Identity theft

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

System and method for customer video authentication to prevent identity theft

Abstract: A system for pre-authenticating a magnetic stripped card or smart card holder for a non-checking account transaction at the point-of-sale that includes a database that contains sensitive data, corresponding to digital photographic images of said account holders that employs a pre-authentication process whereby all account holders undergo a meticulous comparison with their submitted data against a plethora of objective public, private and internal databases culminating in a video displayed image at some point in the future enabling a merchant to make a visual comparison of the account holder either on site or during a mail order or telephone order transaction corresponding to the pre-authenticated image to prevent identity theft. While the invention has been described with respect to particular illustrated embodiments, those skilled in the art of technology to which the invention pertains will have no difficulty devising variations which in no way depart from the invention. For example, while the illustrated embodiments have been described in connection with physical links, it will be appreciated that a wireless architecture could be employed to like effect. In addition the modem illustrated in the embodiments could be replaced by embedded software in a magstripe reader or access devices that might also include smart card readers as well as in the video phone and still be employed to like effect. Furthermore voice input/output devices could be deployed during data capture at the front end. The present invention has been described with several embodiments, a plethora of changes, substitutions, variations, alterations, and transformations, and modifications may be suggested to one skilled in the art, and it is intended that the present invention encompass such changes, substitutions, variations, alterations, transformations, and modifications as fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Compartmented Security for Browsers - Or How to Thwart a Phisher with Trusted Computing

Abstract: Identity theft through phishing attacks has become a major concern for Internet users. Typically, phishing attacks aim at luring the user to a faked Web site to disclose personal information. Existing solutions proposed against this kind of attack can, however, hardly counter the new generation of sophisticated malware phishing attacks, e.g., pharming Trojans, designed to target certain services. This paper aims at making the first steps towards the design and implementation of a security architecture that prevents both classical and malware phishing attacks. Our approach is based on the ideas of compartmentalization for isolating applications of different trust level, and a trusted wallet for storing credentials and authenticating sensitive services. Once the wallet has been setup in an initial step, our solution requires no special care from users for identifying the right Web sites while the disclosure of credentials is strictly controlled. Moreover, a prototype of the basic platform exists and we briefly describe its implementation

Design of a secure unified e-payment system in Nigeria: A case study

Abstract: The Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) is the most widely used e-Payment instrument in Nigeria. It is responsible for about 89% (in volume) of all e-Payment instruments since 2006 to 2008. Some customers have at least two ATM cards depending on the number of accounts operated by them and they represent the active users of the ATM cards. Furthermore, identity theft has been identified as one of the most prominent problems hindering the wider adoption of e-Business, particularly e-Banking, hence the need for a more secure platform of operation. Therefore, in this paper we propose a unified (single) smart card-based ATM card with biometric-based cash dispenser for all banking transactions. This is to reduce the number of ATM cards carried by an individual and the biometric facility is to introduce another level of security in addition to the PIN which is currently being used. A set of questionnaire was designed to evaluate the acceptability of this concept among users and the architecture of the proposed system is presented. Key words: Automatic teller machine, e-Payment, smart card, biometrics, fingerprint, e-Identity, e-Banking.

Extended abstract: Circuit CAD tools as a security threat

Abstract: The demand for trusted and tamper-resistant computing platforms has placed security at the leading edge of research and industrial practice. Reported hardware-security breaches have already led to loss of confidential information, identity theft, intercepted cellular communications, and IP burglary. Our work demonstrates that ICs can be easily compromised by tampering with CAD tools or scripts that run these tools, suggesting that developing effective countermeasures against such attacks is a major research challenge. Our work is especially relevant to industrial uses of open-source EDA.

Identity theft and the care of the virtual self

Abstract: This paper analyses how major institutions are publicly responding to the crime of identity theft It concentrates on how individuals are encouraged to responsibilize themselves against this potentiality, and what they should do in the event they are victimized These two distinct discourses (prevention and victimization) aim to fashion a hyper-vigilant citizen whose daily routines, home environment, consumption patterns and sense of self are being brought into accord with wider power dynamics These measures can be understood as encouraging a care of the virtual self – a wider social project characteristic of an informational age that encourages individuals to reduce the risks and maximize the potentialities related to their data double In the context of identity theft, however, institutionally promoted methods for the care for the virtual self transcend what is reasonably practicable for most citizens and mask the role played by major institutions in fostering the preconditions for identity theft