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Identity Theft Made Easy: Just Ask People For Their Info
from the silly-people dept
Last year, there was a study saying that if you wanted to get someone's password, they would cough it up in exchange for a pen. It seems that things haven't gotten much better. A study in the UK shows that many people will cough up their mother's maiden name and their own birthdate to anyone who calls and asks. And, of those who know (a little) better, they can still be convinced to give up the info with a little social engineering. This isn't all that surprising. The other part of the study found that many people wouldn't notice if large sums of money were missing from their bank account. Considering that personal vigilance is one of the most important methods to combat identity theft, you can see why the crime is so popular these days.
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Why Identity Theft Is So Easy
First, do a search for "white pages" on your browser. Then pick one and request your address or phone number based upon your name. There is a very good chance, especially if your phone number is not unlisted, that you can retrieve address (and a map to find that address), phone number, email address, and maybe an aerial photo of your residence. That's for FREE. For modest fees, your deeper background can be had (legal, medical, etc). We have these white pages websites handing you to identity thieves on a platter. And there are dozens of these sites, whoring your privacy.
If anyone wants to claim action against identity theft, and not mention shutting these sites down, then don't believe their sincerity. This makes Internet Explorer's weaknesses pale in comparison on the security spectrum.
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