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Identity Theft in the Internet Age; Families Staying Fit Together; "Highlights for Children" Anniversary; John King Discusses President's Iraq Trip

Aired June 14, 2006 - 15:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Shredder, shmedder. You may think that you're doing everything to protect yourself from identity theft, but you are so wrong.
CNN's Drew Griffin found it's all too easy for crooks to come up with your vital statistics.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What this woman knows about you, or more accurately could know about you, is frightening.

B.J. OSTERGREN, "THE VIRGINIA WATCHDOG": Yes. It is so easy, so quick. And let me show you.

GRIFFIN: B.J. Ostergren, also known as "The Virginia Watchdog," is infuriated about how easy it is for her to find your name, Social Security number, date of birth and even your signature.

OSTERGREN: Look. Here is a Bank of America loan number.

GRIFFIN: Anything anyone would need to steal your identity right online, and put there by the government.

OSTERGREN: This is another divorce I printed out this morning. The father was in the Air Force and there is his Social Security number.

GRIFFIN (on camera): He would die if he knew this.

OSTERGREN: They have no clue.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): How did it happen? Ostergren says there was a big push in the last decade to push the access of government records into the 21st century. A paperless society, everything accessible at your finger tips via the Internet, including government records, historically kept inside courthouses, inside clerks' offices, behind government counters. Now many of those government records across the country can all be accessed by B.J. Ostergren, right here in the crowded office of her rural Virginia home.

OSTERGREN: But are they public records? Yes, they're public. But there is a huge difference from driving to the courthouse and looking at it right here. Would I drive there to look at this and go through the records? No. Would I have driven to Miami-Dade to get Jeb Bush's? No.

GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: This meeting was a very productive one.

GRIFFIN: Did she say Jeb Bush? Yes, the president's brother. To prove her point she has gone on celebrity style identity hunts. The governor of Florida's Social Security number posted along with other Floridians.

OSTERGREN: I sat right at this very computer and got that record off the Florida Web site.

GRIFFIN: Jeb Bush has since had his Social blacked out, but plenty of records in Florida are still there for the taking.

OSTERGREN: Let's see. Here is Brevard County.

GRIFFIN: With information like your Social Security number your signature, even your date of birth, a thief can pretend he's you. And it could cost you dearly.

OSTERGREN: You can get bank loans, you could get fake paper, you could come into this country using this man's information. You could have -- look, document fraud is a big thing. Mortgage fraud is a huge thing.

GRIFFIN (on camera): She can access almost any record on anyone, anywhere, even perfect strangers here in New York City, many who would be shocked to learn that retired woman in rural Virginia can learn so much about them from Web sites provided by the government that she could easily steal their identity.

(voice-over): Upon searching further, we also found talk show host Kelly Ripa and her husband.

OSTERGREN: Yes, and with their home addresses. They own, apparently, two places.

GRIFFIN: Ostergren made exposing this electronic privacy gap her mission four years ago, when a concerned stranger warned her that her personal information was about to go online. Now she wants everyone to be warned.

She has set up a Web site to lobby governments and financial institutions to stop posting this information and she now takes the time to call strangers herself and let them know the risks.

OSTERGREN: It infuriates me no end but what can I do? I think people should see what I'm showing you and people should see, you know, what -- you want to see Colin Powell's.

GRIFFIN: On a Virginia Web site, she found the former secretary of state's social security number, his wife's, their Virginia address and even signatures.

OSTERGREN: You can get that record and on the first page of that document, here it is right here, you see page one, with his home address here.

GRIFFIN: We decided to check for ourselves. Ostergren suggested we look at Phoenix, Arizona. Maricopa County. Per capita, it has the highest rate of identity theft fraud in the country. Sitting at a computer, in Atlanta, we were a bit taken back when we went to the Maricopa County Recorders Office Web site and found just about every document you could imagine and personal information that you would never want others to get.

(on camera): Social Security number right there.

