IDENTITY THEFT

Identity theft

Identity theft

Identity theft has become the most rapidly increasing crime. What was once a personal crime requiring criminals to have some form of contact with the victim, if nothing more than rummaging through the trash, can now be done from as close as next door or as far away as across the world. In the research for this paper author identify two of the most common occurrences of identity thefts: phishing (Internet based) and Dumpster-diving followed by preventative measures. Each of these thefts will be defined, explained and given a possible solution against them. The occurrences of identify theft will be sharply reduced when we increase our security consciousness by guarding our internet usage, destroying private information we place in our trash and following a few simple guidelines of prevention.

Phishing

Internet scammers lurking about for people's financial information have a new way to lure unsuspecting victims: They go "phishing." Phishing, also called "carding," is a high-tech scam they use spam to deceive consumers into disclosing their credit card numbers, bank account information, Social Security numbers, passwords, and other sensitive information.

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the emails pretend to be from businesses the potential victims frequently deals with - for example, their Internet service provider (ISP), online payment service or bank. The fraudsters tell recipients that they need to "update" or "validate" their billing information to keep their accounts active, and directs them to a "look-alike" Web site of the legitimate business, further tricking consumers into thinking they are responding to a bona fide request.

Unknowingly, the consumers submit their financial information - not to the businesses - but to the scammers, who in-turn order goods, services or obtains fraudulent credit. In a recent case before the Federal Trade Commission, a 17-year-old male sent out messages stating to be from America Online (AOL) that said there had been a billing problem with recipients' accounts. The perpetrator's e-mail used AOL logos and contained legitimate links. If recipients clicked on the "AOL Billing Center" link, they were taken to a spoofed AOL Web page asking for personal information, including credit card numbers, personal identification numbers (PINs), social security numbers, banking numbers, and passwords.

Dumpster Diving

There is an old saying that "one man's trash is another man's treasure." That is certainly true in the corporate and civilian world when it comes to "Dumpster Diving". Dumpster diving is the act of sifting through the garbage of large companies or private homes searching for information on how to access corporate or personal information. This technique of acquiring information can even be used against the company or single individuals by finding their bank or credit card statements, utility bills receipts and other personal information in their trash receptacles.

In a report compiled by the company Synovate (September, 2003) for the FTC to present to a Senate Subcommittee, 85% of identity theft complainants whose bank accounts were robbed of monies, revealed that their accounts were accessed by individuals who had gotten the victims information out of ...