phishing - cutting the identity theft line

[...]... expanded their operations to include malicious code that steals identity information without the computer user’s knowledge Thousands of computers are compromised each day, and phishing code is increasingly becoming part of the standard exploits The detailed discussions of ever-more-devious technical tricks have left timid users fearing the end of e-commerce and the imminent theft of their identities They... wallet Insider data theft Phishing Theft of papers Identity theft Financial back end Figure 1-4 The money tree 5 Chapter 1 Just how much money is available? I will leave that as an exercise for the student Why is all this happening now? Phishing isn’t new, of course The term was first coined sometime around 1995, when crackers would ask new AOL users for their usernames and maybe their passwords In... phishers target The right questions to ask are these: Is phishing more of a danger than other means of identity theft? Not yet Will stopping phishing stop online fraud? No Can phishing be stopped if fraud isn’t reduced? Probably not It can be slowed, but not stopped Phishing is just a mechanism, albeit a great mechanism About This Book As you can see by the names on the front cover and from the author bios... identity thieves are prosecuted Phishing enables remote identity theft no more dumpster diving or mail stealing needed to obtain the information It’s as if the money grew on trees! Take a look at Figure 1-4 It’s a silly picture that illustrates a very important point: Phishing is just one of the many ways to access the money available through identity theft It’s also one of the easiest and safest Application... Your Mailbox Shredding the Evidence Identifying the Warning Signs of Identity Theft Chapter 9: Help! I’m a Phish! Consumer Response If You’ve Been Phished Log What Happens Change Your Passwords Close Accounts Get a Credit Report Recovering from Identity Theft Send Letters to Everyone Contact the Credit Bureaus Fill Out the Identity Theft Affidavit File a Police Report Contact the Federal Trade Commission... depending on the laws in that jurisdiction Again, millions of people see these ads; only a few dupes are needed to turn a profit Figure 1-3 A website for recruiting mules to launder money stolen through phishing Phishing for Phun and Profit Why Go Phishing? There is one very simple reason for phishing: money Identity theft is easy and nearly risk-free Gartner reports that only 1 in 700 identity thieves... Profit The businesses affected—and the governments they pay taxes to—are noticing the problem and working to stop phishing in its tracks I’m not optimistic, frankly; the phishers are using the easy techniques they’re using now because they work If we manage to make it so they don’t work, the phishers will just go on to schemes that are more difficult to execute and to prevent Why shouldn’t they get the. .. our friends and family The Internet is neat I’d really rather send my grandparents email—they get to hear from me more often that way The convenience and cost savings of email, online ordering, online banking, and other cool stuff is irresistible Now I’m wondering if maybe we should have resisted Then I realize how much identity theft happens without phishing and I get over it: e-commerce is only a little... About the Authors vii Introduction xxi Chapter 1: Phishing for Phun and Profit Why Go Phishing? It’s Everyone’s Fault Terms Phishing Scams What Happens in a Phishing Attack Who Is Doing the Phishing? Script Kiddies Serious Crackers Organized Crime Terrorists Where They Come From Who Is Targeted? End Users Businesses Phishing Paraphernalia Compromised Boxes Free Email Accounts The Other Kind of Phishing. .. create new accounts This is identity theft, widely reported as the fastest-growing crime today Identity theft is widespread and 1 2 Chapter 1 dangerous People have found thousands of dollars of fraudulent charges on their credit cards; thieves have taken second mortgages out on their homes or mortgages on homes they never owned People have tried to buy a car or house only to find their credit is worthless . Dean Vines Phishing Cutting the Identity Theft Line 01_584987 ffirs.qxd 3/30/05 7:12 PM Page iii 01_584987 ffirs.qxd 3/30/05 7:12 PM Page ii Phishing Cutting the Identity Theft Line 01_584987. Lininger and Russell Dean Vines Phishing Cutting the Identity Theft Line 01_584987 ffirs.qxd 3/30/05 7:12 PM Page iii Phishing: Cutting the Identity Theft Line Published by Wiley Publishing,. 248 Recovering from Identity Theft 248 Send Letters to Everyone 249 Contact the Credit Bureaus 250 Fill Out the Identity Theft Affidavit 252 File a Police Report 252 Contact the Federal Trade Commission