Identity Theft Research

In the article “Is RFID Tracking You?” posted on CNN.com site, Daniel Sieberg
presents two sides to the answer.  As can be expected, the pros and the cons argue positives and negatives of RFID technology implemented at a more personal level than retail store shelf items….  But whether the technology is misused by criminals intent on identity theft, or governments invading our privacy, it appears that RFID technology in some form is going to continue steadily growing around us throughout the world.  Mr. Sieberg doesn’t make much use of his article to provide real-world cases of RFID chips used in humans, but all you have to do is look back at an article in InformationWeek.com titled “RFID Chips Implanted in Mexican Law-Enforcement Workers” for an idea or two to pop into your head…. I can think of a ton of really useful scenarios for RFID — but then I am not a criminal!  Unfortunately, one image popped into my head, straight out of Hollywood and James Bond — some brutal criminal mind killing someone and removing the body part that contains the chip to gain access to a facility, database, or system.  That would suck.

Anyone out there ever have, or willing to have, an RFID chip implant?  Other than your pet?  Hmmm…. I might have to start compiling a list of Top 10 RFID implant uses…..  😉

Technorati Tags: identity+theft, identity, theft, RFID, chip, implant, technology, privacy, big+brother, identity+2.0, security, personal+privacy

In an article published 8/27 (ID theft insurance: Worthwhile or a waste of money?) by the Atlanta Journal Constitution, authors Stella M. Hopkins and Gillian May-Lian Wee outline the fundamentals of various identity theft insurance products on the market today.  Generally, the insurance will cover costs of “clearing your name” and fixing credit, but NOT cover any money lost due to your accounts being accessed. For a deductible, most policies will cover attorney fees and other out-of-pocket expenses up to a set limit.  None cover lost wages or other inconveniences of having your credit in limbo while you work on repairing it.

The article also presents to sides to the story, with one side saying the insurance is a worthwhile investment, while the other side says “don’t waste your money.”  I have to imagine that it’s like buying a back-up battery for your data center — very expensive and hard to justify until the day your primary power shuts down unexpectedly….

I personally don’t have a policy — and I probably fall into the category of most and don’t believe I’ll be a victim (I’m just too paranoid for that! 😉 ).  Any victims of identity theft out there who have or had an insurance policy?  If you had a policy and became a victim, was the policy worth the investment?

Technorati Tags: identity+theft, identity, id+theft, identity, theft, identity+2.0, research, digital, digital+identity, personal, personal+identity, personal+information, personal+datatheft, identity+2.0, research, digital, digital+identity, personal, personal+identity, personal+information, personal+data

The Central Valley Business Times (State gets tough on ID theft) reported yesterday that “California has toughened its laws to control identity theft with the enactment of a bill authored by...” Sen. Charles Poochigian, R-Fresno.  The bill intends to make identity theft crime statistics a separate and highlighted item in the Justice Departments annual report.  This authors take on the article is that while the data was being accumulated by various law enforcement agencies, the details were being lumped into a broader category of crime and theft.  Breaking-out the statistics for ID Theft separately will highlight the extent of the problem and bring additional focus on solutions to the problem.

If you are interested in reading the Bill analysis, check out the full document.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is quoted in this article as stating that “Last year, one million Californians were victimized by identity theft.”  A million?  That is a huge number, especially for a single state!  My guess would be that similar to problems in Arizona, the number one reason for id theft in CA is to provide identities to illegal aliens…..

California is a leader in enacting personal information privacy laws, and many other states are following their lead. But given the number above, is it working?  If Cali is a leader and they still have a million victims, something is not right.  Maybe it’s the fact that most ID Theft crimes are not prosecutable?  Anyone have a thought on this?

Technorati Tags: identity+theft, identity, id+theft, identity, theft, identity+2.0, research, digital, digital+identity, personal, personal+identity, personal+information, personal+datatheft, identity+2.0, research, digital, digital+identity, personal, personal+identity, personal+information, personal+data

Is it any surprise, really?  The web site Security ProNews published an article yesterday (College Students ID Theft Targets, Jason Lee Miller) in which the author points out that college students are being warned about ID theft.  Mr. Miller quotes a statistic from the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) that “young adults between 18 and 29 years of age are the most frequent victims of ID theft.”  This author would guess that this is because in many cases the victims have spotless credit records or none at all, which present the best possible victim for thieves.  But this isn’t really something new….  This author can recall college days years ago (like more than 15) when joining music clubs and receiving CDs using another students name or info was a big problem.  Then, it was incredibly easy to get info about other students because in most dormitories the mail was dropped on the counter at the front door before being sorted into open boxes by student name.  No security, no nada.  If a student name didn’t match a current resident (someone who graduated or never moved-in to begin with), the mail for that person was dumped in a basket on the counter and left to rot….  No one thought about things like identity theft.

My personal situation was that there was another student, a class ahead of mine, with the same first and last names, same middle initial.  Not only that, but the year prior to my entrance this guy lived in the same “freshman” dorm.  Inevitably, our mail would get mixed-up, and many times we never knew it.  Neither of us was particularly good at or cared to make sure the other guy got his mail!

Things got so confused over time that even the registrar had trouble keeping our “data” sorted-out.  Because of this, the other student and I became very familiar with each other’s SSN’s and other details, like student number, banking, and much more.  The good news is that we were both honest kids and didn’t take advantage of the situation….

Anyone else have similar stories from their college days?

Technorati Tags: identity+theft, identity, id+theft, identity, theft, identity+2.0, research, digital, digital+identity, personal, personal+identity, personal+information, personal+datatheft, identity+2.0, research, digital, digital+identity, personal, personal+identity, personal+information, personal+data