Online Identity Theft

Identity theft involves the un­au­thor­ised use and therefore abuse of one’s personal data. Names, addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, online access data to banking and credit card in­form­a­tion; these are just a few examples of types of personal data that can be used against you if left unguarded. When access is gained to just a few of these afore­men­tioned items, fraud­sters - whether in the virtual world or in reality - are able to inflict con­sid­er­able financial damage on their victims. All too often this in­form­a­tion falls into the wrong hands faster than one expects. 

There are different ways for a criminal to gain access to sensitive online data. A security breach cannot always be at­trib­uted to careless security: some tricks are so well or­ches­trated that even the most careful of users sometimes fall victim.

• Hacker attacks: Accounts with poorly secured passwords are easy prey for hackers, and using the same password for every account makes users es­pe­cially vul­ner­able targets to attacks. Hacked passwords belonging to social media profiles can be used to log in to an online store where financial data is commonly stored. Customers are powerless to protect them­selves if online retailers or other service providers have security lapses. Time and again tales of large-scale data thefts go around; most often such stories revolve around the loss of customer data, including payment data.

• Phishing mail: This in­creas­ingly popular method involves employing a special type of spam mail. Re­cip­i­ents of such mail are brought via link to a forged web site, such as an online payment service, that resembles the user interface of a known business. Users who fall victim to this ploy and enter their customer data or log-in password are directly for­feit­ing their personal in­form­a­tion to fraud­sters.

• Trojans: Down­load­ing freeware or other files carries with it the risk of infecting your PC with a Trojan virus. The down­loaded-software is able to intercept sensitive data and forward them to third parties. Enclosed files from spam mails are also known to contain such malware.  

• Social En­gin­eer­ing: The long-lost “grandson” suddenly decides to come and visit his elderly grand­par­ent and swindle the possibly demented senior out of all the money he can. This tried and true criminal tactic can also be applied online. Fraud­sters simply create a fake profile on a social media platform, and, by posing as a friend or family member, they then try to extract sensitive data or passwords through con­ver­sa­tions or messages.

The un­pleas­ant con­sequences of identity theft are primarily of a financial variety. Once criminals gain access to online profiles, banks, auction portals, etc., multiple financial in­stru­ments are at their disposal. Using the name of another person, fraud­sters can make large orders and have these shipped directly to their address. PayPal can also be used to make purchases, and in the worst scenario, victims’ entire bank accounts or credit cards can be maxed out. When a hacker is granted access to such data, it is the equi­val­ent of a thief getting their hands on someone’s wallet: IDs, credit cards and debit cards – nothing stands in the way of their next shopping spree.

Spam in my name

Not all cyber criminals are after payment in­form­a­tion. In some case­ac­cess to e-mail accounts or other com­mu­nic­a­tion channels, like Skype or Facebook, are enough to satisfy many of their needs. Creating a botnet is the goal of this mis­chiev­ous un­der­tak­ing. By using the stolen address of millions of different users, the botnet is able to spread spam en mass, and most of the time the victims remain unaware that their computer or e-mail address has been infected until it is too late.

Cyber bullying and de­fam­a­tion

Identity theft is not always just about financial gain. Data is also often misused for the purpose of harassing others online. By hijacking a social media account, hackers are able to spread rumours or lies, thereby damaging the victim’s repu­ta­tion or the repu­ta­tion of others. Mis­lead­ing messages can be drafted, con­tro­ver­sial political views can be expressed, or malevol­ent state­ments can be published in the name of the victim. State­ments reported as hate speech make the victim appear to be the per­pet­rat­or, and, in serious cases, may get the attention of au­thor­it­ies. The resulting damaged repu­ta­tion is not limited to one’s private life; work-related con­sequences can also arise from attacks. These types of attacks are very difficult to explain and often involve very long and drawn-out legal action.

Online shops under false names

Another type of scam has been a growing source of much frus­tra­tion over the past few months. Cyber criminals are using stolen personal data to found and register online shops. Such platforms are commonly used to sell fake mer­chand­ise. This par­tic­u­larly ruthless form of identity theft puts victims at risk of being legally con­fron­ted by man­u­fac­tur­ers whose goods are being coun­ter­feited. Victims should notify au­thor­it­ies as soon as they can in order to increase the chances of their name being cleared. Cases are only very rarely solved, as most of the time the per­pet­rat­ors leave behind little or no trace of their.

It can take weeks for some in­di­vidu­als to recognise that they have fallen prey to an online identity theft scheme. Only when mys­ter­i­ous bills, request for payment letters, or debt col­lec­tion notices begin arriving do the victims finally begin to realise what has happened. Being mindful of and reacting quickly to sus­pi­cious trans­ac­tions is the key to stopping fraud­sters before things get out of hand.

Those who fear that their name is being misused can verify their sus­pi­cions with just a few easy steps. Re­gis­ter­ing a Google Alert for your name is a good place to start. With this service, an automatic e-mail no­ti­fic­a­tion is sent to the user anytime the name they are re­gistered with appears online. Google’s reverse image search further allows users to check if their photos have been un­right­fully used by others.

Most often users are informed and warned in cases where customer data has been stolen from large companies. Ideally, the affected business creates a webpage where users can check to see if they have been affected.