Identity Thieves, Methods More Diverse Than Believed, Study Finds

R.A. Hettinga rah at shipwright.com
Fri Oct 19 22:50:26 PDT 2007


<http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB119284593359965817.html>

The Wall Street Journal


Identity Thieves, Methods More Diverse
Than Believed, Study Finds

By CHRISTOPHER CONKEY

October 20, 2007; Page A5

WASHINGTON -- As government agencies, schools and many businesses ponder
how to combat identity theft, a new research project is challenging some
popular assumptions about such crimes and the people who commit them.

Results of the study by researchers at the Center for Identity Management
and Information Protection at Utica College, New York, found that contrary
to the stereotype of a typical offender as a well-educated white male
exploiting his computer savvy, the identity thieves and the methods they
use are surprisingly diverse.

The study, which looked at more than 500 Secret Service cases that closed
between January 2000 and March 2007, found that 54% of the offenders were
black, 38% were white. Nearly one-third were female. About 71% had no
previous criminal record, and many cases involved sloppy data-security
practices by businesses like retail stores.

The results of the study are slated to be presented at an economic-crime
conference Monday in Virginia.

The information may prove valuable to law enforcers tasked with profiling
perpetrators and investigating crimes. The study will help "identify
patterns and trends that may be of value to law enforcement and others
engaged in combating the ever-evolving threat of identity theft," said a
Secret Service spokesman.

According to the study, the methods employed by the identity thieves
varied. About half the cases involved use of the Internet or other
technological means. The preponderance of cases involved interstate
schemes, although nearly one-third were confined to a single urban area.

In more than half the cases, it was possible to determine where the
offenders obtained the sensitive information necessary to commit the crime.
In those instances, businesses such as retail stores were the point of
compromise about half the time -- a result of sloppy data-security
practices that give hackers, insiders or other thieves easy access to
sensitive data. Much less often, identity thieves preyed on acquaintances,
relatives or colleagues.

Many of the cases were small-time operations composed of one or two people,
and the median financial loss per case was around $31,000. About 61% were
34 years old or younger, and roughly one-quarter were foreign-born. The
typical defendant was sentenced to two years in prison along with probation.

While other studies have tended to focus on the crime from a victim's
perspective, relying on consumer interviews and recollections, the latest
study offers the first thorough examination of identity thieves based on
criminal-justice records. The Secret Service is the main federal
law-enforcement agency focused on identity theft.

-- 
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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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