(voice-over): So we physically went to the Maricopa County Recorders Office and ran into a local resident, Phyllis Montgomery, who was shocked when we showed her all of her personal information.

(on camera): Little surprising?

PHYLLIS MONTGOMERY, MARICOPA COUNTY RESIDENT: Very surprising, very scary. Very scary because this is private information. Everybody should not have information dealing with exactly where to come and murder me or pick me up or...

GRIFFIN (voice-over): The recorder's office here posts a sign warning people their information will be made available on the Internet. But available where? And who is the warning for? Using the Internet, we randomly looked up Michael Russo, who lives in Phoenix. He never used a computer and doesn't remember ever being in the recorder's office.

MICHAEL RUSSO, MARICOPA COUNTY RESIDENT: Your privacy is your privacy. Up until they come out with these computers.

GRIFFIN: Michael Russo ripped up our copies of his personal documents right in front of us. But we can easily print out another copy right on the county Web site.

Recorder Helen Purcell says she is working with the state of Arizona to figure out how to cleanse the records, like blackening out Social Security numbers. But she admits that in their rush to post the information online, they did not realize how easy they were making it for criminals intent on committing fraud.

HELEN PURCELL, MARICOPA COUNTY RECORDER: Maybe at the outset of that all of these things weren't thought about.

GRIFFIN: B.J. Ostergren, the Virginia watchdog...

OSTERGREN: There it is.

GRIFFIN: ... couldn't agree more. The question now, she says what, if anything, is anyone going to do about it?

OSTERGREN: We are very stupid in this country. Very stupid. This is spoonfeeding criminals.

(END VIDEOTAPE) PHILLIPS: She just laid it out, didn't she?

GRIFFIN: Very passionate.

PHILLIPS: Yes, no kidding. Well, can't this information just be taken off the sites?

GRIFFIN: You know, if it were only that easy. But this stuff has been going on these Web sites for years, and the recorders say, look, it's out there. The only way we can do this is to bring back all these documents, millions and millions of documents, literally take a marker and black out the information, and put it back on the Web site. Way too expensive. And they say they simply cannot bring that information back in.

PHILLIPS: And poor Mr. Russo, the guy in your piece, you know, ripping up your document. I mean, he's never even used a computer before.

GRIFFIN: So how did they get on, right?

PHILLIPS: Right!

GRIFFIN: When you fill out your mortgage papers, when you do any kind of financial loans at a bank, a lot of this stuff is recorded, unbeknownst to you, at the courthouse. And so these financial institutions are basically putting your official documents into the public record and those are going out on these Web sites. That's how Mr. Russo's got on there. And he had no idea. He had never been to the recorder's office.

PHILLIPS: But is there any way to prove that it's actually being used ...

GRIFFIN: ... to commit fraud?

PHILLIPS: Right.

GRIFFIN: You know, it's very difficult, and police will tell you -- we've done a lot of these identity theft issues. Very difficult to prove where the thief actually stole your identity from, but Maricopa County in Arizona has the highest rate of identity fraud and thievery in the country. One in six people out there are a victim. It also happens to have the most information online.

PHILLIPS: And I know we were joking around shredder, shmedder, but you know what? You really -- I mean, I know that's one step you can do. You have got to shred your mail. You shouldn't just toss it out in full because there's so much information on there and people, you know, go through the trash and everything else you can imagine.

(CROSSTALK)

GRIFFIN: You have to limit everywhere where somebody can have access to your information, but this is an area where there's really not much you can do, and it's out there. PHILLIPS: Wow. Legislation maybe, that's the next step? Something?

GRIFFIN: Legislation is going to cost money.

PHILLIPS: Yes.

GRIFFIN: If politicians want to pay for it, they think it's a problem, each individual county is going to have to put up millions. They're trying to do that in Florida. They're spending millions and millions of dollars to do that in Florida. They're finding out it's taking a huge amount of time. They've just pushed back the date. They're going to have it completed by 2008.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Drew.

