Cyber Security:

ID Theft

Online identity theft is a growing threat. It is a type of fraud in which an attacker uses stolen personal information to impersonate another person. Victims of identity theft have had their financial security and lives ruined by identity theft.

This type of fraud used to be achieved by an attacker intercepting postal deliveries which contain personal information such as names, addresses, bank account details and so on. Attackers could then open credit card accounts and apply for loans in the victim’s name.

The online world has opened up a new, lucrative source of information for fraudsters.

Many users have been too relaxed about sharing their information with online services and other users, but even security conscious individuals are threatened by malware designed to sniff out personal information on a computer, or phishing attacks that persuade users to divulge personal information. Also hacking attacks on big retailers can make millions of personal records available for potential abuse.

Preventing identity theft

You can greatly limit your risk of online identity theft by following simple security procedures such as:

being cautious when 'making friends' online. The video below shows an extreme, though by no means unique, example of this.

installing an antivirus program

keeping it up to date

ignoring phishing emails and social media 'honey'

Detecting identity theft

Online identity theft may pass unnoticed for some time, during which great damage can be done to your financial security.

Some signs that a victim might notice are:

unexplained bank withdrawals or credit card charges

bills and other expected official letters don’t arrive

cards or cheques are declined

debt collectors make contact about debts the victim knows nothing about

receiving notice that their information was compromised by a data breach at a company where they do business or have an account

their bank or credit card provider making contact about suspicious behaviour on their account.

However, you cannot do much to prevent the loss of your details by other organisations that provide everything needed to steal your identity. Data breaches leak customer information out onto the dark web.

It is worth keeping an eye on your own free credit reports to make sure nothing unexpected is being shown that might indicate identity theft.

Video Transcript

PRESENTER	In this block of flats behind me, a hacker made tens of thousands of pounds in fraud, and all from the comfort of his own home, until he tried to push his luck a little too far. Ian Wood was using Facebook to fund a lavish lifestyle.
DC BILLY JOHNSON	He would generally pose as someone who wasn't himself. For example, maybe as an attractive woman and he would try and befriend men on Facebook who would look at his profile picture and say, 'Oh yeah, I'll be friends with that person'. And what they were essentially doing was allowing this man into their life.
PRESENTER	He discovered people often use the same usernames for different accounts online.
DC BILLY JOHNSON	What Ian Wood did was he used that username, type it into mainstream banking websites, and as soon as he got the message of username correct, password incorrect - security questions He was in play then, and he could use information from the social networking sites to try and find a way in to that bank account.
PRESENTER	Once in, he stole £35,000 from online accounts. He then transferred the money to bogus accounts until he got cocky.
DC BILLY JOHNSON	As a lot of criminals do, they get more relaxed about their behaviour, and that was when he made the transfer from a bank account into his own in his name. We went to arrest him for that offence and that was when we opened the door basically to all the activity that he'd been involved in.

What to do if you think you have had your identity stolen