Avoid Identity Theft
Proving Yourself the Victim of Identity Theft
Steps to Take If You Suspect You Are The Victim of Identity Theft
Common Tactics Used by the Identity Thief
Identity Theft TrendsCommon Tactics Used by the Identity Thief
It's become a common practice among identity thieves to pose as legitimate companies and request "account information" from consumers. This practice of posing as a legitimate company has become known as "phishing."
In many cases, this involves setting up a fake website that mimics the look of a legitimate website and then sending millions of SPAM emails to attempt to attract people to the phony website and trick them into entering their sensitive information.
For example, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleges in 2003 a teenager agreed to settle FTC charges that his "phishing scam" violated federal laws. The scam involved setting up a website to pose as American Online (AOL). The con artist then sent consumers e-mail messages claiming that there had been a problem with the billing of their AOL account. The e-mail warned consumers that if they didn’t update their billing information, they risked losing their AOL accounts and Internet access. The message directed consumers to click on a hyperlink in the body of the e-mail to connect to the “AOL Billing Center.” When consumers clicked on the link they landed on a site that contained AOL’s logo, AOL’s type style, AOL’s colors, and links to real AOL Web pages. It appeared to be AOL’s Billing Center. But it wasn’t. The defendant had hijacked AOL’s identity and was going to use it to steal consumers’ identities, as well, the FTC alleged.
The defendant’s AOL look-alike Web page directed consumers to enter the numbers from the credit card they had used to charge their AOL account. It then asked consumers to enter numbers from a new card to correct the problem. It also asked for consumers’ names, mothers’ maiden names, billing addresses, social security numbers, bank routing numbers, credit limits, personal identification numbers, and AOL screen names and passwords - the kind of data that would help the defendant plunder consumers’ credit and debit card accounts and assume their identity online.
According to the FTC, the defendant used the information to charge online purchases and open accounts with PayPal. In addition, he used consumers’ names and passwords to log on to AOL in their names and send more spam. Finally, he recruited others to participate in the scheme by convincing them to receive fraudulently obtained merchandise he had ordered for himself.
The agency charged the defendant’s practices were deceptive and unfair, in violation of the FTC Act. In addition, the FTC alleged that the defendant’s practices violated provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act designed to protect the privacy of consumers’ sensitive financial information.
“Phishing is a two time scam,” said Timothy J. Muris, Chairman of the FTC. “Phishers first steal a company’s identity and then use it to victimize consumers by stealing their credit identities." Muris promised the FTC will continue to go after identity theives.
source: Federal Trade Commission