Internet Identity Theft - High-Tech Crime

Internet identity theft is committed when the perpetrator gains access to passwords, personal data, and other identifying information to acquire a victims assets or commit fraud using a victims identity.

To gain information for Internet identity theft, a criminal may send potential victims different types of spam e-mail. Another way is to get potential victims to subscribe to websites that promise easy profits. And to avail of these profits, you would have to present personal information online first; and once you do, Internet identity theft is not far behind.

Internet Identity Theft Tech Tools of Thieves

You are a careful person who would never give out personal data to just anyone. So how did you become a victim of Internet identity theft?

Here are some clever ways perpetrators of Internet identity theft use to trap unwitting victims.

(1.) Cookies. A cookie is a piece of text identity that a web server will be able to store on a users hard disk (i.e., if you visit a site, its cookies get stored on your hard drive). Cookies carry information about a users personal preferences that can be used in Internet identity theft.

a. Cookies carry data about which sites a user visits, advertisements clicked on, and even e-mail sent. A perpetrator of Internet identity theft can use cookies as tracking devices.

b. You are particularly vulnerable if you use a public computer to, say, make an online purchase. If an Internet identity theft perpetrator gains access to a track cookie with your account details, he can use your account to make purchases.

(2.) Software. Many perpetrators of Internet identity theft have special software to conduct a prohibited access of public data records. Criminals can thus gain access to a potential victims data, such as date of birth, maiden name, address, social security number, etc.

(3.) Encryption Software. Other Internet identity theft perpetrators are hackers who use encryption software to mix card numbers and figure out which belong to potential victims. This is the reason why sending your PIN number over the Internet (e.g., at an online shopping site) is unsafe.

(4.) Web Links. This is one of the easiest ways that an Internet identity theft perpetrator can gain access to a victims files, because all he has to do is type in some sort of social security number. He can use a search engine to look for identity sites (studies show around 95 exist) and click on a persons file to get data to perpetrate Internet identity theft.

(5.) Bogus Sites. Some criminals create bogus websites. When someone subscribes to that website, his personal data will be transferred to the database of the Internet identity theft perpetrator.

Internet identity theft is growing because its perpetrators continue to discover better and faster ways to gain access to their victims personal data.

One good solution to this high-tech crime is using the most high-tech Internet connection available today: broadband access. It is said that a broadband connection makes your computer more customizable to thwart the efforts of Internet identity theft perpetrators.