income.
OPPENHEIM: Got social and name and address.
MYERS: And their bank and their bank account number.
OPPENHEIM: Their bank account number.
(voice-over): In all, we came across 15 documents with 19 names. Some had Social Security numbers. Others had dates of birth. Two of them had both.
Myers believes all of them could have been converted into stolen identities. One name came from residential trash. The rest came from medical offices and car dealerships.
The lessons?
MYERS: One is that businesses that take your credit information are not guarding it and protecting it the way they should.
OPPENHEIM (on camera): So, identity theft can still happen, even if you shred all your documents and you take care of your personal life well?
MYERS: Correct, yes, because it's not always in your hands.
OPPENHEIM (voice-over): And because of that, Myers' advice is to check your credit at least once a year and to shred personal documents into finer pieces that can't be pieced together. For the record, that 's exactly what we did with all the sensitive documents we found in the garbage.
Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Starting this month, a new federal law requires businesses to shred or destroy all sensitive customer data before it's thrown away -- Bill.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, Andy tries out the first ever disposable video camera for us. That's in "Minding Your Business," just ahead.
HEMMER: Also, we're joined live in studios here by a '60s icon, former "Mod Squad" star Peggy Lipton tells all about her high-profile affairs in a new autobiography. There you are, Peg. Talk to you in a moment here, right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Back in 1968, Peggy Lipton was the picture of cool confidence, a beautiful young star of the hit TV show "The Mod Squad." But now in her new book -- it's called "Breathing Out" -- she reveals her troubled childhood, her affairs with famous men and the break-up of a marriage.
Peggy Lipton joins us. It's nice to see you. I read this last night. It's great.
PEGGY LIPTON, AUTHOR, "BREATHING OUT": All in one night?
O'BRIEN: Actually I'm a really fast reader, so, yes, all in one night. Why did you want to write a book now? LIPTON: I think my life is -- first of all, I think it's interesting, when I look back. But my life has really, really changed over the last couple of years. And I've been private all my life and I thought, you know, if I could shed some light on some of the darker and funnier times that I think -- I think it will open up, you know, my future, my destiny more. So that's why I wrote it.
O'BRIEN: You cover a ton of ground. So let's get right into it. You start off talking about how you were molested by your uncle as a child and how that really seems to set the stage for a lot of the lack of confidence you had and really a lot of the problems you had later in your life. Can you talk about your childhood?
LIPTON: You know, I had wonderful parents and I lived in a beautiful pastoral place, but because they didn't know and they didn't suspect and in those days, remember it was not, you know, something we talked about or wanted to talk about. So it was hard for me to sort of be a good girl in my body and also know that I had to sort of face that all the time. Because it was a trip we would make and that's when I knew it was going to happen.
So I had to hold that in. And not only hold it in, but I refused to sort of look at, you know, myself. And there's a lot of shame around that. And so that pushed me to do certain things and make certain choices that I might not have made, had I had a different childhood.
O'BRIEN: You write a lot about drugs and the '60s and California, where your family moved. I'm going to throw out some names. Because you name a lot of names in the book. You tell me a story. Sammy Davis.
LIPTON: Wired, energetic, fascinating, not for me.
O'BRIEN: Paul McCartney.
LIPTON: Adorable. We were teenagers. I had a huge crush on him, and he's still a lovely man.
O'BRIEN: Elvis.
LIPTON: Sad. Funny. Great sense of humor, and quite lovely underneath the facade.
O'BRIEN: Really. Interesting.
The "Mod Squad," of course, is where you got your fame. Every girl wanted to be you, clearly. What was it like to work on that show and have it really catapult you from, you know, a model, but to a real actress?
LIPTON: It was exciting. I had worked a lot before, so it wasn't my first job. I loved -- I really worked hard in terms of the acting and all that. But it was exciting to have that kind of fame. It took a while to hit, but you know, I -- you know, my ego grew and I did get confidence from that. O'BRIEN: You write a lot about your relationship with Quincy Jones. You got married, you had two children with him and then some stepchildren as well. And you write so lovingly about him in the -- I mean, you clearly to this day are very good friends, even though you went through what had to be a very painful divorce. Why didn't it work out?
