Identity theft

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

Driving Innovation Using Big Open Linked Data (BOLD) Panel

Abstract: Governments have always retained public service data internally in their own systems with only limited information provided to the public and other stakeholders such as the business, charitable and NGO communities. However, the rapid advancement of ICTs coupled with electronic publishing via the Internet in the last decade in particular has enabled governments to exploit the potential of wider distribution and use of such data previously held in internal systems. The panellists will discuss how Big, Open and Linked Data (BOLD) can be utilized to drive innovation and what obstacles and challenges may be encountered. Empowering citizens, potential mis-use in identity theft, policy manipulation or market distortion, and the need to combine open data with closed sources will be discussed.

Databasket: Coherent Shared Data for the Web

Abstract: Web applications have put significant effort into personalization services to improve the user experience. The current personalization model suffers from two major drawbacks: each site has access to a very limited subset of information about the user, and the users themselves have little or no control about what data is maintained and how it is kept private. Users thus repeat personalizing rituals across a number of sites, specifying their names, email and shipping addresses, and interests; and web sites often make poor predictions, recommending items when inappropriate or the wrong items altogether. Web sites occasionally see privacy gaffes such as America Online’s in 2006, sharing personal data on the Web and exposing their users to fraud and identity theft. In this paper we propose a user-controlled central database of personal information called Databasket (Figure 1) as a potential reinvention of web personalization. We place the data locally on the user’s computer, ensuring that the user himor herself has primary control over how the data is shared. We provide a Javascript API for web sites to query over a range of this data once the user has granted permission, thus allowing web sites access to customize using broader, more up-to-date data. To control data access, we have designed an interface drawing on research in usable privacy and security to keep the user (arguably the most vulnerable link) aware and in control. To follow, we introduce the Databasket system and its design. We focus first on related work in centralized personal data repositories for the web. Then we describe a typical Databasket use scenario, the system’s user interface and developer API, and back-end implementation. We report on a first-use study of the interface using two web sites developed using the Databasket API, and finally focus on challenges and future work for the system.

Identity Theft: A Reference Handbook

Abstract: A comprehensive examination of different forms of identity theft and its economic impact, including profiles of perpetrators and victims and coverage of current trends, security implications, prevention efforts, and legislative actions * Includes a chronology of key decisions, cases, and government action in the development of identity theft policy * Offers a list of key terms that will help the reader to better understand the sometimes unique language of crimes

Financial Service Providers

Abstract: The driving force behind financial identity theft is the acquisition of financial assets. Money is the main motivator. Perpetrators of financial identity theft predominantly acquire these financial assets from financial service providers. This demonstrates the vital value of financial service providers in the overall problem of financial identity theft. The significance of financial service providers is evident; yet, the role and associated responsibility of financial service providers is often a source of conflict and inconsistency. This conflict centers around the question of whether financial service providers embody the role of victim, villain, or both with respect to identity theft. Throughout the literature, especially in the past, financial service providers have received empathy due to financial losses suffered as a result of identity theft. To many, financial service providers are the true victims of financial identity theft. Through the rise of critical academics and interest groups, the potential facilitation, or the villain aspect, of financial service providers stepped out of the ‘victim’s’ shadow. Since the acknowledgement of the facilitation of financial identity theft by financial service providers gained more prominence, the business practices used to realize such facilitation also became the object of increased scrutiny. Financial service providers predominately include banks and credit card companies. Other relevant actors included in this chapter are supervisory organs and consumer reporting agencies since their involvement in the financial world, and therefore their inclusion in this chapter, assists in the development of a more comprehensive image of the relevant interactions in the financial services sector. Furthermore, their inclusion is also vital for the background descriptions of various developments with regard to business practices. This chapter reviews business practices based on three different phases including the acquisition of clients, the application process, and the account activity of existing clients. The first two aspects are particularly relevant for the potential facilitation of true name fraud, whereas the last phase predominantly concerns account takeover.