Did you hear the one about the prisoner who sent instructions for his own bail?
Yep. There was a time when breaking out of prison needed ropes, guns, physical prowess and about a ton of courage.
Today, it only needs a smart mobile phone as the case of Neil Moore shows (this is the dude who sent prison officers his bail order using a fake account; it worked).
This is true about most serious crime today. Sorry, Mr. Bond (James Bond) but you may be replaced soon by an over-weight geek with a powerful computer. Which, I agree will be a pity but such is life.
Identity theft – or impersonation – is one of the criminal acts that have become so much easier with the advance in technology.
You see, today you don’t need your face and your body to get access to important areas of your life.
You manage your bank account on your computer screen.
You buy things over the ‘Net.
You can order a duplicate of your marriage licence or drivers licence over the Internet.
All the opportunity for identity theft and cyber-crime are there.
So are the means. As Gunter Ollmann, a security consultant, said: ‘Interested in credit card crime? There is an app for it.’
Identity theft and cyber-crime are no longer the domain of highly technically sophisticated geeks with a moral code (okay, admittedly strange moral code but a moral code nevertheless).
Just like with traditional crime, identity theft and cyber-crime is becoming opportunistic.
I’ve previously written about the ways to guard against identity theft. I discussed passwords, how much you share and where, and shredding sensitive documents using companies like Datashredders. Still, if a hacker has marked you as a target it probably doesn’t matter much how careful you are – you are likely to get hacked and your identity stolen.
This sucks. It is offensive, inconvenient and you can lose money, property and face.
This is why, it is important to know what to do if (when) this happens.
Here are the four things you need to do; and fast.
#1. Act quickly. If you notice something un-usual on your bank statement, credit card statement or any other statement you need to act immediately. There is no time for pondering; if I pondered someone, somewhere in the world would have had a very expensive camera that I’ve paid for.
#2. Tell your bank/CC provider. If you think you are a victim of identity theft affecting your bank account or your credit cards, tell the provider. Most respectable financial organisations today have fraud departments (and the people working in them are really good).
#3. Tell the police. Identity theft can go beyond only raiding your bank account and lead to all kinds of problems. There are enough movies about this kind of stuff. So, if you suspect a case of it, tell the police without delay.
#4. Get a copy of your credit report. And with the speed of light. This way you’ll know what has been violated and be able to act accordingly.
I still say that prevention is better! Please, think twice next time you open the file attached to a doggy message: it may be Zeus or something equally vicious.
Have you been victim of identity theft? What did you do?
photo credit: Identity Thief, Incognito via photopin (license)