LIPTON: I...
O'BRIEN: You say you never had a fight?
LIPTON: Never had a fight.
O'BRIEN: There's no moment where you had this big blow-up and a break-up?
LIPTON: No.
O'BRIEN: What happened?
LIPTON: I think of it now in retrospect and I see it as a spiritual breakdown or a spiritual crisis or a mid-life -- you know whatever you want to term it. It's when you haven't really worked out or been able to work out everything that's happened to you, that's brought you to that point. For whatever reason, you haven't been able to work it through. It's going to hit you. And that's what happened. It hit me. And I -- you know, my mother was ill, I was ill. And you know, my children were now in school all day, he was working.
And I had a lot of time to sort of think about myself, and I just knew that whatever my next step was going to be, it was not going to include a man. It was very sad, because he loved me and I loved him, too. But I knew I had to do it on my own. It sounds trite now, and I try to wrap it up, in a way, but that's what happened. I just hit a wall and I didn't want to be married anymore.
O'BRIEN: You had a bout with colon cancer. How's your health now?
LIPTON: Perfect.
O'BRIEN: Well, you look completely fabulous, head to toe.
LIPTON: Thank you. Perfect. I had my year test, and I'm perfect.
O'BRIEN: Good. I'm glad to hear that.
LIPTON: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Then you have two daughters, who we, of course, followed. Because every so often they pop up in the media, at a party or something. How are the girls?
LIPTON: They're wonderful. You know how that is. Family is wonderful. They're funny... O'BRIEN: Because motherhood really changed you.
LIPTON: Completely.
O'BRIEN: I mean, you're right.
LIPTON: Completely. And it was the only thing that made me feel secure, was to have my own children here, my own beings to coddle and my own, you know, way with nurture. It was really -- it changed my life. And still our relationship is just as much fun, if not more. And they're my best friends.
O'BRIEN: They want to read the book?
LIPTON: No. Absolutely not. They'd rather just, you know, sort of know me as they know me, which is their mom.
O'BRIEN: Do you feel -- I mean, it's "Breathing Out," so is -- was the goal to sort of come to some kind of peace at the end of this when you look back at your life?
LIPTON: Absolutely. And I also felt in some ways that I had been holding my breath all these years and that's why I termed it that, because I could never sort of let down, or release in any way, because I was either afraid that somebody would find out that there was something wrong with me or that I wasn't that great, or -- you know. So there was a genuine insecurity that ran through my life. But, now, yes, I definitely have a peace and you know, I like where I'm at right now.
O'BRIEN: Great. It's a great book. I really enjoyed it. Peggy Lipton, nice to have you here. Thanks a lot.
LIPTON: Nice to be here, thank you.
O'BRIEN: It's called "Breathing Out" -- Bill.
HEMMER: About 11 minutes now before the hour. Check out "CNN LIVE TODAY" coming up next hour. Here's Daryn Kagan. What you working on, Daryn?
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Bill, good morning.
A lot to talk about, about identity theft this morning. Whether it's companies losing data or computer hackers, your privacy, your personal information, is at risk. We have several must-see stories on protecting yourself.
And squirrels raiding the bird feeder. Look a little familiar? Find out what's really going on in your backyard. We're going to take you on a suburban safari. It includes bug sex -- Bill.
HEMMER: Really?
KAGAN: Yes. And can I say, it is great to see you today.
HEMMER: Hey, thanks, Daryn. Nice of you to say so much. Talk to you later. See you in ten minutes, all right?
KAGAN: Yes, absolutely.
HEMMER: All right, ciao. Bye-bye.
Stay tuned for the first ever disposable video camera. And it's not that expensive, too. Andy has details right after this. He is "Minding Your Business" and so are we, after the break on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. Just in, the world's number-one automaker announcing huge layoffs. Here with that story is Andy Serwer, back "Minding Your Business."
