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Tuesday, April 25, 2006
How To Stop Internet Identity Theft
Despite the increasing awareness of identity theft among consumers and financial institutions, the identity-theft racket shows no signs of slowing. Reported losses from identity theft, currently responsible for over 40 percent of all fraud complaints, approached nearly $300 million last year. “True identity theft is a problem that goes far beyond simple credit-card fraud, against which consumers are fully protected, thanks to zero-liability laws and other regulations,” said Dave Collett, a spokesperson for MasterCard. All too often, consumers provide that needed information unknowingly through careless Web surfing and by using computers whose security is breached by virus and spyware infections.
Essentially, the process works by tricking e-mail recipients into going to phony Web sites to divulge personal data, like bank-account numbers or credit-card information.
Identity thieves also use technical subterfuge through spyware and Trojans to capture user names and passwords so they can gain access to consumers’ financial details.