Well, you can see more reporting from Drew, of course, on "PAULA ZAHN NOW," weeknights, 8:00 Eastern, 5:00 Pacific.

All right, everybody, into the pool. Seriously, we mean the whole family. It's all about staying healthy and keeping families strong. That story straight ahead on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, we know it's a challenge, finding time for your family and your workout. So why not join the kids at the pool or on the yoga mat? Fitness programs for the whole family are a trend, and the subject of today's "Fit Nation" report from CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Whether with music, in a yoga class, or in the pool, these kids on the south shore of Boston are having fun, staying fit, and beating the obesity odds.

WAYNE WESTCOTT, FITNESS RESEARCH DIRECTOR: The latest statistics from the American Medical Association show that 10 percent of preadolescents below the age of 5 are already obese. Ten percent of 2 to 5-year-olds are obese. So we need to start as early as we can to develop those lifelong behavioral attitudes and actions.

SANJAY: Starting early may be more important than ever. Sixty- five percent of American adults are now either overweight or obese. But those who run this YMCA near Boston believe by putting an emphasis on family fitness, they can make a huge impact on the health of the next generation.

NATALIE SHEARD, VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS: Most of our kids are watching TV, they're playing video games, they're text messaging their friends instead of going out to the field to play with friends and play kickball or kick the can.

GUPTA: The goal here is to get everyone in the family off the couch, and into a place where parents don't have to worry as much.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I grew up, we would spend our entire summer out of doors playing. You could do that. Your mother would send you outside and not see you for the whole day and not worry about it. But unfortunately now, you can't really send the kids out.

You have to keep a very close eye on them, so they don't get to spend as much time out, free playing. So coming to the Y was a way to encourage them to be active and to exercise.

GUPTA: In fact, research shows the single most effective factor in changing a child's behavior is the role model of a highly respected adult.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exercise is good because it makes your muscles strong.

GUPTA: The good news when it comes to fitness, says Wayne Westcott, is it doesn't have to take a lot of effort to be relatively fit.

WESTCOTT: So 20 minutes of strength exercise twice a week will give you all the benefits you need in terms of building a strong you need in terms of building musculoskeletal, and 20 minutes of aerobic- type activity. Whatever it might be, 20 minutes three days a week of aerobic activity will be sufficient.

GUPTA: And by finding fun, physical activity for the whole family, exercise doesn't have to be drudgery or a drain on precious time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's fun to spend time with your family and to exercise with them.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, if you're worried about your health or your children's, be sure to watch "Fit Nation" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta Sunday at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

The steep descent into a war zone. Takeoff undercover of darkness. What it is like on Air Force One for the president's secret trip to Iraq? Our John King knows and gives us a behind the scenes view when LIVE FROM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Carol Lin working a developing story for us right now. Carol, what do you have?

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Kyra, we've seen a lot of things off the side of an interstate, right?

PHILLIPS: Oh, yes. LIN: I've never seen a couple of horses though, and I can't imagine what is going through their minds. Take a look at this. This is I-95 just outside of Baltimore. Take a look, off to the side, it looks like an overturned car or truck. That white vehicle on its side is definitely horse trailer. And at one point these horses had gotten out of the trailer and they were running alongside of I-95, the interstate itself.

But it looks like they have them calmed down, which is maybe calmer than I would be if my vehicle had turned over with me inside of it. You see the emergency response, there fire trucks on the side and there is the traffic going into -- pretty close to -- about an hour away from rush hour. This is the northbound lane of Interstate 95. But amazing pictures there as they try to get the scene situated and cleaned up and those horses home.

PHILLIPS: I guess there's one way to get out of that mess, just go horseback riding there.

LIN: Yes, there's one way to get home, true. But you might be stopped at the local 7-Eleven.

PHILLIPS: Carol, thanks.

Well a chance to become an American, a chance to celebrate the flag. A special Flag Day citizenship ceremony for the USS Intrepid Museum in New York today, with Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez presiding. Gutierrez came to the U.S. in 1960 and became a citizen six years later.

