We often talk about identity theft and online fraud on this blog, and with good reason, since new reports in the news call attention to the fact that cybercrime is something we must be highly vigilant in trying to prevent.
The annual Internet Fraud Crime Report recently released by the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) lists Internet auction fraud as the most frequently reported online crime, accounting for 44.9 percent of the total complaints received. According to the report, the total dollar amount of reported losses was up, to a record $198.44 million, even as the total number of reported crimes dropped.
It’s important to note that these statistics can be deceptive, however, in their portrayal of the overall cybercrime picture, since many Internet e-commerce companies, such as eBay, provide their customers with links to the IC3 website, whereas victims of identity theft might file their complaint directly with the Federal Trade Commission or local authorities. Victims of cybercrime should note that IC3 is cosponsored by the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), that it is a clearinghouse for all kinds of cybercrime complaints, and is designed to track the prevalence of Internet fraud in the United States. It gives the victims of cybercrime access to a reporting mechanism that alerts authorities to suspected criminal or civil violations by allowing them to file complaints through their website. It also has some interesting prevention resources, including an appendix in the Internet Fraud Crime Report that contains some best practices to prevent Internet crime.
Another report making news, and one that highlights the widespread problem of identity theft, is the just released Internet Security Threat Report from protection software provider Symantec. According to this publication, data and identity theft are far and away the major growth sectors among the criminal underground. The report, which covered activity for the last six months of 2006, found hundreds of clandestine servers that are selling identities, either in single units or in bulk. The identity bundles consisted of a name, address, Social Security Number, and at least one bank or credit card account. Prices ranged from $14 to $18 per identity. Perhaps surprisingly, it states that among the most vulnerable are those in the U.S. government; the public sector accounted for 25 percent of all activity that could lead to identity theft.
Both reports find that the United States has the dubious distinction of being the country that ranks number one in hosting perpetrators of cybercrime. So what do we do with all of this alarming information? Be smart users of the Internet, and be cautious—be sure to cover the basics: patch your system and keep your security software updated; stay away from unknown sites, especially those that are giving away free download software, which may be pirated; and don’t share personal information unless you initiate the transaction with a company you know.
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