If you do have children who use the Internet you already have taken the time (one would think) in educating yourself about the predators that prey on children online.  Of course, a great deal of this attention is focused on the online predators that entice children and attempt to committed sexual crimes on these minors.

In the end, these types of predators are not the only types of harmful individuals that are lurking on the Net in search of children.  Research has demonstrated that a growing number of identity thieves are using unsuspecting children on the Net as pawns in their attempts to obtain the information they will need to further an identity theft scheme.

In simple terms, children tend to be somewhat willing to volunteer all sorts of information.  Moreover, children are not always completely sophisticated when it comes to what they should and should not  download onto a computer from the Internet.

Understanding both of these factors, identity thieves have been successful at obtaining a wide range of information from children online, including information about their parents that aids these crooks in furthering their own identity theft schemes.  In addition, there are software applications that more than a few children have downloaded that provide these criminals the ability to monitor online computer use and give them the ability to trap and obtain everything from financial account information to passwords.

Understanding these risks, it is crucial that parents pay close and constant attention to what their children are doing online.  Of course, this is vital in order to protect children from harm.  But, it is also important in the fight against identity theft.

Finally, do keep in mind that even the identities of children are being stolen with increasing regularity today.  Therefore, the risk of identity theft in these circumstances includes both parents and their children.

It’s almost Valentine’s Day once again but before opening up that  E-Valentine’s Card, you may want to think again.  It may not be coming from cupid but instead from someone ready to spread the so called Storm Worm virus.

The Storm Worm virus have used the various holidays in the previous year to send out millions of emails and electronic cards such as Valentine’s E-Cards.  It is a malicious software (malware) and it does infect computer machines and made it become a part of of the Storm Worm botnet.  A botnet is a network of compromised machines but under the control of a single user.  Botnets are known to be to be set up to facilitate criminal activity such as phishing, spam emails, identity theft and other servcice attacks to spread malware to other computers online.  When a user clicks on the email link, he automatically downloaded the malware and his computer system is infected.

It is very important to be extra careful in opening up any e-card emails. Make sure that you know the sender before opening e-cards.  Do not open any unsolicited e-mail and if you accidentally opened them, never click on any links provided.

Identity thieves use items like your driver’s license or Social Security number to assume your identity. With just a few items of personal information, an experienced identity thief can open new bank accounts and write bad checks, get new credit card accounts in your name and not pay the bills, get a personal, car loan or cash advances, create cellular phones accounts or utility services and start running up bills, change your mailing address and charge on your existing credit card accounts, illegally obtain employment or rent an apartment but refuse to pay the lease until being evicted.

Who is at Risk of Identity Theft?

Everyone is really. But you create a bigger risk for yourself if you don’t dispose of, or are careless with, sensitive information like credit card numbers and bank accounts, birth certificates, Social Security numbers and driver’s licenses . The holy grail for identity thieves is your Social Security number, so make sure you guard it.

Use the need to know principle, if someone doesn’t need to know your Social Security number, or your driver’s license number, or any other details, then don’t give it to them. You should expect any employer, organization or individual whom you supply your details to do the same and respect your privacy.

Online threats are growing and range from issues like phishing to hidden code within Myspace pages. You should be very careful about forwarding your information across the web, especially when using wireless internet.

Who Are These Identity Thieves?

It could be anyone. Although about half of identity theft cases are attributed to family and friends of the victim. However, anyone who might have access to you personal matters or information could sell that information and place your identity and credit history in turmoil.

Identity Theft Laws

In a nutshell, anyone who uses another person’s name, or other details, and attempts to commit fraud using those details or person’s name is guilty of identity theft. There are also laws involving privacy that apply to employers- things like the shredding of old documents prior to disposal and proper safeguards during the use and storage of information.

In fact, an employee would have grounds to sue any employer if identity theft resulted as a consequence of improper management of information. There are also fines associated with this.

REAL ID is a contentious issue in America and will either help solve identity theft or make it easier, depending on who you are listening to. There is no question that identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America and one which concerns many people.

