Identity theft via malware on the rise

According to a recent article by David Radin at the Post-Gazette.com, the use of malware to steal personal information later used to steal identities is on the rise. While Mr. Radin does not cite statistics to back up this claim, I believe him to be correct. I too seem to be getting more e-mails of late from those infected by malware.

Malware is defined by wikipedia as malicious software "designed to disrupt computer operation, gather sensitive information or gain unauthorized access to a computer system." A lot of malware will take over a victim's e-mail account and send messages to everyone in the victim's address book, attempting to trick them into responding or downloading malware to steal information. People are more susceptible to this type of phishing scheme since the e-mail appears to come from someone the intended victim knows.

How does one avoid becoming a victim of malware? Again, by being viligant and diligent. If you get an e-mail from a friend or associate that includes an unexpected attachment or asks you to click on a website, e-mail the friend or associate to confirm that he or she meant to send it to you. Some may think that would be rude, but those savvy to the Internet will certainly understand. Also, if you get a malware e-mail, alert the person "sending" it that their computer has been compromised, as they are likely unaware of the malware's hold on their system.

More ID Theft and Online Fraud in 2011

According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, which is a partnership between the FBI's Cyber Division, the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance and the National White Collar Crime Center, ID theft and online fraud both increased slightly in 2011.

The Internet Crime Complaint Center logged over 300,000 complaints of internet crime which includes identity theft and online fraud.  The complaints totaled $485.3 million in losses.

This is an increase of 3.4% from 2010 but is still down from 2009, which apparently was a peak year for online crime.

The top five states for online crime were California, Florida, Texas, New York, and Ohio, with people aged 40 to 59 being the most victimized.

While not all internet crimes reported to the Internet Crime Complaint Center resulted in financial loss, the ones that did averaged a $4,187 loss.

The crimes include auto auction fraud, where the criminal sells a car online that he never actually owned, work from home scams where criminals recruit employees for fake jobs that are actually covers for crime, romance scams where the unlucky in love type is schemed out of money and, finally, loan intimidation scams.

Identity theft - the latest summer risk for kids?

Its summer.  I know this due to the repeated "I'm bored" comments I hear from my nine year old.

Summer also brings additional risk of identity theft to children.  Thanks to the additional free time caused by the long days of summer, children spend more time in front of the computer or on their internet capable cell phones.  With this additional time online comes the additional risk of identity theft.

Why would an identity thief want to steal the identity of a child?  Basically because the child's credit history is a blank slate and can be misused longer than an adult's credit history, since the kid is not out doing the things that cause identity theft victims to learn of the theft of their identity, like applying for credit.

“The younger the victim, the more time these thieves have to exploit the child’s identity,” said Sandy Chalmers, Administrator of the Wisconsin Division of Trade and Consumer Protection. “Identity theft against a child can go undetected for years and do a lot of damage to their good name.”


So, parents, please warn your kids not to give out personal information online unless and only if its to a reliable source.  And, be sure to monitor what your kids are doing online.  A little bit of prevention can prevent a lot of problems later on.

Online Video Gamers also at Risk of Identity Theft

Here's a link to an article about online gamers at risk for ID theft - online gamers, take heed.  Or you won't be typing "Woot" anytime soon.

Here's the link -

Scammers now taking to video game theft for crimes - WECT TV6 - WECT.com - Wilmington, NC news and weather -

Tips for avoiding Identity Theft when shopping online

Here are some tips from http://www.retail-digital.com/ regarding how to avoid identity theft when shopping online.  I especially agree with tip # 2 - why risk your money when you can risk the credit card company's?!

1. Keep your internet security up-to-date

Updating your internet security, keeping your operating system and browser updated and securing your internet connection can all help to greatly minimise the possibility of a security breach. It is also important to regularly run anti-virus software.

2. Use a credit card over a debit card

Where possible use your credit card instead of a debit card for online purchases. This is important for two reasons. Firstly, if you do become a victim of online fraud and your personal information is stolen, the worse they can do is run up charges on your card. With a debit card this would mean they could drain your bank account. Credit cards are usually easier to dispute fraudulent charges over debit cards and also offer you an extra layer of security.

3. Use secure shopping sites

Always make sure that you use a secure site when submitting information like your credit card details online. Secured websites can be distinguished from unsecure sites in two ways. They use something called SSL and are usually identified by the display of a padlock or other icon in the address bar. The URL of secure starts should also start with https. Secure sites ensure that your personal information is encrypted as it travels across the web. If you are ever unsure, do not use it.

4. Be vigilant

Check your bank statements every month. Research shows that identity thieves often do a test charge to see the card works or not and may not take a lot of money out until months later. By monitoring your account regularly you can notice any suspicious account early and take action before more damage can be done.

Site steals 250,000 Facebook profiles to raise awareness of online ID theft

Interesting way to raise awareness of the risks of online identity theft - article is by Michelle Castillo and can be found at http://techland.time.com/2011/02/04/site-steals-250000-facebook-profiles-for-a-social-experiment/

You might be signed up for Lovely-Faces.com's dating services and not only know it. Website creators Paolo Cirio and Alessandro Ludovico took information from 250,000 Facebook users and used it to create their project which uses facial recognition technology to categorize users into the kinds of people they look like they would be. Problem is they didn't ask permission first from the profile owners, but they claim since it's part of a "social experiment" it should be fine.

The site's not really a dating site. On Face to Facebook, the minds behind Lovely-Faces.com explain that the website was created to prove how virtual identity is increasingly unstable when you consider how easy identity theft is online and how companies can easily take advantage of this information, with or without Facebook's permission. On the Theory section of the website, they elaborate:

And it'll eventually mutate, from a plausible translation of real identities into virtual management, to something just for fun, with no assumed guarantee of trust, crumbling the whole market evaluation hysteria that surrounds the crowded, and much hyped, online social platforms.

Facebook isn't pleased with this use of their data, even though Lovely-Faces.com promises that they will remove anyone who wants their picture taken off the site. “Scraping people's information violates our terms,” Facebook's director of policy communications Barry Schnitt said to Wired. “We have taken, and will continue to take, aggressive legal action against organizations that violate these terms. We're investigating this site and will take appropriate action.”