Javelin Report Discusses Various Issues of ID Fraud

In 2006 an estimated 8.4 million U.S. adults were targets of some form of identity fraud, according to a recent study by Javelin Strategy and Research, reports The New York Times.

In United States, minor cases of identity theft occurring every day do not get the attention of the police department. On the other hand the FBI does not show interest to fraud cases, which do not reach $100,000, says The New York Times.

The problem is that many people regard the crime leniently and relate it simply to the Internet and data break-in. There are really a lot of other issues involved, said Van Dyke, president of Javelin Strategy and Research. Many parties share the problem and just transferring the blame does not address the basic issues, Dyke said. InfoWorld published Dyke's statement on March 8, 2007.

High-tech tools serve nothing when tackling the most traditional forms of attacks, said the report. The identity thieves get the biggest opportunities to cast their nets on people who fail to shred statements or do not properly handle pre-approved credit cards.

The study found that in more than 50 percent of cases the thief is someone from the victim's circle of relatives, friends or co-workers.

A skilled thief uses routine items like the driver's license or Social Security number to impersonate someone else's identity in order to open new accounts or sign fake checks, obtain advances or acquire personal or car loans, VISA posted on their Web site.

Three computer scientists, one from Harvard and two from Berkeley recently wrote an academic paper entitled "Why phishing Works" after running a research to say that the best phishing site succeeded in duping more than 90 percent of the visitors. Fortunately, most phishing sites are recognizable because their designers are not skilled in correct English.

Certainly the present generation is more familiar with modern technology, says Patrick Archbald, Deputy Police Chief of University of Massachusetts. But at the same time young people easily trust others and also tend to be more careless about their personal information. DAILY COLLEGIAN published Patrick's statement on March 5, 2007.

» SPAMfighter News - 3/26/2007