The advent of Internet in 90's has spawned a new
variety of crooks called identity thieves. Their stock
in trade is your everyday transaction.
We execute many transactions in the course of a busy
day. You may write a cheque at nearby consumer store,
pay restaurant bill through credit card, post your
resume for a job, order a new cheque book, apply for
a mobile telephone connection or credit card. We seldom
pay any attention to these transactions - but beware,
someone else may.
All these transactions require you to share your
personal information with another party - your name,
address, place of employment, credit card number,
PAN number, bank account number, telephone number,
your income etc.
An identity thief collects such pieces of your personal
information and appropriates it without your knowledge
to commit fraud or theft.
Identity theft is a serious crime in more developed
countries where misrepresentation of credit record
or social security number can wreck havoc. However,
it is no less a threat in India or South Asian countries
either.
How the Identity thieves work
An identity thief can be very creative and do innumerable
mischief using your personal information. Here are
a few examples:
- Identity thief uses photocopy of your passport
or ration card to obtain mobile connection in your
name. (there are several such cases pending with
Delhi Police)
- The thieves open a new bank account - using your
name, date of birth, PAN number etc. and use it
for fraudulent purposes.
- The identity thief takes a car loan in your name
- They call your credit card issuer and, pretending
to be you, change the mailing address on your credit
card account. The imposter then purchases goods
from Internet stores using your credit card information.
As your bills are being sent to the new address,
you may not immediately realize there's a problem.
- You have just got a credit card, may be for the
first time in your life, and have not yet signed
at the back of the card (something you should do
immediately on receipt of a new credit card). A
man, claiming to be from credit card issuing bank,
says the card has some defect and needs replacement.
You hand over the card to him. The imposter puts
his own signature at the back and starts his shopping
binge.
- You receive an e-mail request, presumably from
your Internet Service Provider (ISP) stating that
your "account information needs to be updated"
or that "the credit card you signed up with
is invalid or expired and the information needs
to be re-entered to keep your account active".
This could be a scam to get your user-id and password.
The identity thief changes the password and start
using your Internet account. What is worse
- Apart from losing money, you may face legal suit
in case the identity thief commits criminal act
using your mail account
How identity thieves get your personal
information
Despite your best efforts to manage the flow of your
personal information or to keep it to yourself, skilled
identity thieves may use a variety of methods - low-
and hi-tech - to gain access to your data. Here are
some of the ways imposters can get your personal information
and take over your identity.
- Get a copy of your ration card from local ration
shop
- Get your credit card information from unscrupulous
restaurant employees
- Steal your wallet containing identification and
credit / ATM cards.
- Steal your mail - including your bank and credit
card statements, income tax information etc.
- Complete a "change of address form"
to divert your mail to another location.
- Rummage through your wastepaper basket for personal
data.
- Fraudulently obtain your credit report by posing
as a landlord, employer or someone else who may
have a legitimate need for and a legal right to
- the information.
- Get your business or personnel records at work
- Find personal information in your home.
- Personal information you share on the Internet.
- Buy your personal information from "inside"
sources. For example, an identity thief may pay
a store employee to obtain your credit card details.