As of 2004, the Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act commenced and promised hasher penalties for identity theft. It involves jail time for those who use identity theft to commit other crimes. The law also raised the standard for conduct of people employed in areas where sensitive documents are common.

Web-based identity theft is on the rise and Internet users should definitely invest as much effort in safeguarding their information online as they might do in the real world.

Wi-Fi Hackers and Suckers

It’s common place these days, café regulars and people living in close apartment buildings using other people’s Wi-Fi to surf the Internet for free. Rather than pay for it, it’s just as easy (perhaps easier) to search for available networks that have not been password protected by the account holders.

Stealing someone else’s Wi-Fi seems like a rather small crime really, but it’s a potential hacker’s haven. When you use someone else’s account, you have granted them access to your computer and your personal information contained. And, that could be exactly what they want you to do!

The holder of the Wi-Fi account can easily create a proxy server and use it to capture your data. They can even set up their computer to decrypt information, like bank passwords.

It’s a case of the hunter becoming the hunted. Or, the hacker becomes the sucker.

But what about the opposite, where someone new to Wi-Fi has no idea that people in close proximity can use their connection if it’s not suitably protected. Some people don’t care if others use their wireless internet.

Those that don’t care probably should, there are lots of unsavory things a person can do using your internet. Many of them are illegal. If you allow such activities your facing the blame for online fraud, or even copyright infringement if they host illegal movies using your bandwidth… which is traced back to you.

In addition, it’s a perfect way to expose yourself to identity theft. Someone piggybacking on your wireless connection can read your emails and watch your usage to build up a profile. As well, they can steal your passwords and potentially anything in a bank account that was protected by those passwords.

It’s alarming how many people protect their PC with anti virus and firewalls yet have not secured their Wi-Fi. If you think you don’t need to secure your router because you have anti virus or a firewall you’re wrong. A hacker can easily bypass those systems once they‘re in. It’s kind of like having a home alarm and not turning it on.

The Middle Man Attack

ARP Poisoning or ‘middle man attacks’ are a common hack in Wi-Fi hotspots. Basically the attack involves fooling the victim’s wireless router into thinking that all information on the subnet needs to flow through the attackers PC.

The hacker then just sits back and watches the information flow through. Passwords, bank accounts, emails etc.

Wardriving in the USA

Occasionally an IT professional will write a story for a magazine on Wireless internet security flaws. Usually, the first thing they will do is turn on their wireless card, jump in their car and see how many unsecured wireless connections are running out of suburban homes.

The bad guys in this are the people documenting the locations with GPS so they can later return and hack the connection. This practice is called wardriving and is becoming big in the US.

Here are 3 ways to report phishing:

First, you can report phishing to the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG). The APWG is a volunteer organization focused on eliminating the fraud and identity theft resulting from phishing, pharming and email spoofing of all types. Note that premium members include VISA, Yahoo and eBay. The APWG is currently building an archive of phishing scam emails and websites to help people identify and avoid being scammed in the future.

If you have received a phishing email, copy the entire phishing mail and send to reportphishing@antiphishing.org. Do not forward the phishing email as this approach loses information and requires more manual processing. The APWG will then review the message and any websites to which it links and post it to the Phishing archive.

Another way is to report phishing to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC is a federal agency that works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. You can file a complaint at the FTC website (http://www.ftc.gov/idtheft) or call their toll-free hotline (1-877-ID THEFT).You can also choose to send mail to spam@uce.gov. Make sure to copy the entire phishing mail into your email.

It’s also recommended to report phishing to the company that is being imitated. You can send an email or call by telephone. If the phishing concerns eBay or PayPal, copy the phishing email and send to spoof@ebay or spoof@paypal. The relevant department will then attempt to get the phishing site shut down. Your report is crucial as it will enable the company to warn its customers not to respond to any requests for personal information.

By taking a few minutes out of your time to report phishing, you can also help other people be more aware about the scams. Moreover, you can help the companies/organizations track down phishers and eventually take them down. All in all, by making the simple task of reporting phishing, you end up not only protecting yourself from this scam but others as well.