Identity Theft on the Internet

Last week my sister’s email was hit by a scam sent by a German company that disguised itself as a online community site to attract users for a wireless service that would enable you to know your friends whereabouts at any time. When she became a member of the service, a search-bot was released to her email. As the bot was released into her inbox, it broke into her account list, and sent out emails to everyone on her contact list to join the network.

Well, guess who joined it?...

You guessed it, and thank the heavens that I used a separate email account that I don’t often use for registering to the service, so that my contact list wasn’t spammed with offers for their service. However, what disturbed me about the scam is not only how precise the execution was, but also how the design of the site looked professional enough to fool me. (Until last week, I actually considered myself an online veteran, who was not be fooled by such primitive sites, right?)

From the incident, I began to wonder how pervasive online identity theft is right now. Along with this incident, I am a victim of identity theft who is still recovering from major problems caused by a case in 2002. With the identity theft cases of Bank of America and ChoicePoint currently at the forefront of today’s online headlines, I began to wonder with this exercise; what are the chances that hackers can crack the information systems of major financial corporations to filch records, names, numbers, and background information? What are the safeguards for personal information that are used by corporations for data? What should I do to protect myself from online fraud and internet scams, and what can I do to fight back against scam efforts?

The first step is to educate yourself through non-profit privacy sites and the online sites of the three major credit agencies. A solid second step is to place a fraud alert upon your credit reports, which enforces the credit agencies to contact you if a credit request has been filed under your name. Credit agencies do allow a free credit check of your score for safety purposes, and a move to check your credit is a step to ensure the safety of not only your reporting score, but also the status of your current credit report.

With enhanced technology in the marketplace today, fraudulent IDs and documents can easily be created for fraudulent activity. It is not only necessary for the consumer to shred documents with personal information, but is also necessary for the government, the FTC, and financial institutions to partner together to create ways of privately identifying people through codes and information that do not include social security numbers and highly personal information that are intended for public records not private uses.

Fears:

1.) Internal theft from corporations is too tough to police.
2.) Proclivity of requests for social security numbers in financial transactions or for identity purposes.
3.) The proliferation of data brokers continues to spread personal information that can never be stopped due to the extension of web access.
4.) Guidelines put in place to regulate internet privacy issues will be too stringent upon people’s businesses and people’s personal freedoms.
5.) Credit agencies such as Experion, TransUnion, and Equifax, continue to harness more control over credit and personal data information, which enables them to achieve a larger “Big Brother” presence. Continue to fail to regulate inaccurate credit scams, which undermines the public’s confidence.
6.) “Phishing” – The act of sending an email to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft.

Information Links:

Electronic Privacy Information Center
http://www.epic.org/

Public interest research center that focuses it’s research upon the public’s civil liberties around privacy issues. The center publishes valuable reports, news articles, and academic articles concerning the issues of electronic privacy in today’s world.

USA Today, March 2, 2005 “Underground Market for Stolen IDs thrives”
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-03-02-datathieves-usat_x.htm

This is a great article that appeared in the March 2, 2005 ‘Money’ edition of USA Today. Article provides great quotes, tips, and threats concerning the current state of affairs of fraudulent electronic activity.

Internet Society
http://www.isoc.org/

Professional organization made up of over 100 organizations with over 20,000 members. Provides leadership for building the internet’s infrastructure and establishes the standards for future online practices. Acts as a facilitator and coordinator for Internet related issues around the world.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
http://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/fighttheft/

Great tips and advice on how to protect your personal information and on how to take steps toward clearing your personal data record in case of fraudulent activity.

PrivacyRights.org
http://www.privacyrights.org/index.htm

Privacyrights.org is non-profit and public clearinghouse that is dedicated to consumer information and consumer advocacy. The organization is based on providing information to aid consumers and to respond to consumer complaints on privacy issues.

Fair Credit Reporting Act
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcra.htm

Definitions, rules, and codes set forth by the Federal Trade Commission to ensure the rights of the privacy of U.S. citizens.

Possible Solutions:

1.) Education – Government needs to educate the public on how to protect themselves from identity theft and fraudulent online practices.
2.) Credit Agency Regulation – Regulate the activities of credit agenicies
3.) Security Mandates – Enforce guidelines