You may have been shocked at the stories of identity theft told by those who have fallen victim into this kind of crime. With the way things are going today, you can expect more to read and see more of these crimes being presented.
According to recent studies on identity theft, more than 7 million people have become victims of this crime in the US alone. If you compute that on a daily basis, it would result to around 19,000 identity cases a day.
Based on these numbers alone, you will realize that identity theft is really something that should be given serious attention and focus on. With the technology getting more and more advanced everyday, these identity theft stories are not likely to end up soon.
What was presented above was just summaries. They are just if you compare them with the real life stories of what the victims have been though, they will seem insignificant. Many of the people who have experienced the crime have developed traumas that are not easy to get over. Hearing about identity theft stories is way different from being in the situation or having someone close to you relate what had happened.
Although there is no stopping you from becoming a victim of identity theft, there are a lot of steps to take to prevent this from happening. All in all, it all boils down to maintaining a constant watch over your credit or payments. You just need your common sense to tell you if something suspicious has taken place.
By taking these things into consideration, you are making it harder for these thieves to get past the walls that you have erected. Not only that, you will not be among those who have suffered, are suffering and will suffer.
Take note that identity thieves are no different from any other thieves. They too do not like to work hard to get something. If you try and make it quite hard for them to consider you a potential victim, they would probably just let you off and go find another with a more lenient protection around themselves.
Take the case of phishing for example.
Phishing is simply an email you receive that seem to be coming from one of your banks. The message is telling you to get in your online account and confirm some of the details needed. Normally there would be a link included in the mail for convenient purposes.
The instant you clicked on the link, identity thieves will record your ID and password. Once they have this information, it will be easy for them to get into your account. They would probably wipe your account clean in a matter of minutes. You have just lost all your hard earned money.
How will you make use of common sense in this kind of situation?
The very first thing you have to realize is that your banks already have all your personal data saved. If they did not have all these, they will not be able to process your account. So why are they asking for these things again?
The best thing to do is to not give that message another thought. Better yet, thrash them because it is a scam. If that is legitimate, your bank will try to contact you again over other means of communication.
But if you are having second thoughts on the legitimacy of the message, the best thing to do is confirm it. If you have the number of your bank, try and call them. Ask them if they did send the email and why are they doing so.
If they are not the ones who sent you the email, they will probably have the same reaction as you when you received the message.
Moral of this identity theft story? Do not ever try to get into your account via the link sent to you by email. If you have been doing your business online for quite some time, you should know that there is a specified page in where you do your business.
The next option would be to go into the bank’s homepage and log in there if you want to access your account.
Wednesday
What are the effects of identity theft on an organization?
If identity theft can cause so much trouble for an individual, it can also cause the same kind of trouble to companies or organizations.
It seems that people have found a gold mine in stealing other peoples’ information to use for their own personal gain. And since there are a lot of benefits gained from this, there is no stopping anyone from doing it more and more.
The popularity of the Internet and computer databases has only become an additional tool for thieves to steal information from. Just think of all the genius minds wandering unnoticed everyday.
The economic and social effect of this crime is not something to be ignored. If they can do these things to nameless individuals then the more they can do it with big organizations that are known and may have some of its information up for grabs.
Even if there is still no perfect solution, every organization should take reasonable steps to reduce the risk and to know what to do if an identity theft incident occurs there.
Identity theft in an organization can be attested to different factors:
Identity theft because of negligence and lenient standards.
Out of negligence, an organization can fail in checking the validity of persons or companies they are selling their information into. They may not be aware that some of this are identity thieves whose sole purpose is to get information about the organization.
Another case of negligence would be putting information into portable, carry around gadgets. Example of these are lap tops and notebooks. The potable things are one of the most convenient ways of keeping important information.
Many of its owners do not protect or encrypt any information stored. The result? Instant access to personal and organization-related information once these things have gotten into the hands of wrongdoers.
There have been reports of data and information being lost in some bigger organizations. There are many reasons why this thing can happen. One is that the company may not have the potential to safely store big files. Another is that, they do not have a way of knowing what the employees are doing and what they can access to.
Identity theft using state-of-the-art attacks.
Some identity theft attacks occur through technical means, such as exploiting weaknesses in computer hardware or software. Hackers make the most of the problems in operating systems, firewalls, Internet browsers, or internal processing software to gain unauthorized access to confidential data.
