In case you missed 60 Minutes this past Sunday, Nov. 25, the segment on I.D. Theft with Leslie Stahl, is on the CBS website. According to her report, store front retailers are easy marks for hackers to steal credit card information. No sophisticated equipment is needed and they can set up right outside the store in their car and get all the information they need. Retailers know about the upgraded security programs they need to prevent this but because it's so expensive, they continue to use outdated programs. Hackers can easily determine which programs are in use.

Major direct mail catalogers use data providers to assist in verifying the identity of customers at time of payment. A whole host of information is available to them like the last 4 digit of the SSN or the birth city or the type of car driven. This is to keep fraud down, not steal identification.

I can't remember the last time a retail cashier even compared the signature on my card to the sales receipt! Watch the 60 Minutes segment and then remember it the next time you check out.

If you haven't yet heard about Marc Ecko's 3/4 of a million dollar purchase of Barry Bonds' 756th home run baseball, come out of your cave and read up. The hip-hop fashion guru, and founder of ECKO Unlimited, let America decide on the fate of the ball via a week long online survey. By popular demand, Ecko branded the ball with an asterisk and gifted it to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Everyone seems so enthralled with the fact that he spent over $752k on a prank. But the amount of publicity? Priceless. What an absolute ingenious marketing strategy! Not only has his face (and clothing line) been plastered in newspapers, magazines and television internationally, but he drew thousands to his website - targeting consumers both in and out of his typical demographic. I wonder how many middle-aged men were surprised to find nice button up shirts and polos by ECKO. I also wonder how many Bonds haters purchased a clothing item just in support, and how many of those people will become loyal customers.

And talk about the campaign that keeps on giving. Thousands of people visit the Baseball Hall of Fame every year and will be constantly reminded of ECKO Unlimited. And to top it all off, as a business expense - it's tax deductible! So hats off to Marc Ecko. Coming from both a marketer, and a die-hard Yankee fan.