Which company? What's happening?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: General Motors, Bill, having its annual meeting this morning, announcing they're going to be laying off 25,000 workers, 25,000 employees over the next three-and-a-half years. This just crossing the tape. That stock is up this morning.
Let's look at the Big Board as well. Let's see what we've got here. Up what is that, 58? Yes, 57. Thank you for helping. Thank you being my eyes.
HEMMER: Are those all people working in this country?
SERWER: It's unclear. This is just coming out of its meeting in Delaware this morning.
I have to tell you, one stock on the move upwards is Google. And it's getting very close. I might be on the hook for some cupcake cakes tomorrow morning, because the stock is now trading at $299.59. And if it breaks $300, I promised Soledad cupcakes.
O'BRIEN: Can you get chocolate and vanilla?
SERWER: Yes, OK. Put your orders in early here.
O'BRIEN: Thank you!
SERWER: This is a really interesting piece of technology we've got here this morning. It is the world's first disposable video camera, right here. It's going to be coming out from CVS. The drug store chain is introducing it. Here are some specs. It costs $30 and you can only transfer it to a DVD that CVS has the process for, which costs another $13. So the whole thing is going to cost about $35 basically. You can record 20 minutes of video, and, of course, it's digital.
And I went down and interviewed Carol Costello. This is Carol Costello unplugged. Let's see if we can do this here. I had to put it near my microphone for the sound, and we'll see if we can come in and listen to my interview with Carol. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SERWER: Hey, Carol Costello, you're a high-powered television journalist. What do you do to prepare for your morning segments?
COSTELLO: Starbucks.
SERWER: Yes.
COSTELLO: Midsound (ph).
SERWER: Midsound?
COSTELLO: Get out?
SERWER: Yes, what else do you do, Carol? Do you do some investigative reporting on the computer?
COSTELLO: Oh, yes, definitely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: That's pretty good.
SERWER: Well, that's pretty cool. I mean, it's very hard to see on-air, but quality is really good, isn't it? And there's Carol. She's talking about reading the newspapers and all kinds of other good stuff. But it would be really good, say, you were going to a wedding on the beach and you didn't want to bring your real video camera to get it sandy or bring it on the airplane. Just bring this little baby, $35.
HEMMER: I think it's cool that Carol's acting like she's working downstairs.
SERWER: Carol actually does do some work downstairs, so if she's listening, Carol, we don't want to give the impression you're doing anything but.
HEMMER: Than you, Andy.
SERWER: You bet.
HEMMER: And huge news from GM. We'll follow the GM news throughout the day.
SERWER: Exactly.
O'BRIEN: Time to check in with Jack. He's got the Question of the Day.
CAFFERTY: Another piece of technology I'll never own.
SERWER: Oh, come on.
O'BRIEN: Look forward. CAFFERTY: Question of the Day -- you want to break it? Just aim it at me. It'll be like the ones in the last segment.
What's behind the decline in violent crime in this country? Martha in Pennsylvania, "Advances in the forensic sciences in the past decade which have been heavily publicized by television shows such as the 'CSI' series, 'Forensic Files,' et cetera may make potential criminals think twice about committing violent crime."
Natalie in Wisconsin, "The idea that the Roe v. Wade decision of the 1970s has brought about the decline in crime due to the non-birth of unwanted children who may ultimately resort to crime is an interesting premise."
And Chad from Chicago writes, "Everybody is too busy watching the Michael Jackson trial to commit any violent crimes. I am barricading myself in my home right now in anticipation of the verdict."
O'BRIEN: You know, of all the theories, I think Chad may be the closest.
SERWER: Yes.
HEMMER: What you got there, Soledad?
O'BRIEN: I'm seeing Jack and a react shot, cutaway, cutaway Hemmer, cutaway everybody. This is pretty cool.
CAFFERTY: You could have been a great documentary filmmaker.
O'BRIEN: You know, there's always time, right?
SERWER: That's it.
HEMMER: There's the future.
Tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING, Nancy Grace is going to stop by from Headline. She's got a new book out. It's called "Objection." We're back in a moment here, right after this on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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