But these kinds of attack can be countered by:
Keeping up to date with security software updates. An unpatched system is operating with known weaknesses. These weaknesses can act as invitations to hackers. But applying patches takes time and resources. And it is up to senior management to maintain that security updates be handled fast and effectively.
Knowing where essential customer data are stored. Every company should have data flow mapping. This will provide an objective basis for company managers to track information and understand who will have access to those data.
The strategy is to create a “path” so the data do not just thrive randomly in different electronic nooks and corners of the company. This will prevent employees, freelancer, contractors or hackers to gain access to the information stored.
Collecting proof when an incident occurs. Failure to gather evidence in a forensically sound manner can make it impossible to track criminal charges or to look for civil compensation. Having qualified computer forensic resources should be a part of every organization’s plan.
Recognizing the dangers of wireless data communication. You may seen instances where organizations do not properly secure wireless networks. The network may not be protected and unauthorized network could be accessed from outside the premises of the organization. Regular testing to make sure that no one is running a scoundrel network, and that authorized wireless networks are well protected, is very important.
The effects of identity theft in an organization is a problem that should not be taken for granted. While there are no absolute solutions, there are many well-documented methods to decrease the risks and handle incidents effectively.
The effects of identity theft vary from one organization to another. But with preparation, planning, and the recognition that a wide range of expertise sets are needed to stop this crime, any organization can keep up with the challenge.
It seems that people have found a gold mine in stealing other peoples’ information to use for their own personal gain. And since there are a lot of benefits gained from this, there is no stopping anyone from doing it more and more.
The popularity of the Internet and computer databases has only become an additional tool for thieves to steal information from. Just think of all the genius minds wandering unnoticed everyday.
The economic and social effect of this crime is not something to be ignored. If they can do these things to nameless individuals then the more they can do it with big organizations that are known and may have some of its information up for grabs.
Even if there is still no perfect solution, every organization should take reasonable steps to reduce the risk and to know what to do if an identity theft incident occurs there.
Identity theft in an organization can be attested to different factors:
Identity theft because of negligence and lenient standards.
Out of negligence, an organization can fail in checking the validity of persons or companies they are selling their information into. They may not be aware that some of this are identity thieves whose sole purpose is to get information about the organization.
Another case of negligence would be putting information into portable, carry around gadgets. Example of these are lap tops and notebooks. The potable things are one of the most convenient ways of keeping important information.
Many of its owners do not protect or encrypt any information stored. The result? Instant access to personal and organization-related information once these things have gotten into the hands of wrongdoers.
There have been reports of data and information being lost in some bigger organizations. There are many reasons why this thing can happen. One is that the company may not have the potential to safely store big files. Another is that, they do not have a way of knowing what the employees are doing and what they can access to.
Identity theft using state-of-the-art attacks.
Some identity theft attacks occur through technical means, such as exploiting weaknesses in computer hardware or software. Hackers make the most of the problems in operating systems, firewalls, Internet browsers, or internal processing software to gain unauthorized access to confidential data.
But these kinds of attack can be countered by:
Keeping up to date with security software updates. An unpatched system is operating with known weaknesses. These weaknesses can act as invitations to hackers. But applying patches takes time and resources. And it is up to senior management to maintain that security updates be handled fast and effectively.
Knowing where essential customer data are stored. Every company should have data flow mapping. This will provide an objective basis for company managers to track information and understand who will have access to those data.
The strategy is to create a “path” so the data do not just thrive randomly in different electronic nooks and corners of the company. This will prevent employees, freelancer, contractors or hackers to gain access to the information stored.
Collecting proof when an incident occurs. Failure to gather evidence in a forensically sound manner can make it impossible to track criminal charges or to look for civil compensation. Having qualified computer forensic resources should be a part of every organization’s plan.
Recognizing the dangers of wireless data communication. You may seen instances where organizations do not properly secure wireless networks. The network may not be protected and unauthorized network could be accessed from outside the premises of the organization. Regular testing to make sure that no one is running a scoundrel network, and that authorized wireless networks are well protected, is very important.
The effects of identity theft in an organization is a problem that should not be taken for granted. While there are no absolute solutions, there are many well-documented methods to decrease the risks and handle incidents effectively.
The effects of identity theft vary from one organization to another. But with preparation, planning, and the recognition that a wide range of expertise sets are needed to stop this crime, any organization can keep up with the challenge.
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