A leading commentator on technology issues, Stilgherrian has warned readers of ABC’s opinion column ‘The Drum’ that the idea perpetuated by the media that identity theft is mostly a risk for governments and big business is masking the more significant occurences of identity theft to individuals in Australia and the world.
“Indeed, the stories that get reported are chosen precisely because they can provide simple narratives and archetypical characters with clear motives, not because they’re significant battles in the perpetual cops-versus-crims war for control of the internet,” he says.
Stilgherrian says the real truth of identity theft is that the typical victim is an ordinary person who has fallen prey to the vast criminal network which exists on the internet.
First, these crimes are committed on a vast scale. Criminal processes are orchestrated globally, automated, and supported by thousands of unwitting, disposable minions. If only a tiny percentage of people fall for scams, we’re still talking millions of dollars.
Second, the bad guys are good at this. Really good. Blaming the victims is inappropriate. “They had it coming to them”?Really?
Third, it all connects up. Fifty bucks went missing from your credit card precisely because the number had been stolen from a poorly-secured online store. The legitimate website popped up the message from the fake anti-virus product because it, too, was poorly secured and had been hacked automatically by software that probed a hundred thousand websites one night.
Or, in the case of identity theft, when someone takes out $50,000 of loans in your name? That happens through the gradual accumulation of personal data. Your name and email address from a list stolen from a hacked website, cross-matched with your street address from another, your date of birth from a third, and so on.
These databases can contain millions of people’s details. They’re traded in shady online markets where people buy the pieces missing from the databases they already have, merge them, refine them, mark ’em up and sell ’em on until eventually there’s enough to turn it all into a credit application. It’s then laundered though “money mules”, people recruited in the belief they’re making money at home with just a computer.
Stilgherrian’s commentary highlights the fact that identity theft can occur to anyone. We also want people to know these important points:
* Often, people don’t know identity theft has occurred to them, until they apply for credit and are refused.
* Often, a person’s credit file can end up with a long list of defaults put there by someone who has used the victim’s good name to obtain credit.
* Credit file defaults are debilitating – leaving people unable to obtain home loans, personal loans, even mobile phone plans during the term of the listing which is generally 5 years.
* Credit file damage due to identity theft can be very difficult to rectify. To clear their good name, the identity theft victim needs to prove to creditors they did not initiate the credit – which can be difficult. Not only are victims generally required to produce police reports, but large amounts of documentary evidence to substantiate to creditors the case of identity theft.
How to avoid identity theft
Public education can go a long way to lessening the instances of identity theft. The Government’s Stay Smart Online website recommends Australians follow these 8 top tips for increasing their resistance to identity fraud, and avoiding the loss to their bank balance and potentially their good name:
1. Install and renew your security software and set it to scan regularly.
2. Turn on automatic updates on all your software, including
your operating system and other applications.
3. Think carefully before you click on links or attachments, particularly in emails and on social networking sites.
4. Regularly adjust your privacy settings on social networking sites.
5. Report or talk to someone about anything online that makes you feel uncomfortable or threatened – download the government’s Cybersafety Help Button.
6. Stop and think before you post any photos or financial or personal information about yourself, your friends or family.
7. Use strong passwords and change them at least twice a year.
8. Talk within your family about good online safety.
Where to go for help following identity theft
Sometimes unravelling the tangled ‘web’ of online identity fraud for the purposes of negotiating with creditors to restore someone’s good name is a minefield that many individuals have neither the time nor the skill set for.
Credit repairers are more commonly involved in assisting people in cases of identity fraud due to a better knowledge of legislation and ability to work within it when negotiating with creditors over the victim’s financial future.
For more information contact MyCRA Credit Repairs or call tollfree 1300 667 218.
Image: Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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