At 60, it still has a youthful outlook. And now "Highlights for Children" magazine is celebrating some highlights of his own, marking its 60th anniversary this month and printing its one billionth copy today.

For just about every child or parent, "Highlights for Children" has been hard to avoid. If you didn't get it in your mailbox, well it was sitting in the doctor's office, more than likely in the waiting room. Sometimes the same issue for years. A word of reassurance for baby boomers, the "Highlights" fun with a purpose format, it hasn't changed much. Regular features still include the hidden pictures, timber toes and Goofus and Gallant, the never ending story of a boy who always does everything right and a boy who always does everything wrong. In the anniversary issue, Gallant helps Timber Toe get ready for a party. Goofus, well who apparently hasn't learned anything in all these years, sneaks a taste of cake frosting.

More LIVE FROM coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, as the whole world knows by now, President Bush's trip to Baghdad was a top secret operation. Even most members of his cabinet were kept in the dark. Our chief national correspondent John King was among the very few who got to go. JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're told going in there would be no communication. On the flight, there were more agents than normal. We were given flack jackets as we were going in. We were told when Air Force one lands that it was quite a quick landing for a 747 -- came down out of the sky pretty quickly. We would be rushed off to helicopters, we would get on those helicopters, helmets and other gear on the helicopter floors. Six-minute flight, you're shaking a little bit, you're flying very low over the rooftops, machine guns out the front and both sides looking down below. Six- minute flight to the Green Zone, then a very quick motorcade and you're into the building that used to be a palace in the Saddam Hussein government, now the temporary U.S. embassy.

PHILLIPS: And we have some of the photos that you were actually able to take in that quick period of time. This one right here the warning, stay back 100 meters. Tell me, did all the cars have this warning? Did they have to stay a certain amount apart?

KING: No, I took this actually as a joke. And as you see, I need to keep my day job. I'm not much of a photographer here. But we're moving around. I'm in this vehicle behind this vehicle, we're bouncing around, the roads are very bumpy. And I was just struck by the irony of it. Several of the vehicles had this on the back, warning, stay back 100 meters. We were about that far away from that car, we were maybe two or three meters away from that car.

PHILLIPS: So what's the point of the warning?

KING: The warning is for normal circumstances. When that car is out on the road, it's an embassy vehicle, a government vehicle. If it is outside driving on the normal streets of Baghdad, that's essentially a warning. It's just to the left -- you can't see it in the photograph, the same words in Arabic. It's a warning essentially if you're driving behind a dump truck, it says stay back because it might dump stuff on you. It's a government vehicle, if you will. And for security purposes, they want people to stay back.

PHILLIPS: So it's an episode of "24." If they see some unusual car coming up on him on a normal day in Baghdad, I mean that alerts whoever is inside to pay. This could be trouble.

KING: That's pretty much, that's the case.

PHILLIPS: All right, and this is inside the helicopter, right?

KING: This is in the helicopter. This is about halfway on our six- minute trip from Baghdad International Airport to the Green Zone, which is the fortified headquarters. And this is the very nice gentleman in the back who is making sure nobody shoots up at us. The machine gunner in the back and young kid, and he was going back and forth.

Any time anything moved on the ground, you would see him swing over, and look down and aim, and swing over and look down. There were again, the gunner in the back, two gunners up on the side windows, to the front of the helicopter. We had no incidents at all. On the way out, there was a radio report of some random gunfire. We didn't see it, we didn't hear it. No incidents at all going in, but again, they're protecting the president of the United States in the daylight, a 747 with a big flag on the back tail, and the words "United States of America" on the side that just landed at that airport. So if there was anyone around who didn't think much of the United States of America, they'd have a pretty good idea at that point that the president was on the ground in Baghdad.

PHILLIPS: Reporters learned about the president's trip about 24 hours before Air Force One left Washington. They were under strict orders not to tell anyone, including their spouses. But Ali Velshi, according to John King, his nine-year-old daughter was able to figure it out.

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