[Clips] New [chip & pin] technology may increase identity theft

R.A. Hettinga rah at shipwright.com
Tue Sep 6 14:58:18 EDT 2005


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 From: "R.A. Hettinga" <rah at shipwright.com>
 Subject: [Clips] New technology may increase identity theft
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 <http://news.com.com/2102-1029_3-5850138.html?tag=st.util.print>



  New technology may increase identity theft

  By Reuters
 http://news.com.com/New+technology+may+increase+identity+theft/2100-1029_3-5850138.html


  Story last modified Mon Sep 05 16:35:00 PDT 2005


 New technology could increase rather than solve the problem of identity
 theft and fraud, a British criminologist said Monday.

  Identity cards and chip and pin technology for credit cards will force
 fraudsters to be more creative and are unlikely to alleviate the problem,
 said Emily Finch, of the University of East Anglia in England.

  Dependence on technology was leading to a breakdown in individual
 vigilance, which experts believe is one of the best ways to prevent fraud
 and identity theft, Finch said.

  "There is a worrying assumption that advances in technology will provide
 the solution to identity theft whereas it is possible that they may
 actually aggravate the problem," she told the British Association science
 conference.

  "Fraudsters adapt their behavior to suit the circumstances," she said.

  Finch, who interviewed criminals about why and how they commit crimes and
 the impact new technology is likely to have on them, found fraudsters were
 tenacious and would change their methods to elude new security measures.

  "Studying the way that individuals disclose sensitive information would be
 far more valuable in preventing identity fraud than the evolution of
 technologically advanced but ultimately fallible measures to prevent misuse
 of personal information after it has been obtained," she added.

  Data from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission Identity Theft Survey Report
 released two years ago showed that 4.6 percent of 4,000 randomly selected
 people questioned in a poll had been the victim of some form of identity
 theft in the past year.

  Finch said fraud and identify theft was not always done for financial
 reasons. Sometimes people wanted to start again with a new identity.



 Identity cards could potentially increase fraudulent behavior, she warned.
 In June, the British government introduced legislation for national
 identity cards, saying they would counter terrorism, crime and illegal
 immigration. But critics say the scheme is expensive, unnecessary and
 intrusive.

  "What fraudsters know about is human nature," Finch said. "And they adapt
 to things like the Internet which provides an absolutely fantastic base to
 access personal information."

  She also has doubts about chip and pin technology which allows consumers
 to punch in a personal number rather than use a signature for credit and
 debit card purchases.

  Instead of watching an individual punch in the code and stealing the card,
 criminals are snatching credit card application forms and getting new cards
 and numbers, she added.


 --
 -----------------
 R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
 The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
 "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
 [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
 experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
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-- 
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'

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