Identity theft

About: Identity theft is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2284 publications have been published within this topic receiving 31700 citations.

Identity theft: do definitions still matter?

Abstract: Despite a statutory definition of identity theft, there is a continuing debate on whether differences among the financial frauds associated with identity theft warrant further distinction and treatment, not only by lenders and financial institutions but also by consumers and regulatory and law enforcement agencies. In this Discussion Paper, Julia S. Cheney examines four types of financial fraud – fictitious identity fraud, payment card fraud, account takeover fraud, and true name fraud – that fall under the legal term identity theft to better understand how criminal behavior patterns, risks for consumers and lenders, and mitigation strategies vary depending upon the sort of data stolen, the type of account compromised, and the opportunity for financial gain. Three areas key to developing effective solutions that, in the view of the author, would benefit from further definitional delineations are identified: measuring the success (or failure) of efforts to fight this crime, educating consumers about the risks and responses to this crime, and coordinating mitigation strategies across stakeholders and geographies.

Understanding victim-enabled identity theft

Abstract: Victim-enabled identity theft is a crime in which an individual victim is deceived into providing their personally identifying information (PII) to a criminal to facilitate its theft and/or misuse. In this paper we analyse a particular victim- enabled tax-related identity theft scheme recently reported in Australia, which has also been reported, in a slightly different guise, in the US. We find that this scheme, and others like it, are best understood when studied from both the perpetrator's and the victim's points of view. The criminal perspective and business practices have been captured and analysed in the Identity Threat Assessment and Prediction (ITAP) model developed by the Center for Identity at The University of Texas (UT CID). The victim perspective has been captured from multiple victim case files captured by IDCARE. The research findings support the view that combining perspectives enhances the analytical value of a threat assessment and prediction model. The multi-actor nature of victim-enabled identity theft complements the methodological approach adopted in the paper, and provides new insights on a growing form of identity theft that can inform future prevention and detection response strategies.

Towards an Evaluation of Cyber Risks and Identity Information Sharing Practices in e-Learning, Social Networking, and Mobile Texting Apps

Abstract: With the growing dependency for online connectivity, the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to share identity information surged substantially. Students are constantly sharing where they go, how they feel, and even pieces of identity information such as their age, address, personal pictures, etc. Pieces of identity information are bits of information that, if combined, provide a larger picture of the identity of an individual. Such identity information may enable criminals to obtain financial benefits under the victims’ identity, or be utilized for stalking, bulling, or other harassments. The use of different ICTs such as mobile texting, social networking, and e-learning among students, while most of them are not aware that their digital communication is not encrypted, exposes them to increased risk of identity theft. Given that students spend majority of their connectivity time with school related contacts, the focus of this exploratory study is to measure if there are significant differences on the frequency of identity information pieces they share, who do they willing to allow access to their personal profiles, and what is the level of identity protection risks they report compared between three ICTs (e-learning systems, social networking sites, & mobile texting apps). Preliminary results and discussions are provided.

Measuring profile distance in online social networks

Abstract: Online Social Networks (OSNs) provide new ways for people to communicate with one another and to share content. OSNs have become quite popular among the general population but their rapid growth has raised concerns about privacy and security. Many predict that the OSNs of today provide a glimpse of the future Internet infrastructure. Whether or not that will be true is difficult to say but what is certain is that the privacy, integrity, and security issues and concerns need to be addressed now. In fact, the mainstream media have uncovered a rising number of potential and occurring problems, including: identity theft, unauthorized sharing of private information, malicious behavior of OSN services and applications, and so on. This paper addresses several important security and privacy issues by focusing on one of the core concepts of OSNs; the user profile, which both includes private and public information that the user shares to different parties and the customized security and privacy settings of the user. We present a method for comparing user profiles, by measuring the distance between the profiles in metric space, and for determining how well an OSN application conforms to user privacy settings. We report on a case study in which the proposed method is applied to Facebook to demonstrate the applicability of the method as well as to motivate its theoretical foundation.

The Challenge of Identity Theft in Multi-Level Governance; Towards a Co-Ordinated Action Plan for Protecting and Empowering Victims

Abstract: The growing role of the Internet within contemporary society provides innovative opportunities for more efficient and convenient ways of committing ‘old’ crimes. Identity theft is a prime example of a crime that perpetrators currently manage to commit in a low-risk environment through creative use of the Internet, leading to a potentially enormous increase in victimization. Online identity theft has proven to be a particularly complicated crime with regard to detection, investigation, and prosecution. Issues of jurisdiction and lack of cooperation among states complicate the ability of individual states to actually protect their citizens against identity theft. The primary aim of this chapter is to analyze the challenge of Internet-related identity theft and the role of multi-level governance in combating this crime. We analyze the concept and prevalence of identity theft, victimization issues, and the role of the Internet. Following the notion of multi-level governance, we then present a general idea for a multi-level action plan to help and empower victims of identity theft, particularly in the context of the Internet. We analyze how this action plan fits in with current policy-making, in order to determine the challenge of Internet-related identity theft in multi-level governance.