pro
Is the digital double posing as you stealing your cash?
When we go online to tweet, post, like, email or chat, we surrender small pieces of our identity as we do so - a surname here, a nickname there, the name of our favourite pet. These tidbits of data seem harmless by themselves because they are spread thinly across many different places. It would be impossible to tie them together and turn them against you, wouldn't it?
No. Not at all.
Cyber-thieves are getting very good at compiling all these pieces of you from stolen data to create a shadowy whole, a digital double or doppelganger - a phantom copy of you living in cyberspace. They can then use these phantom identities to steal your cash, buy things and apply for loans and mortgages.
-500x391.jpg)
These thieves and fraudsters have a growing appetite for what are known as "fullz", or complete data profiles of potential victims. A fullz profile might include your name and address, date of birth, phone number, bank account number and social media likes and dislikes. The more complete the profile the higher the price it can fetch on the black market.
A security firm estimates that more than 675 million data records have gone astray in the US in the last 10 years, either because hackers have managed to bypass companies' security systems and raid their databases, or simply because a company has mislaid them.
Once they've compiled useable fullz profiles, thieves need to test that they work. Typically there will be three or four test logins for every fraudulent purchase made via that account. The first login will be to ensure the account is live, and the second will be to see what access it grants. The third or fourth login is when the fraudulent purchase will be placed.
So do be careful the next time you create a new online account and never ever divulge personal information online.
(All images - credit: Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licence)
-200x100.jpg)
-200x100.jpg)
-200x100.jpg)
