Online Idenity Theft
Online identity theft is a growing problem in the United States. This problem has been perpetuated by the internet. Besides the common fears of having a credit card numbers stolen, consumer.gov
warns that identity thieves “may get identification such as a driver's license issued with their picture, in your name.” Or, “they may give your name to the police during an arrest. If they don't show up for their court date, a warrant for arrest is issued in your name.” These are only a few scary possibilities that can occur when one’s identity information is stolen.
According to the Javelin/Better Business Bureau report
“Within the last twelve months, 9.3 million Americans were victims of identity theft.” Surprisingly, this report states that only 11.6% of identity theft cases occurred online. Most identity theft still occurs through stolen wallets and paper mail. The Javelin/Better Business Bureau report
actually recommends more internet use to help protect against identity theft. It suggests that people pay bills online and cancel their paper bills.
However, the FDIC released a report
in 2004 stating “recent studies indicate that unauthorized access to checking accounts is the fastest growing form of identity theft . . . almost 2 million U.S. adult Internet users experienced this fraud during the 12 months ending April 2004.” Therefore, even though only a small percentage of identity theft occurs online, it is still a very significant number.
There are several ways to steal someone’s identity information through the internet. According to the FDIC report
, “spoof” or “phishing” e-mails are the most common way to obtain the information. These e-mails pretend to be from banks or companies and ask the user to respond or follow a link and enter personal information.
According to an article
on MSNBC.com, “Nearly one out of three Internet users was unable to tell the difference between fraudulent e-mails designed to steal their identities and legitimate corporate e-mail.” What may be worse is, according to the same article
, “An e-mail message from the Federal Trade Commission was dismissed as a fraud by 50 percent of the consumers.”
Therefore, not only is trust in online banking and shopping beginning to dwindle, but trust in e-mail is plummeting as well. What does this mean for global communication? The FDIC
says “many experts believe that electronic fraud, especially account hijacking, will have the effect of slowing the growth of online banking and commerce.”My biggest fears about online identity theft:
1. E-mail will begin to disappear as people mistrust it more.
2. Online banking will become too risky.
3. Online shopping will become too risky.
4. Any education given to people about how to identify phishing e-mails will available to identity thieves as well. The fake e-mails will continue to evolve and be impossible to distinguish.
5. People will become too afraid to use the internet at all.My ideas for solutions:
1. Increase identity theft monitoring of the internet by the FBI.
2. Create better e-mail filters to prevent the phishing e-mails from ever reaching the user.
3. Increase the penalty for identity theft. Maybe it will deter criminals?
Some useful websites about this topic:The Federal Trade Commission’s
website about identity theft is a good source of information. The introduction to this site describes it best: “It provides detailed information to help you protect yourself from identity theft, and the steps to take if
it occurs. It is also a comprehensive reference center – for consumers, businesses, law enforcement, and the media –with access to specific laws, contact information, and resources from state and federal government agencies.” The site has a lot of good details and statistics. It is also a good resource for victims of identity theft and even gives a link to report a crime. The links for detailed reports from the FBI, etc. and outlines of the laws are very helpful. I believe this site is reliable because it is run by The Federal Trade Commission and it has up-to-date information.The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
is another good web source. This site also gives information about identity theft, how to avoid it, and what to do if you become a victim. The fact sheets on this site are nice, easy to read ways to find information. The unique thing about this site are the quizzes. Users can take quizzes to see what their identity theft IQ is. Also, there are many links to specific identity theft stories and cases. The site seems to be reliable. The sources they post are up-to-date.The Stop Identity Theft Network
is another good web source. This site, run by the state of Georgia, gives information about identity theft prevention, help for victims, help for businesses, and help for law enforcement. It also allows a user to file a complaint. This site is geared mostly toward practical information rather than research statistics. All the information seems to be timely and reliable. The fact that it is sponsored by a state government adds to its reliability.
The University of Michigan’s
identity theft website is also a good source. This site is geared towards students at the university and how they can protect themselves. However, it has a lot of good information that can be applied to anyone. The site offers advice on how to protect yourself, what to do if you’re a victim, and university security. The “How to recognize a phishing scam” article gives some great details. The reliability of this site is high because it is part of the official university site.The Internet Fraud Complaint Center
is another great web source. The IFCC “is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C).” This site offers people a way to file a complaint about internet fraud. It also gives fraud statistics and tips on how to protect yourself. A great source of information is the IFCC warning page where any new warnings about internet fraud is posted. This site is reliable because it is connected with the FBI and NW3C. All the information is detailed and up-to-date.
The Free Advice Forum for Identity Theft
is a good web source. This is a forum where people can talk about identity theft and share their stories/advice. This information is useful because it gives actual identity theft stories. Hearing from the actual victims helps put things in perspective rather than just looking at a bunch of statistics. This site is the least reliable because nothing is really known about the people who post. There is no way to know if they are qualified to speak about the topic. But, if someone wants to read about how “regular” people are dealing with and reacting to identity theft, then this is a good place to go.